“Mag-ingat ka d’yan, marami pa namang terorista tsaka recruiter.” This is what many University of the Philippines (UP) freshmen usually hear from their relatives after passing the UP-College Admissions Test (UPCAT).
The renowned university has a long history of activism and raising dissent for the benefit of the masses. It is an institution that promotes progressive thinking and the ideals of liberty, nationalism, human rights, and development. Such actions or policy that threatens this institution's freedom to call out issues in society must be strongly condemned.
However, in recent years, government administrations are constantly subjecting their activism to baseless and false red-tagging that forces UP students' affiliation with terrorist groups in the country. As a result, the red-tagging of the UP community exposes its members to the constant threat of being labeled as terrorists simply for being a part of the university, subjecting them to harassment and threats from the police and military.
Red-tagging, according to Carlos Conde of the Human Rights Watch in their article titled “Philippines: End Deadly ‘Red-Tagging’ of Activists,” is a harmful act that targets people, and often leads them to experience harassment. Being labeled as terrorist in our country carries a potential death sentence, as evidenced from reports in Michael Beltran’s article, “In the Philippines, a label can take your life,” of assassinated individuals who were thought to be terrorists.
Anyone, whether a politician, celebrity, journalist, or simply a UP student activist, can be red-tagged for having opposing opinions to those in power. Red-tagging is simply labeling someone, but this label represses the UP community’s and any other institution’s activism, and their right to freedom of speech.
A History of Violence
Red-tagging and violence against the UP community are old concepts in the university's history. Prior to the martial law era, students staged the historic Diliman Commune of 1971 in response to the ongoing witch hunts against communists, the crisis of a neocolonial society, and Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s desire for power. According to the “Diliman Commune Timeline” from UP Diliman, it ended in deaths and injuries because of police brutality.
This history of violence against the UP community persisted during the martial law era — as evidenced from Ferdinand C. Llanes' compiled essays in “Tibak Rising: Activism in the Days of the Martial Law Era”. It highlighted student activists' experiences with youth-led demonstrations and imprisonment at the time.
This violent history against the university led to the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense (DND) Accord. According to UPD Law School’s Prof. Michael T. Tiu Jr. in his article, “The 1989 UP-DND Accord: Content and Context”, its purpose is to prevent the military and police from entering the campus without the knowledge of the UP administration, interfering during peaceful protests on campus, and unjust imprisoning and detaining of members of the UP community.
The termination of the accord
History attests to the importance of the agreement in preserving the rights and safety of the community. That is why the UP community, along with several sectors, strongly condemn the Duterte administration’s recent termination of the UP-DND accord.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana defended the termination, saying that it is vital to protect the majority of Filipino from a university that is becoming a breeding ground for terrorists. He added, “The country’s premier state university has become a safe haven for enemies of the state.”
He further emphasized his support for the termination in a tweet saying, "What makes UP so special? We are not your enemies. We are here to protect our people, especially our youth.”
But their stance on allowing forces inside the campus to protect the youth invalidates UP's history and relationship with the military and police. As previously stated, the agreement was formed in response to violent incidents during the Diliman Commune and the Martial Law Era, in which uniformed officials attacked, harassed, and imprisoned UP students.
The UP-DND Accord shields them from the very people who have harmed them throughout history.
The removal of the accord is strongly disapproved of because instead of protecting the youth, allowing police and military access to the campus endangers them even further. Student activists are even more at risk of being subjected to unwarranted harassment on campus.
UP: The school for terrorists?
The termination of the UP-DND Accord is merely an addition to the injustices the Duterte administration committed against the UP community. Over the years, they have thrown baseless accusations at the UP Community.
First, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to defund the institution in his taped speech in November 2020, as stated in the Philippine News Agency’s (PNA) press release. He believes the institution does "nothing but recruit terrorists."
Another instance is when an "Armed Forces of the Philippines" page on Facebook published a list of 27 names that they claim to be UP students who became New People's Army (NPA) members — and are either dead or captured.
Rappler debunked these claims in their article titled “FALSE: List of dead, captured former UP students who became NPA.” At least eight of the people listed are still alive and are not members of the NPA. Messages sent to Rappler from the listed people show that the post was created to simply red-tag members of the UP community while also spreading disinformation online.
Claiming that the NPA is tainting the UP community is only endangering the lives of students.
Unfortunately, lives were lost when military forces killed Chad Booc and Kevin Castro, who they identified as terrorists. According to a statement issued from the office of current UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo, the two were volunteer teachers for a community and were non-combatant civilians during the incident. He emphasized the dangers of red-tagging to UP students, faculty, and parents.
The red-tagging continues
But even if Duterte is about to step down as president in June, the red-tagging, violence, and harassment continues as another Marcos steps in power.
When it was announced that Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte are leading the election and are projected to be the next president and vice president, the UP system called for an academic walkout denouncing another Marcos presidency.
A number of Marcos supporters were quick to call for the defunding of the university on social media. Some say that UP students who are protesting instead of focusing on their education are a waste of government funds.
Education in UP allows one to have an awareness of social issues. Most UP students are protesting against the government to call out the inequalities against marginalized populations.
Nothing is wrong with walking out to protest because they are raising their voices against injustices, inequalities, and issues that affect the masses.
UP students are in need of protection
Ultimately, red-tagging has always been and will continue to be a threat to the UP community.
As a school that values dissent and free speech, it is constantly stifled by an administration that tries to disguise its red-tagging as a way to protect students from terrorists — an administration that promotes the notion that the university breeds terrorism. The university should be protected from the irrational red-tagging, which only serves to instill fear in the community and its members.
The responsibility to end this harmful act lies on everyone, whether they are a victim of red-tagging or not. One can take part in it by simply continuing to speak out their dissent and pushing against the administration that fosters this act. Social media users can help by calling out or reporting people that red-tag activists online.
Joining protests and anti-red tagging movements affirms that red-tagging has no place in a society that advocates for the rights, freedom, and clamor of the masses.
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