Military warns youth against being lured by communists

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — The military command here warned the youth from the lure of communists, as they alleged remnants of the rebel groups are trying to gain back its stronghold in the province.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Special Forces battalion commander, Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., warned that the legal struggle of the Communist Party of Philippines (CPP) involves open mass movement that “lures people to join mass actions” and boosting its mass mobilization and mass-organizing strategy.

He also said CPP’s electoral or parliamentary struggle includes sending members to infiltrate government bureaucracy, diversion of government funds, and collection of Permit-to-Campaign fees on political candidates.

Brawner identified students and youth among the target organizations, along with other sectors such as labor, government, civic and community groups, religious, professional, economic or business and social organizations.

Quoting Balik Loob Foundation, Brawner cited the intellectual potentials of students who can be mobilized in organizing, propaganda, technical and even in frontal actions of legal organizations.

Most of the presidents and spokespersons of legal organizations come from the front organizations of young students, and that they have the capacity to perform as political guide or political officer of the armed unit of the New People’s Army (NPA) and lead the party committee, as Brawner quoted Balik Loob Foundation.

He further cited other pronouncements of Balik Loob Foundation on the observation that the CPP/NPA/NDF would usually agitate students through issues such as tuition fee increase, campus repression, improvement of school facilities, academic freedom, independent student council, and recognition of student organization.

Their general call would usually be on free, patriotic, scientific and pro-poor system of education.

At first, the spotter or recruiter will befriend and exploit the interest and weakness of target youth who will then be invited to attend orientation, meeting, workshop, seminar and get acquainted with members and officials of students’ organizations, Brawner said.

The recruiter will then start giving communist teachings without revealing the philosopher, start agitating the students on issues concerning them, organize them into one group within the organization and assign tasking which is actually looking for new members.

During this stage, the activist member will start undergoing teach-ins unwittingly, attend more seminars and the organization is slowly being divulged, then he will receive additional teach-ins.

The activist or underground member will later be subjected to further briefings and teachings until he becomes a member of the NPA and onwards into becoming a CPP party member.

The recruiter will give a full-time activist or underground (UG) member the Communist teachings and philosophers, oversee the activities of the group, orient him in the teachings of the movement, consolidate the UG members from different schools, facilitate the familiarization of members and choose the core group for the legal organizations.

In this stage, the UG members are given higher tasks such as joining LR, mob, protest; recruitment of students for Mass De or Mass Pro; others become leaders or Lihim na Organizador (LO), and run the Kilusang Lihim (KL).

The recruiter will then facilitate the UG into Basic Mass Interrogation (BMI) activities, coordinate with LO for PR’s mass integration, train PRs in mass works, and initiate mass demonstrations or protests.

The full-time activist, for his part, gets higher Communist teachings, undergo BMI, agitate in rallies and protests; and is also given higher tasks such as coordinate with different schools, facilitate operations of mass activist, organize and give political teach-ins, initiate activities of legal organization, take path as CM and given a codename.

The UG organizer will later orient or familiarize the full-time activist (FT) in the ways of the NPA, train the FT in guerrilla warfare and in mass education or propaganda, and screen FT members for different tasking, works and position.

The candidate for NPA membership will undergo countryside assignment; live, work, eat, and sleep with NPA; go for higher teachings on the movement; some will stay and others will go back to white areas after the screening; become officer of different NPA units; get involved in expansion; given higher position and higher functions; and finally, taking oath as FT with new codename.

He will then be given position or unit organization, become part of the core group for the underground movement, and run or oversee the legal organization if assigned in white areas or the unit in a red areas. PNA