AND THAT is probably the best phrase to describe last Monday’s (March 23) transport strike — an annoying nuisance, or as Panay News’ Lapsus Calami would put it, “Haslo.”
Really, what did the organizers hope to achieve aside from inconveniencing people rushing to work? It was a good thing classes were suspended, sparing students from this disruption.
That transport strike was not going to stop the war in Iran. It certainly would not bring down global oil prices. Most of all, it would not magically erase the geopolitical tensions driving up petroleum costs. To expect otherwise is as delusional as believing that reality can be altered simply by assertion.
What is more puzzling is that these groups — particularly leftist organizations such as Bayan and Piston — are up in arms because the President suspended the fare hike they had been pushing for. One cannot help but suspect that they saw an opportunity to benefit from the crisis, even at the expense of commuters.
Unsurprisingly, the transport strike failed. Transport cooperatives and corporations in Western Visayas also withdrew from the March 26–27 nationwide action, further weakening its impact.
If you have noticed, the usual protesters who rally against anything that does not fit their narrative often include naïve and highly impressionable “eskolar ng bayan” — the classic “useful idiots.”
Along this line, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has called on universities nationwide to elevate discourse on insurgency, youth recruitment, and academic freedom. It emphasized that honest and responsible debate — not propaganda or empty slogans — must guide campus discussions.
According to Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr., executive director of NTF-ELCAC, “universities have always been spaces where ideas collide. Here, convictions are tested and difficult national questions are debated.”
“Our aim,” he added, “should always be to elevate discourse in ways that promote peace and academic freedom, while steering conversations away from propaganda and toward just peace and nation-building.”
It is worth noting that the Communist Party of the Philippines and its allied national democratic organizations have long invested significant effort in organizing within major universities and schools. Their end goal, according to former members and even their own admissions, is to indoctrinate the youth into embracing armed struggle.
Unfortunately, the convenient excuse often invoked is that institutions like the University of the Philippines (UP) are merely teaching “critical thinking.” But joining an armed rebellion to overthrow a legitimate, democratically elected government and replace it with an outdated ideology is not critical thinking — it is a grave misjudgment.
As communist insurgency steadily loses ground in the countryside, the battleground has shifted to urban areas. Cities are now emerging as primary targets of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP–NPA–NDF) disinformation operations.
Highly urbanized cities, particularly the National Capital Region, are being deliberately targeted as hubs for propaganda and psychological operations. Digital platforms and social media have become the weapons of choice — tools used to sow distrust, distort realities, and agitate public sentiment against the government.
This decline in insurgent strength can largely be attributed to the creation of the NTF-ELCAC through Executive Order No. 70. Through programs such as the Barangay Development Program (BDP) and the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), the government has made significant strides in winning the hearts and minds of communities in remote areas.
For decades, the government tried to defeat insurgency through military force alone. It failed. Recruitment persisted because communities in the hinterlands felt neglected and left behind.
That changed when the government shifted its approach — recognizing that to end rebellion, one must address its root causes.
Instead of sending only soldiers, the state deployed a whole-of-nation approach. Roads were built in remote villages. Water systems, clinics, and schools were established. Livelihood programs were provided, including for former rebels.
By finally reaching out and addressing long-standing needs, the government weakened the insurgents’ narrative. Thousands surrendered. All 89 so-called rebel fronts were dismantled.
For the first time in over five decades, the CPP-NPA-NDF has seen its power, recruitment base, and relevance significantly diminished—an outcome credited to this comprehensive, nationwide strategy./PN
