WELL… well. It appears that the so-called “useful idiots” in the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, and other schools are once again trying to outdo one another in militancy—parroting the same tired, boring, and irrelevant slogans. The ulterior motive, of course, is to breathe life into an already moribund insurgency.
Contrary to popular belief, the root cause of the insurgency problem is not the government’s alleged failure to provide basic social services and livelihoods in far-flung barangays. These concerns have, in fact, been addressed through the Whole-of-Nation approach and the Barangay Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)—despite persistent efforts by the so-called Makabayan bloc and its allies in Congress to defund this crucial task force.
What continues to fuel the insurgency are misguided and restless youth who fancy themselves “woke” in universities and colleges. Lacking direction in life yet bursting with hormones, they are manipulated by aging professors into acting out revolutionary fantasies—embracing an obsolete and irrelevant ideology, communism, long rejected even by the country that once championed it, in favor of capitalism.
It is rather pathetic that these “useful idiots” find it trendy and fashionable to support insurgents, seemingly unaware that the democratic space they enjoy today—and the lifestyle that comes with it—would vanish the moment the CPP-NPA-NDF gains control of the country.
Ahay—say goodbye to Frappuccinos and Salted Caramel Macchiatos. These woke social climbers would instead find themselves sent to re-indoctrination camps, forced to “cleanse” their self-induced bourgeois attitudes and mentalities.
Take note: the CPP-NPA-NDF thrives by exploiting democratic space—by infiltrating schools, workplaces, and communities under the guise of activism—only to radicalize and recruit vulnerable citizens, particularly the youth.
For decades, recruitment and facilitation networks linked to the CPP-NPA-NDF have relied on narratives that romanticize armed struggle while deliberately downplaying its human cost. International-facing “solidarity” lanes have too often functioned as gateways that blur the line between legitimate civic engagement and exposure to armed violence. Time and again, the result is the same: broken families and preventable loss.
The Abra de Ilog incident in Mindoro—marked by abandonment and death—is a case in point. Jerlyn Rose Doydora’s fate was not an accident; it was the result of a recruitment and radicalization system in which the Kabataan Party-list lured young people in, exposed them to danger, and then denied responsibility.
Another case involved Chantal Anicoche, a member of Migrante, who was found, rescued, and treated. Yet outrage deepened when the names and images of both students were later used for propaganda and fundraising by the very same network.
The pattern is clear: recruitment, radicalization, exploitation. As expected, the Kabataan Party-list, Migrante, the Makabayan bloc, and the CPP-NPA-NDF evade accountability and, right on cue, play the “victim” card.
For the task force, former rebels, conflict-affected communities, and other peace advocates, this is far from an isolated concern. For decades, recruitment networks linked to the CPP-NPA-NDF have continued to romanticize armed struggle while masking its devastating consequences. Again and again, the trail leads to shattered families and unnecessary loss.
Meanwhile, the Kabataan Party-list’s call to defund the NTF-ELCAC and its Barangay Development Program—under the guise of an anti-corruption campaign—is nothing more than tired rhetoric from pseudo-communists seeking to malign a program that has already proven, beyond doubt, that peace and progress can take root in communities once exploited by the CPP-NPA-NDF.
Indeed, as long as these pseudo-communists are allowed to prowl universities and school campuses, the kids are not alright./PN
