PROF. Melanie Turingan, dean of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters, has defended the Nov. 6 research colloquium on “terror grooming,” urging students to remain “engaged, but not enraged,” following backlash from student activist groups.
In her opening remarks, Turingan acknowledged the controversies surrounding the “highly sensationalized” forum, saying its only goal was to let students learn and engage with actual findings by researchers.
“Why do we allow this event to commence? Simple. We wanted you, our dear students, to learn. To engage in a forum that will tickle your personal stance with actual findings brought about by rigorous research,” Turingan said.
The Nov. 6 forum is co-organized by the National Security Council (NCS) and the Faculty Arts and Letters. It was initially co-organized by the UST Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSED) but it withdrew upon learning of the participation of the controversial National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
The backlash prompted an emergency meeting during the Undas break, which resulted in NTF-ELCAC’s removal from the forum. The agency has been criticized for red-tagging activists.
It was replaced by Marie Rose Abejuela of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
“This event is highly sensationalized,” Turingan said. “From an engagement to cultivate the research productivity of the Department of Political Science, it has reached local news and became a major issue. Is there anything we must fear about today’s forum? Are we really protecting one sector and neglecting the duties towards our nameless stakeholders?”
Turingan said the Faculty of Arts and Letters is known to be “politically, economically, sociologically, mentally equipped” for the forum.
“We are not ignorant. We are never passers-by. We are never spectators. AB is not known to just participate. We initiate.”
She said academic institutions must present data based on facts and to provide perspectives, based on evidence and documentation.
The forum, titled “Preventing Terror Grooming: The Philippine Experience,” invited speakers from Buklod Kapayapaan Federation, Inc., the Philippine Public Safety College, and Trinity University of Asia to discuss “terror grooming,” “recruitment practices,” and the experiences of former rebels.
