The UST Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) has removed the participation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) from the upcoming research colloquium on “terror grooming,” following backlash from student activist groups.
Political Science Chair Dennis Coronacion told the Varsitarian that after a “lengthy discussion” between National Security Council (NSC) and AB officials, both parties agreed to exclude the NTF-ELCAC from the forum.
The event was originally co-organized by the National Security Council (NSC), the Faculty of Arts and Letters, and the UST Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSED).
However, RCSSED withdrew earlier last week, telling the Varsitarian it was not informed of the participation of the controversial task force, which has been criticized for red-tagging activists.
Coronacion said the NTF-ELCAC’s participation was to be limited to a discussion of the agency’s mandate and a short video presentation of its achievements.
“Dean Melanie Turingan proposed if that part could be removed; a debate ensued between some NSC officials and UST AB officials, and after that, everyone agreed that NTF-ELCAC’s participation would be removed,” he said.
“We don’t want our students to feel uncomfortable and afraid when they participate in the research colloquium,” he added.
Coronacion had defended the department’s decision to engage with the National Security Council and other state entities in the upcoming academic colloquium, emphasizing that the University must remain a venue for open discourse.
The forum, titled “Preventing Terror Grooming: The Philippine Experience,” will be held on Nov. 6 and will have lectures on “terror grooming,” “recruitment practices,” and the experiences of former rebels. With reports from Ralent M. Penilla
