SPEAKERS at the Nov. 6 forum on “terror grooming” stressed that open dialogue is vital to resolving social conflicts and building understanding — even as the event drew strong backlash from student activists. A philosophy student, an outspoken activist, walked out in protest, was heckled, and labelled a communist by an audience member.
Why it matters: The research colloquium, “Preventing Terror Grooming: The Philippine Experience,” was organized by the UST Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Arts and Letters with the National Security Council (NSC).
- It faced backlash anew over the participation of state security officials and the alleged heckling of Raven Racelis, a philosophy student who questioned the government’s counterinsurgency narrative.
What they said: A psychologist, Glessie Villanueva, claimed that since the youth are “still not sure of themselves,” groups linked to terrorism have an easier time influencing and recruiting them. Moreover, Villanueva claimed the lack of communication between parents and children makes youth vulnerable to “recruitment.”
- “Naririnig natin sa mga kabataan ngayon, kapag hindi nila nakakausap ‘yong parents nila, naghahanap sila ng attention sa ibang tao. Ang problem is when they talk to the wrong people.”
- “There are always two sides of the story… when we listen to both sides, i-process pa rin natin sa anong palagay nating tamang ginawa at maling ginawa before you take sides. Or pwede rin naman, you don’t take sides at all.”
Immersion, emotional framing: Arian Jane Ramos, legal affairs committee head of Buklod Kapayapaan Federation, a group of ex-rebels, called student recruitment a “public and policy concern.”
- She claimed minors were being recruited into the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, often starting as members of legal youth activist organizations. By the age of 22, many of the previous recruits had already joined the NPA, she claimed.
- “Preliminary thematic analysis reveals an identifiable pattern that begins with participation in legal youth activist organizations, followed by ideological immersion, emotional framing to community exposures, urban underground work, and eventual entry into the New People’s Army,” Ramos said.
Alienation, exclusion: Frederick Rey, a faculty researcher, said: “Terrorism may be a reaction to social dislocation, an expression of despair within societies that have failed to integrate their members into a shared moral order. It grows from the fractures of alienation and exclusion.”
- “Kaya mahalaga po ‘yong communication, mahalaga ‘yong understanding, mahalaga ‘yong dialogue, and we really appreciate you for coming to engage in a humane and tempered dialogue.”
- Rey urged aggrieved citizens to bring their concerns to the government.
The flashpoint: During the open forum, Raven Racelis, a first-year philosophy student and Kabataan partylist member, talked about how the “roots of armed struggle” were not being addressed. She also criticized the government’s labeling of activist organizations as terrorist groups.
- She later posted on Facebook that she felt “disrespected” after a speaker “mocked” her and an audience member called her a “communist.” A video of her walkout and the heckling incident went viral.
- “Una sa lahat, hindi ako bobo. Hindi ako ‘na-groom.’ Isa akong philosophy student na marunong magbasa ng konteksto at makaintindi ng ideolohiya. I sat through all five speakers at malinaw: this forum was nothing but a fascist state propaganda machine disguised as ‘academic research.’”
Rally photos: Racelis also questioned the use of Kabataan party-list protest photos in the presentation of Joel Egco, the NSC representative and former NTF-ELCAC spokesman.
- “Nakakainsulto. Naka-frame ang mga educational discussion ng mga mass organization bilang ‘ideological grooming,’” Racelis said.
What UST student leaders said: Central Student Council (CSC) officers spoke out against the heckling incident on social media.
- Heavenly Nerizon, CSC public relations officer and a political science student, said, “I did not expect such a manner to come from one of the Spartans. To use such a word so casually is unbecoming,” he said. “You should know the connotations behind the word ‘communism’… political science student ka, dapat alam mong tama sa mali, at kung ano ang dapat gawin.”
- Joseph Coronel, CSC auditor: “This is why a lot of us are opposing this colloquium in the first place. This is not who we are in political science. We are so much better than this.”
No ‘neoliberal’ agenda: Assoc. Prof. Dennis Coronacion, Artlets political science chair, said the organizers did not harbor any sinister agenda. Neither were they promoting a “neoliberal agenda.”
- “In organizing this activity, the department has no political agenda. If ever it has, ang parating agenda ng ating department ay matuto ang ating mga estudyante.”
- Coronacion said the department “does not condone red-tagging” and that the activity sought to promote academic discussion on peace and security.
Read: Artlets dean on ‘highly sensationalized’ PolSci forum: Be engaged, but not enraged
Rewind: Activist groups spoke out against the forum during the Undas break, criticizing the organizers for inviting the NTF-ELCAC, which has long been criticized for red-tagging activists, progressives, activists and journalists.
- One of the original organizers, the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education, pulled out of the forum early last week, saying it was not informed of the NTF-ELCAC’s participation and was not given a say in the forum title and speaker lineup.
- The NTF-ELCAC was later dropped from the forum after a lengthy discussion between the NSC and Artlets officials.
Related stories:
UST research center pulls out of forum over NTF-ELCAC involvement
NTF-ELCAC dropped from ‘terror grooming’ forum
