The top official of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) of the Philippine Army on Tuesday, Aug. 13, said no rebel recruitment activities have been monitored in schools and universities in Western Visayas.
During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, 3ID commander Maj. Gen. Marion Sison said their intelligence reports showed no new students are joining as armed fighters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
“There is really that hardship on the part of the CPP-NPA-NDF on recruitment, especially of our students and youth. That is why they have no new cadres. As of now, we have not monitored any recruitment, which is why the NPA has no additional manpower,” he said.
For the past two years, Sison said, the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF ELCAC) has been visiting schools and universities, prioritizing those “accordingly with recruitment.”
They visited mostly schools in Iloilo, including the West Visayas State University (WVSU), Aklan State University in Aklan, and other schools in Roxas City in Capiz.
Sison said there was no reported recruitment in the WVSU-Calinog Campus and the Puti-an National High School in Cuartero, Capiz, both mentioned by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as alleged recruitment grounds of the CPP-NPA.
“As far as the Philippine Army is concerned, we did not see any recruitment in the mentioned schools,” he said.
With the difficulty in their recruitment of students, the NPAs are also targeting the indigenous people’s community, he said.
However, Sison said it would also be hard for the rebel group since government troops are not leaving the mountains anytime soon.
“We co-locate with the enemy, but we will not co-exist. It is only the Philippine Army that will exist,” he said.Perla Lena/PNA
