“Ang presence ng pulis can prevent any crime being committed inside the campus. Pero recruitment? I don’t think na it will solve,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a media briefing Tuesday.
[Translation: Police presence can prevent crimes from being committed inside the campus. But recruitment? I don’t think it will solve it.]
Former police chief Senator Bato Dela Rosa, who leads the Senate probe on the recruitment of students by leftist organizations, earlier suggested an increase in police visibility in campuses to counter recruitment efforts by militant organizations.
Panelo said that he understood that students tend to be idealistic, and that there’s nothing wrong with joining organizations to voice out grievances against government officials.
But he drew the line on joining subversive organizations that aim to overthrow the government.
“If the left-leaning organization is found to be allied with organizations that are subversive of our democratic society then it becomes wrong and illegal,” Panelo said.
He advised parents to warn their children about leftist ideologies and subversive organizations.
“Parents have to tell their children that ideology has long past, and is passe, and they should not entertain joining a subversive organization for their own sake,” he said.
He also said it is up to lawmakers to decide whether to reinstate the Anti-Subversion Act, a law crafted in the 1950s. The law criminalized joining radical organizations such as the Hukbalahap and the Communist Party.
Former president Fidel Ramos repealed the law in 1992 but retained sedition as a criminal act.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13) — Increased police presence in campuses will not prevent the recruitment of students into alleged subversive organizations, according to Malacanang.
