[EDITORIAL] #AnimatED: Kung ipagpipilitang radikal ang mga millennial

Mukhang nasasayang ang P2.5 bilyong confidential at intelligence fund ni Presidente Rodrigo Duterte sa kathang-isip. 

Ayon sa budget department, napupunta ang limpak-limpak na pera sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga, anti-terrorism, at pagsugpo sa krimen. Ang hindi binabanggit, kasama riyan ang pag-eespiya sa mga kabataan sa pamantasan.

Guwapong-guwapo sa sarili na inilako ng militar ang bersiyon nito ng libro ni Tom Clancy tungkol sa cold war na Hunt for Red October. Nagkabati na raw ang Pula at Dilawan at may pakulo sila, kasabwat ang New People’s Army (NPA) at mga galamay ni Sonny Trillanes sa military: ang Red October. Damay na lahat ang tumutuligsa sa gobyerno ni Rodrigo Duterte. (Palakpakan naman diyan!) 

Ayon sa hepe ng militar na si Heneral Carlito Galvez Jr, kasabwat din daw dito ang mga mag-aaral sa mga unibersidad na “infiltrated” ng mga rekluta ng NPA – mala-First Quarter Storm daw ang magiging drama.

Marahil ay may nahalungkat na manual ng martial law ang militar nang naghanap ng mga papeles ni Trillanes. Kitang-kita and padron ng Martial Law ni Makoy. 

Sa mga nangangarap nang gising na sila’y si Sean Connery o Alec Baldwin, ito ang katotohanan: sa unang pagkakataon sa loob ng ilang dekada, napagbuklod ng mga isyu at poot kay Duterte ang kaliwa at oposisyon. Pero makitid na pagkakaisang ito at marami pang pulong ang magaganap bago sila magtatawagang magkaibigan. Iyon ay kung maigpawan nila ang malalalim na hugot ng kanilang mahabang iringan at matutunan nilang magkaisa nang hindi nang-iisa.

Kung ang teorya ng militar ay biglang naging kaliwa’t kanan ang recruitment ng Kaliwa sa hanay ng mga millennial – base sa pag-Like nila sa mga post at magpalaganap ng meme sa social media – aba’y nagha-hallucinate ang sandatang lakas ng Pilipinas.

Payong kaibigan din kay National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde: lalayo sana siya kapag nagsusunog sa Camp Crame ng mga marijuana na nakukumpiska sa giyera laban sa droga. 

Hindi raw niya mawari bakit kinakalaban ang gobyerno ng mga pinag-aaral nito sa state-run universities. Paaala lang, Ginoong Albayalde, buwis ng mamamayan ang tumutustos sa mga iskolar ng bayan, hindi si Duterte.

Lahat na lang ay komunista? 

Lagi at laging may radikal na aktibista sa mga kampus, mula Maynila, London, Moscow, at Boston. Bahagi ito ng pag-usbong ng malayang kaisipan sa mga pamantasan.  

Kung lalago man ang aktibismo – ‘yung klase ng aktibismo na di lang sa social media – walang ibang dapat sisihin ang gobyernong ito kundi ang sarili niya. Bubuhusan nito ng gasolina ang baga ng pagkarebelde ng kabataan kapag lantaran nitong sinupil at pinagbintangan ang mga mulat na mag-aaral at bulabugin ang mga unibersidad dahil sa red-baiting nito. 

Malaking kahunghangan ang akusasyong Oplan Red October – sa panahong humigit-kumulang 3,000 ang regular sa hukbo ng New People’s Army. Kung kailan mahina ang Liberal Party matapos layasan ng mga myembro. Sa panahong ibinalik ng gobyernong Duterte ang rebisyonismo at demi-god na naman ang mga Marcos. Sa panahong nagbubulag-bulagan ang middle class at mga negosyante sa extra-judicial killings.

Kitang-kita ito sa pag-atras-abante ng militar sa isyu. Ngayo’y umaamin silang “unverified” ang kanilang info sa mga unibersidad – walang konkretong ebidensiya, puro ‘wentong walang ‘wenta.

Sabi ni UP vice president for public affairs Jose Dailsay, totoo mang “breeding ground ang UP ng aktibismo,” graduate din dito ang maraming presidente, tulad nina Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Qurino, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos, at Gloria Arroyo, maliban pa sa maraming national leaders. Ipagtatanggol daw ng UP ang “right to academic freedom,” na ayon sa kanya ay rekisito sa gumaganang demokrasya. 

Ang masakit nito, tulad ng sinabi ng mga pamunuuan ng mga paaralan, inilalagay sa panganib ng mga ganitong laos at iresponsableng conspiracy theory ang mga kabataan. 

Ayon sa Commission on Human Rights, ang “blanket act of red-tagging” na ito ay “nagbibigay ng lisensiya sa Armed Forces of the Philippines na hadlangan ang kalayaang magpahayag…pati na rin ang karapatang magtipon.”

Pamumulitika sa militar

Kinakabahan ba ang militar sa sumasadsad na ratings  ni Duterte, na kung kanilang babasahin ay kagagawan ng inflation, Train Law, at ang di-popular na pakikipag-BFF ni Digong sa Tsina?  

Eto ba’y sintomas ng trigger-happy na rehimen na handa nang tawirin ang point-of-no-return mula demokrasya patungong pasismo? 

At hindi lang ito nakasasama sa demokrasya, ayon kay Vice President Leni Robredo, “napupulitika ang AFP,” isang institusyong nagsikap maging propesyonal at gumalang sa karapatang pantao matapos ang mga kasamaang bunsod ng Batas Militar. 

Nakatatawa man ang kuwento, hindi tayo maaaliw sa maaaring patunguhan nito. Ayon sa mga kritiko, mukhang script ito ng gobyerno para makapagdeklara ng martial law. 

Hindi pula ang Oktubre. Kulay abo ito – ang kulay ng taggutom dahil sa nagtataasang presyo ng bilihin. Huwag nating hayaang ilihis ng militar at ni Duterte ang mahalagang isyu – na lumalala ang ekonomiya at ang mahihirap ang higit na pumapasan ng krus.

Sa militar at pulis: huwag kayong magpagamit sa agendang politikal; huwag ninyong targetin ang kabataan na siyang pag-asa ng bayan; bumalik kayo sa marangal, tama, at demokratikong pamamaraan. Iyan ang sinumpaan ninyong tungkulin.

Wala sa ating makapagsasabi kung ano ang kaya ng henerasyong ito. Wala ba talaga silang pakialam sa mga isyu? May nagsasabing ‘wag silang maliitin, lalo na kapag naantig ang kanilang damdamin. Sabi ng isang millennial na nakausap namin, “AFP at Duterte, may kasabihan sa Ingles: be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.” – Rappler.com

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[EDITORIAL] #AnimatED: If the AFP insists millennials are radical

We’ve always wondered what President Rodrigo Duterte’s P2.5 billion confidential and intelligence fund is underwriting aside from campaigns against illegal drugs, terrorism and crime. Now the answer stares our youth in the face. It’s being used to spy on universities.

That it gave birth to the most hilarious piece of fiction to come our way IS the surprise. We always thought the military had gotten over such silly pursuits.

Were they imagining themselves to be the dashing leads of the movie Hunt for Red October, when they said an opposition plot called “Red October” united the Left and the opposition in a single purpose to destabilize the government? Of course, other undesirables like former putschists Sonny Trillanes and his supporters in the military would be part of it. And didn’t they mention that it’s a “broad coalition?” So every Duterte critic is there.

But wait, the plot thickens. Army chief General Carlito Galvez Jr says the destabilization will largely come from 10 universities “infiltrated” by New People’s Army recruiters, in a dramatic reboot of the First Quarter Storm.

At this point, we scratch our heads and wonder if these blokes found an old Martial Law manual when they were looking for the mysteriously missing papers of Senator Trillanes.

To those daydreaming they’d be the Sean Connery or Alec Baldwin to these plotters, here’s a dose of reality: for the first time in decades, issues and the common anger towards Duterte have galvanized the Left and the centrist opposition to form an alliance. But this is a tentative and limited unity, and it will take many more meetings before they call each other friends. That is, if they ever transcend old hurtsand forge unity without throwing the hammer at each other.

If the military is imagining that massive recruitment is happening among the youth – as manifested by the likes, posts and memes on social media – officials are hallucinating about a bygone age. It only reveals how clueless they are about this young generation.

A friendly advice to National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde, he should keep his distance from the Camp Crame bonfires that burn weed confiscated from the war vs drugs.

The chief cannot fathom why students of the state-run universities are biting the hand the feeds them. We’d like to remind Albayalde, it’sthe people’s taxes that send the state scholars to school, not Duterte.

Everyone is a communist

There will always be radicals in campus – from Manila to London, Moscow, and Boston. It’s part of the environment that  gives free reign to ideas.

If real activism does bloom exponentially – the kind that is not only found on social media – the government has no one to blame but itself. It will add fuel to the embers of youth’s rebellion if it insists on red-baiting and disrupting the controlled chaos of the universities.

The asinine plot that is Red October stands out all the more as preposterous in 2018 when NPA regulars are a little over 3,000; the Liberal Party is a shadow of its former self; when Duterte has revived revisionism and the Marcoses are demi-gods once again; a time when the middle class and the businessmen turn a blind eye to extrajudicial killings.

That it’s fiction, and a poorly crafted one at that, is obvious from the military’s backpedaling. At one point it admits the info on the universities is still “unverified.”

UP vice president for public affairs Jose Dalisay says that while it is true it is a “breeding ground of activism” it also produced presidents like Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos, and Gloria Arroyo, aside from other national leaders. He adds, “UP treasures and will defend its right to academic freedom, which is requisite to a functioning democracy.”

The big problem here, as the schools pointed out, is that this irresponsible and obsolete plot puts the students in danger.

The Commission on Human Rights hits the nail on the head: “This blanket act of red-tagging… may give the AFP license to arbitrarily infringe the freedom of expression, the right to petition government, as well as assembly.”

Politicizing the military

Is the military jittery over Duterte ratings that are at an all-time low? Closer examination will reveal the root of this: inflation, Train Law, and the unpopular friendship with hegemonist China. Are they hoping to impress the President, who has granted their dearest wish by ejecting the Left from his government?

Is the red-baiting a symptom of a regime undergoing metamorphosis from bastardized democracy to outright fascism?

The red-baiting does not only harm democracy, as Vice President Leni Robredo noted, “it politicizes the AFP,” an institution that strove to become professional and respectful of human rights to atone for the sins of Martial Law and reprogram the psyche of  its troops. 

The plot is ludicrous, yes, but the endgame that people discern is no joking matter. Critics says that if you factor in the growing disenchantment, this is a script for the declaration of Martial Law. A set-up for the perpetuation of power.

October is not red. It is grey — the color of hunger and belt-tightening due to the ever-rising prices. Let us not allow the military or Duterte to divert the issue – the economy is going from bad to worse and the poor bear the worst of it.

To the military and police: don’t allow your institutions to be used for a political agenda. Do not target the youth that is our country’s future. Return to what is honorable, true and democratic. That is the oath you swore to.

None of us can say what this generation is capable of. Are they really apathetic? Some say do not underestimate the millennials, they are capable of great things once their passions are ignited. And they have technology at their disposal.  

A millennial we spoke to had this warning, “Duterte and the AFP, there’s a saying in English, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.” – Rappler.com