MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines claimed that the Communist Party of the Philippines is recruiting students from 18 Metro Manila-based schools for its so-called “Red October” plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Philippine National Police, on the other hand, said they do not have intelligence information on this alleged recruitment by the rebels.
CPP members hold in the schools film showings about the dark years of martial law under the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to incite rebellion among students, according to Brigadier General Antonio Parlade Jr., AFP deputy chief of staff for operations.
Parlade identified the schools as University of the Philippines Diliman, UP Manila, Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Santa Mesa, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, Adamson University, Far Eastern University, University of the East Recto;
UE Caloocan, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, San Beda College, Lyceum of the Philippines, University of Makati, Caloocan City College (now University of Caloocan), University of Manila, and Philippine Normal University.
“May ongoing film showing sila about the dark years of [martial law] sa mga class to incite students to rebel against the government, incite the resurgence of the First Quarter Storm experience among students, while projecting (Duterte) as the new Marcos,” said Parlade.
During a budget hearing at the Senate on Tuesday General Carlito Galvez Jr., AFP chief of staff, claimed that at least 10 universities in Metro Manila have allegedly been organized by a broad CPP-led coalition for the so-called “Red October” plot.
The plot, Galvez claimed, is a combined armed and legal struggle by the CPP using the broad coalition among all opposition, including the youth or students and the labor sector, in the hope of unseating Duterte.
“What students do not know is that, once the CPP wins this campaign, it will establish a proletarian dictatorship similar to the one established by communist revolutionary Pol Pot when his party Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia in the 1970s,” he added.
Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana, PNP spokesman, said they plan to coordinate with the schools the Armed Forces named to prevent communists from infiltrating them.
“We will communicate first with the AFP before coordinating with school administrators,” Durana said on Thursday. “To admit, we have no intelligence information regarding the alleged recruitment of communists in schools.”/PN
