Bato dela Rosa: NPA recruitment active again under Marcos admin

The recruitment efforts of the New People's Army (NPA) became active again under the administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said Tuesday.

"Nu'ng nag-imbestiga tayo nito, medyo huminto sila sa pag-re-recruit, medyo kumalma, medyo natakot. Ngayong nagbago ang administration parang tila lumakas na naman 'yung loob nila. Nand'yan na naman sila nag-re-recruit," Dela Rosa said during the Senate inquiry into the continuous radicalization and recruitment of students in educational institutions to the local communist terrorist groups.

(Based on our investigation, they slowed down with their recruitment. It seems they became afraid. Under the new administration, however, they are recruiting again.)

"I'm sure very active na naman 'yang mga kabataan 'yung mga student organizations, very active na mga 'yan sila sa recruitment. Hindi lang student kundi pati labor sector," said Dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under the Duterte administration.

(I'm sure youth groups, student organizations are very active again with recruitment. Not just among students but with the labor sector.)

Dela Rosa then appealed for help in addressing recruitment to communist rebel groups.

"Grabe. Kalakasan na naman sila ngayon kaya sana magtutulungan tayo. Hindi 'to kakayanin ng isang chairman lang ng komite, isang senador lang. Hindi ito kakayanin. Tayong lahat dahil, tayo naman, anak naman natin mabibiktima nito, mga apo natin ang mabibiktima. Kaya dapat magkakaisa tayo dito... kawawa 'yung mga bata," he said.

(They are strong again so I hope we all work together to address this. It can't be done by one committee chairman or one senator alone. Everyone needs to help because our children, our grandchildren may be victims. That's why we should unite... our kids will suffer.)

Minors as rebels

In the same hearing, the PNP reported that 168 students were recruited to join communist-terrorist groups from 2014 to 2024.

According to PNP Directorate for Operations Pol. Col. Randy Arceo, 123 students were recruited in colleges and universities, 34 were high school students, and 11 were from elementary schools.

Of this number, 33 students died in police operations, 42 were arrested, and 93 surrendered to authorities.

The PNP data showed that schools with highest numbers of recruited students are Putian National High School in Cuartero, Capiz followed by University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila, UP Manila, and UP Tacloban.

Remaining guerilla fronts

GMA News Online has reached out to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regarding Dela Rosa's statements.

Last April, the National Security Council (NSC) reported that the AFP was working to dismantle the 11 remaining weakened guerilla fronts of the NPA by the end of the year.

For his part, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya expressed thanks to Dela Rosa for calling attention in the Senate hearing that the NPA rebel threat was "still widespread" in educational institutions.

"We are as alarmed as Senator de la Rosa that student recruitment and terror grooming by the CPP-NPA-NDF through its various student as well as teacher front organizations are still persistent and commonplace based on official data from the Philippine National Police (PNP)," Malaya said.

Malaya said the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), was prepared to work with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to address the recruitment issue.

"Schools must immediately be insulated from this persistent threat posed by these front organizations and school authorities have a responsibility to keep them safe especially in school premises," Malaya said, as he called called on parents, families, and schools to ensure that "children do not fall into the trap of terror-grooming, radicalization, and extremism." — VDV/RF, GMA Integrated News