By Veronika Barbosa
TACLOBAN CITY – Progressive groups in Eastern Visayas raised alarm over a red-tagging incident that happened last September 12, 2026 in a symposium led by the 8th Civil Military Operations “Dangpanan (CMO) Battalion inside the Leyte Normal University in Tacloban.
The attendees of the said symposium were students enrolled in the National Service Training Program (NSTP) course mostly composed of first-year students.
According to the accounts of some student attendees, an officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines discouraged them from joining protest actions. “At first, he [the CMO officer] was only talking about the West Philippine Sea, then we were shocked that they started talking about terror grooming and how it is not necessary to criticize the government through mass mobilizations,” said Aya (name withheld for security reasons), an attendee of the symposium.
Aya added that the military officer dissuaded them from joining progressive organizations as it is a form of “terrorist recruitment.” “He said that joining rallies and educational discussions talking about socio-political issues are forms of indoctrination which will eventually lead students to being recruited into the communist rebellion,” Aya told Bulatlat in an interview.
“We were shocked and traumatized when they showed us pictures of dead bodies of rebels who they said were recruited by the New People’s Army by joining rallies,” shared Aya.
Aya added that the military officer flashed pictures of University of the Philippines students “terror-groomed” by mass organizations. “I was alarmed and disappointed [by the redtagging remarks], especially coming from a military officer who is supposed to serve and protect the people,” she said.
The Association of Political Science Students (APSS) of LNU challenged the university administration to look into the reported incident. “We call for the protection of spaces where students can engage in peaceful political discussion, organization, and mobilization without intimidation and unwarranted labeling,” the group said.
In a statement, Pulso han Mag-aaram Paterno, a political organization in LNU, also expressed their condemnation of the incident. “The AFP is actively endangering the lives of student protesters through this blatant redtagging.”
Pulso Paterno argued that even the Supreme Court itself ruled that redtagging directly threatens one’s life, liberty, and security. “Our universities must remain safe havens for critical thought, learning, and the free exchange of ideas, completely insulated from intimidation and harassment,” the group said.
Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas, the local chapter of Karapatan, described the incident as a reflection of a “deeply alarming pattern in which state forces militarize education spaces to advance its counterinsurgency narrative, vilify dissent, and instill fear among young people who dare to question corruption, poverty, and injustice.”
“The AFP’s presence inside schools must not be normalized…the AFP is not a neutral institution, as it wields enormous power and has supported the interests of those who hold political and economic power in the country,” expounded Katungod.
Last year, youth activist Axell Bergula of Kabataan Partylist and former student of LNU was redtagged and visited by two uniformed police officers inside the university premises.
Read: Tacloban Youth activist harassed after November 30 protest
Read: Youth activist, family harassed anew after filing CHR case vs cops
Last January, the 8th CMO posted a video redtagging journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, layworker Marielle Domequil, and Alexander “Chakoy” Abinguna of Tacloban 5.
“The video [of the 8th CMO] maliciously juxtaposes the Tacloban 5 activists with armed rebels and shamelessly instrumentalizes the trumped-up cases that they are facing to “warn” students about the legal consequences of activism,” Katungod SB said.
The Tacloban 5 refers to the five human rights defenders arrested on February 7, 2020 in simultaneous raids in Tacloban City. They have been slapped with fabricated charges. Two of the five have been temporarily released after posting bail. Cumpio and Domequil were acquitted of illegal possession of firearms and explosives but were wrongfully convicted of terror financing charges. Abinguna is facing trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and murder. (RVO)
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