The Philippine military and police have revealed that the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has been infiltrating and recruiting students from various universities and colleges in the country.
This came after a young female lawyer, who was a former student of the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu, was killed in a clash with government forces in Bilar, Bohol on Friday.
According to the authorities, Hannah Jay Cesista, who passed the bar exam in 2023, was among the five suspected NPA rebels who died in the encounter.
She was also known by the aliases “Maya” and “Lean”, and was a member of the NPA’s Bohol Party Committee-Defunct, Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor (BPC [D] KR-NCBS).
She was reportedly involved in the NPA’s propaganda and legal activities in Cebu and Bohol.
The military and police said that Cesista was a product of the NPA’s recruitment scheme in the campuses, where they lure students with videos of human rights violations and portray government leaders as tyrants.
They said that the NPA has been targeting students from at least 18 schools in Metro Manila, including UP Diliman, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, UP Cebu, and Far Eastern University.
They also claimed that the NPA has been using some professors and student organizations as fronts for their recruitment.
The schools, however, have denied the allegations and said that they do not promote or condone any violent overthrow of the government.
They also asserted their academic freedom and independence from the state and other social institutions.
The NPA, which has been waging a protracted guerrilla war against the government since the 1960s, is considered a terrorist organization by the Philippines, the United States, and the European Union.
The peace talks between the government and the CPP-NPA have been stalled since 2017, amid mutual accusations of ceasefire violations and human rights abuses.