Thursday, August 15, 2019

Joining militant groups waste of time: ex-journo

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 15, 2019): Joining militant groups waste of time: ex-journo



DECEPTION. A young soldier distributes reading materials illustrating the deception strategies of communist rebels. The Philippine Army has been raising awareness among students to save them from recruitment activities of communist rebels and their supporters. (Photo courtesy of 14th Infantry Battalion)

After joining progressive groups, a former journalist asked students not to entertain the idea of embracing the ideology of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPPA-NPA).

Lottie Salarda, a freelance writer from Leyte, said joining anti-government organizations as a student and as a professional is one of her biggest regrets in life.

“They’re easy to criticize the government, but never appreciated the initiatives of any administration to help the poor. That’s their propaganda,”
Salarda said in a phone interview Thursday.


To escape from family problems, she joined the League of Filipino Students in 2007 until she earned a political science degree at the Leyte Colleges in Tacloban City in 2008.

“Students should be aware that recruiters from left-leaning groups enter the campus as regular student and befriend you, but their main intention is to persuade you to participate in anti-government protests and eventually join armed struggle,” Salarda recalled.

After graduation, she became the host of a radio program paid for by a left-leaning church group. She also studied law and completed the course in 2013.

As a journalist from 2009 to 2017, she admitted that most of her stories are framed to criticize government programs.

She worked as a media safety officer of the National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP) from March to December 2018, where one of her tasks is to document media killings in the country. NUJP is one of the groups tagged by former rebels as supporters of CPP-NPA.

“Every time a journalist is killed, NUJP blames the government. If we got reports from authorities that the crime is solved, the NUJP doesn’t appreciate it and they don’t even bother to write the story. I was upset, left the organization, and fully abandoned the left-leaning ideology,” Salarda said.

After leaving NUJP, she has been vocal against the CPP-NPA through her social media account. She is now based in Quezon City as a freelance writer.

“We have to help save the lives of our young people by raising awareness of the recruitment strategies of the enemies of the government. In poor communities, some are being recruited by the left-leaning groups, but they’re not aware that they’re becoming victims,” Salarda added.

The issue of CPP-NPA recruitment was revived after some parents complained that their children have been missing after joining progressive groups.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1077907

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