Protecting youth from Reds secures bright future for PH: Badoy

From the Philippine News Agency (May 26, 2021): Protecting youth from Reds secures bright future for PH: Badoy (By Priam Nepomuceno)

NTF ELCAC spokesperson, Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy (File photo)

The collective action of individuals and groups in preventing the youth from falling prey to the recruitment of communist terrorist groups will help secure a bright future for the country, a spokesperson of the government's anti-insurgency body said on Wednesday.

“If we do not educate our youth and no one would speak the truth about these problems, the future of our nation might be bleak and we would bear the consequence,” National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) spokesperson, Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy said in a statement.

Badoy added that it is incumbent upon the country’s leaders, lawmakers, teachers, and parents to open the eyes of the younger generation and let them know about “the real enemy” of the country – insurgency and armed communism.

In her recent guest appearance at the radio program of Task Force Balik-Loob, “Balik-Loob sa Pagbabago", Badoy said the NTF ELCAC is also focused on keeping the youth safe from the deceptive propaganda of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA).

This is aside from the programs that encourage NPA rebels to return to mainstream society and provide government services to far-flung communities.

She also pointed out that the revelations and testimonies of former rebels (FRs) recruited in their universities, including “Ka Amihan,” “Ka Red” and “Ka Chan-Chan,” who also spoke before a Senate inquiry, must be taken seriously.

Recognizing the intelligence and inquisitiveness of the “millennials and Gen Z,” Badoy also expressed her wish for the youth to be effective leaders in the future by ensuring a more peaceful environment for them.

She added that through the collective effort of various stakeholders, the NPA and the Milisya ng Bayan (MB) will not have additional recruits to beef up their ranks.

Aside from being one of the spokespersons of the NTF ELCAC, Badoy also heads the Strategic Communication Cluster of the national task force.

The NTF ELCAC was created under Executive Order Number 70 and mandated to implement a whole-of-nation approach in ending the local communist armed conflict with good governance as its primary guiding principle.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141525