Members and supporters of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, most of them wearing red shirts and red kerchiefs over their faces, display placards during a brief rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila in a show of force in Manila in March 2017. AP/Bullit Marquez, file
ILOCOS SUR, Philippines — The military held a Youth Leadership Summit in Candon City over the weekend to recruit future soldiers and counter the influence of so-called communist front organizations.
Candon City, among the economically developed cities in the Ilocos region, is threatened by the influence of organizations allied with the Communist Party of the Philippines, the Philippine Army said.
It is also where government troops recently recovered food depots and other guerrilla supplies, said Lt. Col. Julio Osias, commander of the Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur-based 81st Infantry Battalion.
The YLS, which had at least 65 participants, was meant to "promote awareness on deceiving issues and activities of lawless groups and organizations particularly the CPP, [New People's Army], [National Democratic Front of the Philippines]," Osias said.
The NDFP represents the rebels in peace talks with the government. President Rodrigo Duterte last week issued a proclamation cancelling the peace talks, which had been restarted in 2016 after breaking down in 2013 during the Aquino administration.
The summit was also meant "to prepare the youth to become active responders to (emergencies)."
Most of the young men who came were from the barangays in Candon where supposed rebels have been visiting, the military said.
PA seeks 500 new soldiers from Ilocos
The Philippine Army wants to recruit at least 500 soldiers from the Ilocos Region.
"Upon completing the necessary requirements for training, they will be able to serve in the Philippine Army, one of the noblest professions," added Osias.
Maj. Gen. Felimon Santos Jr, commander of Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division said, “How they can serve best their locality is one of the objectives of the YLS. The Army will help the locals making their youth responsible leaders of their own community.”
"YLS is designed to harness the leadership potentials of the youth. It will also direct the youth to the correct path that will protect them from the evil forces like drugs, crimes, and communist ideology," explained Col. Henry Robinson Jr., commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade.
“We cannot deny the fact that Candon City has been infiltrated by left-leaning organizations,” Lt. Col. Osias admitted, while warning, “if this will remain, the economic growth of the city will be affected as the peace and order becomes unstable.”
President Duterte has recently threatened to have members of so-called communist front organizations arrested as terrorists, a move that activists fear will mean a crackdown on dissent in the country.
The national democratic movement believes that imperialism, a feudal agricultural system, and "bureaucrat capitalism" — the use of government resources and structures by the ruling class to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of the people — has kept most of the Philippines poor despite the country being rich in natural resources.
Membership in or support of a national democratic activist organization does not mean membership in the Communist Party of the Philippines or the New People's Army.
READ: Why Duterte's 'red-baiting' of activists is dangerous
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