Organizations in Cebu condemned the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for intrusion and recruitment at the University of San Carlos (USC) campus on February 17. Students report that the “recruitment” was carried out in a class where the AFP boasted of its “good activities” and “patriotism”.

The Student Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (STAND)-USC is outraged at the university administration for allowing the AFP to enter its campus. The group says this amounts to militarization of the campus and terrorizes students given the barefaced fascist and bloody record of the AFP in human rights violations.

“This is allowed … while the administration has yet to answer students’ queries on the increasing armed police presence in the university the past few months,” STAND-USC said. They demand the administration to speak on the issue and explain its collusion with the police and the military and allowing them to enter what should be safe and peaceful spaces of learning.

Meanwhile, the League of Filipino Students (LFS)-Cebu denounced AFP activities and for hiding itself under the banner of “patriotism” while committing heinous crimes. The group said the AFP is the primary perpetrator in cases of murder, abduction, arrests and multiple crimes against activists, progressives and critics of the government. These include the cases of abduction of organizers Dyan Gumanao and Armand Dayoha.

They added the AFP and Philippine police do not have the slightest bit of patriotism because of their puppetry and subservience to the command of US imperialism. “It is clear that the AFP is nothing more than a mercenary force working for the interests of US imperialism and domestic fascism,” LFS-Cebu added.