Intense Red-tagging forced two student leaders of the Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante (NKE) at the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu to withdraw their candidacy for the campus student council elections last week. They and the NKE UP Cebu became targets of Red-tagging by state forces following the martyrdom of their alumna Dee Supelanas (Ka Dahlia), a Red fighter.

Supelanas was among those called the Kabankalan 7 who were martyred in the overkill operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the morning of April 27 in Barangay Tapi, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.

Before serving as a Red fighter, Supelanas was an NKE UP Cebu student leader. She led campaigns for education, social services, democratic rights, and the fight against tyranny and fascism. She served as UP Cebu student council leader, became National Union of Students of the Philippines-Cebu coordinator, and served as KASAMA sa UP secretary general for membership. She was also nominated to become the 38th UP Student Regent.

According to NKE UP Cebu, the two candidates and their families experienced intense anxiety after a social media post was released containing the names and photos of the candidates, implicating them in the armed revolutionary movement. The party admitted that their decision was not easy, but they respect and understand the feelings of the two candidates.

“The AFP and PNP are relentless in their attacks toward progressive individuals, formations, organizations, and institutions,” according to the party. It said that within the framework of militarization and Red-tagging, state forces are dismantling academic freedom and depriving the youth of space to think critically and organize.

The party emphasized that students and the UP Cebu administration must continue to condemn these attacks and hold those behind the harassment accountable. In connection with this, on May 8, NKE UP Cebu formally submitted a letter to the Student Electoral Board (SEB) of UP Cebu regarding the Red-tagging they experienced during the campaign.

“The Red-tagging of student leaders must never be taken lightly; it is a prelude to greater forms of repression that we must collectively resist,” the party stated. They urge the SEB to investigate and immediately act on the Red-tagging, report the case to the appropriate officials of UP Cebu, and issue a statement condemning Red-tagging.

Red-tagging and similar tactics of the AFP and the National Task Force-Elcac spring from and are based on the US doctrine of “countering violent extremism” (CVE). Any idea considered a “threat” to the ruling system is labeled as “extremism” or “radical ideology.” CVE is used as a cover to suppress all forms of expression and resistance to the state.