An Ateneo High School students group denounced the field trip which took students to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) camps on January 16. The military brought Grade 11 students to Naval Station Pascual Ledesma and Naval Base Heracleo Alano in Cavite City.

According to the Makabayang Pagkakaisa ng mga Atenista–High School (MAPA-HS), this is not the first time Ateneo High School has partnered with the AFP for field trips. In 2024, the AFP also took high school students to Camp Capinpin, headquarters of the 2nd ID, in Tanay, Rizal.

MAPA-HS expressed deep concern over these field trips, saying the AFP uses its military camps for the illegal detention of activists and other civilians.

The group added that aside from field trips, programs and forums on campus promoting “anti-terror grooming” have become widespread, as these discussions are undertaken supposedly to prevent radicalization and terrorism. MAPA-HS said these talks echo the well-known arguments of state forces such as the AFP and the National Task Force–Elcac, which use such fora to red-tag mass organizations and progressive individuals as terrorists.

The group pointed out that the field trip was held only weeks after the AFP’s violent and brutal bombing of communities in Barangay Cabacao, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro on January 1. Karapatan–Southern Tagalog reported that the bombing killed at least four individuals, including three Mangyan-Iraya children.

MAPA-HS said Ateneo must cancel all activities involving the military in light of these events. Only then can the university reclaim its commitment to academic freedom and social justice, the group said.

The group’s call followed just days after Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) students protested to demand the junking of the ADMU–AFP cooperation declaration. One Big Fight for Human Rights and Democracy (OBFHRD) reiterated the call at a campus protest in Quezon City on January 8.

The declaration was signed by ADMU and the AFP on September 19, 2025. According to OBFHRD, the declaration violates the principles of democracy and academic freedom. It added that the AFP’s intrusion into the campus is clearly framed within the Marcos regime’s National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD), which is tightly linked to the counterinsurgency campaign.