The US-Duterte Regime is mistaken in red-tagging activists and persecuting Duterte’s critics as this will only intensify the people’s rage and its growing resistance against the current fascist, corrupt and puppet regime. It is assuring the broadening of the united front that will bring Duterte to his downfall.

It gives particular attention to the youth to keep them fettered in the Philippine semifeudal and semi-colonial system. In its puppetry to US neoliberal policies, it hijacks the Filipino youth’s future producing a massive reserve army of semi-skilled and cheap contractual workers. They are further victimized by a decadent and rotten culture exposing them to anti-social activities like drugs, violence and gambling.

The state’s paranoia has come to the point of going after students in their schools. Recently, some 18 universities and colleges in Metro Manila have been tagged by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as recruitment grounds of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army (NPA) for its alleged Red October Plot. While here in Negros Philippine Army 303rd Brigade Commander Col. Alberto Desoyo and the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office are threatening to reveal their own list of schools and activists. Already seven names of mass leaders of the legal democratic mass movement in Negros Occidental have been maliciously branded as NPA. The AFP is further cooking up issues misusing the CPP and NPA as scapegoat to justify Duterte’s looming declaration of nationwide martial rule.

The AFP’s intention is clear. Linking the colleges and universities with the CPP and NPA and using this as justification to enter schools for the protection of the students is a pretext to militarization in campuses. This proves that the current reactionary regime can no longer rule the old way and will turn to more violent means to preserve its power. The school administrations, faculty and the students themselves must protest and expose this scheme.

The AFP has long been maligning young activists who choose to serve the people by integrating their lives with the basic masses as brain-washed communists. It mocks them for being pawns of the CPP-NPA. It wants to frighten the youth from standing up for their rights and fighting for the oppressed and exploited. Worse, it has a notorious record of imprisoning, torturing and killing young activists among others. The reactionary court’s conviction of Former Gen. Jovito Palparan for the abduction of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño validates the notoriety of the AFP and fuels the pursuit for justice in making the AFP accountable for all its crimes against the Filipino people.

In truth, the US-Duterte Regime dreads the nationalist youth. In the martial law period and even during Erap’s time as president, young militant activists joining the workers and peasants and other democratic forces were able to overthrow a fascist dictator and an ultimate bureaucrat capitalist.

Young activists like Rachelle Mae Palang, Josephine Lapira and Myles Albasin are role models of the Filipino youth. They are only some of the best sons and daughters who truly serve the people, forgoing their comfortable life to join the exploited classes. The true nationalist youth aspires economic and political freedom not only for themselves nor their families but for the whole nation. They are unwavering and determined in facing sacrifices for their country. They have dedicated their lives to the basic masses in the factories and the urban poor and peasant areas. Because of the conditions resulting from the semifeudal and semi-colonial system, many of them found that genuine freedom can only be achieved through armed struggle. Therefore, the worsening crisis under the US-Duterte regime itself drives the youth to the road of revolution.

In the coming golden anniversary of the CPP, the Apolinario Gatmaitan Command salutes the revolutionary youth who has contributed to the great victories of the Party in its 50 year experience of waging revolution. For the youth of the present generation, as successors of the future and as part of the oppressed and exploited Filipino people, it is rightful for you to join the NPA and together with the broad exploited masses overthrow the US-Duterte Regime and carry the people’s democratic revolution to greater heights until its complete victory.###