Anakbayan-Southern Mindanao condemned National Task Force (NTF)-Elcac and its paid agents for spreading lies and Red-tagging in a forum at Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) on October 11. The NTF-Elcac repeated its worn-out stories that Anakbayan, Gabriela Youth, League of Filipino Students, Kabataan Partylist, and other legitimate organizations are fronts of the revolutionary movement.
NTF-Elcac Undersecretary Ernesto Torres, the Ariane Jane “Marikit” Ramos, president of the military-run group Kalinaw-SEMR, and mercenary soldier Daniel “Stephen” Castillo spewed garbage in the forum. They were invited by AdDU to a forum titled “Legacies of Violence and Transitional Justice in the Philippines”.
Anakbayan-Southern Mindanao emphasized that their organization has been fighting for the democratic rights of marginalized sectors for 25 years. Anakbayan was established on November 30, 1998.
“As a regional chapter, we have stood with jeepney drivers in their fight against jeepney phaseout…we initiated campaigns for a liveable wage and regularization for workers in Davao City,” the group said. They also stood up for the rights of students to education and academic freedom in schools and universities. The group added that it has continued to uphold its constitution and its struggle for national democracy.
Despite this, Anakbayan has repeatedly faced Red-tagging and terrorist labeling from state forces. They condemned Torres for his so-called “truth telling” which is just a facade for linking legitimate organizations to the armed movement.
“They are hypocrites for calling themselves as ‘truth-tellers’ and ‘promoters of peace’ while villainizing those who seek to expose state injustices as ‘enemies of democracy’ and propagate terror-tagging,” Anakbayan-Southern Mindanao said.
The group threw back at Torres the truth that the number one recruiter of Filipino youth to the armed revolution is the government itself. “They must know that unless the state addresses the systemic problems of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism that lead to the agitation among the youth, the youth will continue to fight,” Anakbayan-Southern Mindanao said.
