Bloodstained Barriers

Crizel Cabatan

Political participation among Filipino youth has been particularly tough during the last six years, leading up to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. rise to power. The abduction and abuse of student activist Alicia Lucena, exemplifies the grim reality of youth-led movements in the Philippines. Cases like this, however, are not uncommon. Despite the historic involvement of Filipino youth in informal forms of political participation, these efforts, all the same, are often met with not-so-invisible barriers within the system.

The Political participation of the Filipino youth has played a historic role in reshaping the Philippine politics and democracy. It is worth noting that youth movements formed a collective action that fought for civil rights back in the glory of the infamous Martial Law under former president Ferdinand Marcos’ term. Now, as if history repeats itself, the freedom of speech is yet again demonized.As a result of the precedent the Duterte Administration has created almost every civic participation, protest, dissent, or opinion opposing government policies are susceptible to subjective defamation or red-tagging under the current Marcos regime. With that being said, youth groups and activists are often the target of propaganda networks and even government task forces. Student activist Alicia Lucena, who revealed that she had been abducted and abused by her own family— that has been used by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed

Parallel Outlook

Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to vilify youth activists, for nearly four months is just one of many individuals who had been falsely accused and stigmatized under Duterte’s term. Prior to Lucena, Ana Patricia Non— the student behind the renowned community pantry concept, had also been red-tagged and profiled by the NTF-ELCAC along with other community pantries across the country.

Since its inception , there had been numerous complaints against NTFELCAC’s malicious claims and misleading information. In response to this, several lawmakers passed resolutions— such as House Bill No. 9437, to criminalize red-tagging. However, the task force remains on its place untouched.

Perhaps the most ironic aspect of it all is that these stigmas are being led by a government task force. It is not to say that there are no reds— the communists and terrorists do exist. However, the process of profiling and publicizing of government task forces such as NTF-