Sponsorship Speech

COMMITTEE REPORT 10
Senate Resolution 38

SLIDE 1 (SAGOT KITA)

SLIDE 2 (COMMITTEE REPORT)

Mr. President, I stand before this August body, to sponsor

Committee Report no. 10 containing Senate Resolution No. 38
entitled

SLIDE 3 (PS RESOLUTION)

“Resolution directing the Senate Committees on Public

Order and Dangerous Drugs and National Security and
Defense to Conduct an Inquiry, in Aid of Legislation, on Missing
Minors who are Allegedly Recruited by Leftist Groups as their
Members and Fighters to the Detriment of the Welfare of said
Minors, with the End in View of Recommending Measures that
will Ensure Peace and Promote the Welfare of Children.”
Ginoong Pangulo, napakahalaga ng Committee Report na ito
sapagkat ang paksa na nakapaloob sa Report ay tungkol sa

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hinaing ng mga magulang hinggil sa nawawala nilang mga anak,
at ang pangkalahatang kapakanan ng mga kabataang
Pilipino.
SLIDE 4 (WHERE ARE OUR
DAUGHTERS)

Last 23rd of July, 2019, a group of parents came to my office

to share their sentiments and agony over their missing
daughters, most of whom are minors. According to the painful
recounts of the mothers, their daughters were enrolled in their
respective schools as Senior High School students. Everything
was in order, or at least, so the unsuspecting mothers thought.
However, what appeared as interesting school activities for their
children, turned out to be recruitment schemes employed by
“student leaders” who, in reality, were enlisting young, active,
naïve, vulnerable young students as members of leftleaning
organizations. Taking advantage of the susceptibility and
curiosity of the youth, the recruiters induced these minors to
leave and abandon their schools and homes, and to devote their
time to support the advocacies of their organizations whose
philosophies tend towards the revolutionary movement.

SLIDE 5
(NAGBAGO PO ANG AMING ANAK…)

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 The journey that your Committee traversed was emotionally
laden. The mothers agonizingly recalled how they saw the
drastic changes in their daughters’ behavior. From being timid,
industrious and respectful, their daughters gradually exhibited
aggressive and resentful manners, and became easily agitated
upon hearing social issues. Suddenly, their daughters’
whereabouts became a source of daily stress. Communications
became less frequent. Fabricated alibis ran from so-called
leadership trainings, fora, and seminars, just to be away from
home for a number of days. Then days became weeks, and
weeks became months, until some of these minors were
nowhere to be found.

SLIDE 6 (SENATE INVESTIGATION)

That is what precisely brings us here, in the very walls of

this Session Hall, where I now stand before you, imploring you
to think, see, and feel, not only as Senators of the country, but
also, and more importantly, as parents and guardians to our
children.

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 Ginoong Pangulo, hindi natin lubos maisip ang pighati ng
mga magulang na nawawalan ng mga anak. Walang gamot ang
makapagpapagaling sa sakit na nararamdaman ng isang
magulang kung mawalay ang anak niya, lalo’t walang
kasiguraduhan sa kanyang kaligtasan.

In their desperation to look for their daughters, these

mothers searched through each nook and cranny of every street
just to find traces of their presence. But everyone knows that no
matter where the search may lead, a mother’s heart is always
drawn back to her beloved brood.

SLIDE 7
(WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR CHILDREN?)

We could hardly imagine the shock and dismay of these

mothers when they saw and discovered their young daughters,
now undernourished and grimy, in the middle of the streets
participating in rallies, holding banners and placards, and
provocatively chanting tirades against the Government. These
mothers could barely recognize their own daughters. Suddenly
they realized that their daughters had transformed into different

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persons, and were no longer the same innocent children whom
they nurtured and cared for all these years.

But what could have triggered this sudden twist of fate?

SLIDE 8
(PROTESTERS)

Ginoong Pangulo, ayon sa mga salaysay ng mga magulang

ng mga nawawalang bata, at ayon na din sa mga larawan na
nakita nila sa Facebook accounts ng kanilang mga anak, ang
mga anak nila ay hinikayat ng mga miyembro at opisyales ng
Kabataan Partylist, Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, at
Gabriela Youth, na sumanib sa kanilang organisasyon, at
suportahan ang makakaliwang adhikain tungo sa armadong
pakikibaka laban sa pamahalaan.

SLIDE 9 (AOM)

Mr. President, your Committee unraveled, through its

investigations, the deceptive pattern employed by Kabataan
Partylist, Anakbayan, and the other leftleaning groups, in making
rebels out of our young students.

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 The representatives of these groups prey upon the youth
sector, particularly young students who are most vulnerable to
fall into the pit of their deception. Yung mga estudyante na hindi
nakakaangat sa estado ng buhay, yung mga may galit sa mga
magulang, yung mga may pinagdadaanan na pagsubok sa
pamilya, eto ang mga target ng mga makakaliwang grupo na
hikayatin na maging miyembro ng kanilang samahan. Marahil
dahil sa madaling mahikayat at maniwala ang mga estudyante
na may pinagdadaanan sa buhay, kung kaya’t sila ang
pinupuntirya ng mga makakaliwang grupo na maging kasapi nila.

In the guise of lectures, fora, or seminars, representatives

of these left-leaning groups would discuss to young students
some academic issues like tuition fee increases, student
representation on policy-making bodies, and the like. Then, the
discussions escalate to more serious social, political and
economic problems such as massive unemployment,
suppression and violation of individual rights, steady price hike
of commodities, among others. This is the stage where these
representatives indoctrinate the students in the belief that the
Government is not responsive to the needs of the people, and
that poverty is embedded into the system. They inculcate into

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the young minds of our students that the only way to eliminate
social ills is to defy the duly constituted authorities, and raise
arms.
Dito na magsisimula ang baluktot na pag iisip at pananaw
ng mga kabataan hinggil sa pamunuan ng ating pamahalaan.
Dito na sila maghahanap ng paraan upang lumahok sa
pakikibaka ng mga makakaliwang grupo. Eto ang simula ng
pagsanib ng mga estudyante sa mga rally at protesta laban sa
pamahalaan. Dito lalong pinaiigting ng mga makakaliwang
grupo ang interes ng kabataan na sumanib sa kanilang samahan
upang lalong maintindihan ang sakit sa lipunan. Aabot sa
puntong hihikayatin ang ating mga kabataan na sumama sa
kabundukan kung saan makikisalamuha sila sa mga maralita at
danasin ang buhay ng pakikibaka.

Mr. President, this is where our young students are

immersed into the life and struggles in and of the countryside.
This is the stage where they personally deal with the farmers,
peasants and their respective families, and experience the
struggles of daily living. Their recruiters take advantage of this
phase where they indoctrinate the minds of our students in the
perceived inability of the Government to alleviate the plight of the
poverty-stricken communities. Unbeknownst to these young

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students, they are now actually dealing face to face with the
members of the New People’s Army who are all too happy to
have new recruits in their midst.
SLIDE 10 (SAVE OUR YOUTH)

Ginoong Pangulo, sa puntong ito, namumulat na ang mata

at isip ng ating mga kabataan na napasama sa kabundukan sa
reyalidad na kanilang kinakaharap. Dito nila mararanasan ang
hirap at pasakit sa buhay na kanilang pinili. Sa mga kabataang
nakabalik sa buhay estudyante, sila ay nagiging lider ng
organisasyon sa kanilang paaralan at inaatasang manghikayat
pa ng mas marami pang estudyante na sumanib sa kanilang
grupo, at tanggapin ang mga adhikaing makakaliwa.

Ngunit meron din namang tuluyan nang isinabuhay ang

ideolohiya ng pag-aaklas at pagtutol sa polisiya ng Gobyerno.
Sila ang nagiging “hardcore” members ng komunistang grupo,
na isinasapuso ang rebolusyonaryong pag-iisip.

News reports tell us that according to the Department of

Interior and Local Government, some 500 to 1,000 young people
are being recruited by communist rebels every year. The number
is not just a cause for alarm, Mr. President. The number is

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practically a wake-up call, rousing us from the sleep of
complacent policies and overly trusting parenthood.

On the brighter side, not all student activists who embraced

the life in the countryside have reached the point of no return.
Luckily for some young students, they have realized that living a
life of armed struggles is not the solution to the social ills, and
that the revolutionary life is nothing but an empty promise of a
better life. It is unfortunate, however, that the ‘normal life’ they
wish to return to is often no longer there.

Karamihan sa ating mga kabataan na sumanib sa

makakaliwang grupo ay na-brainwash na ng mga miyembro ng
NPA na hindi na sila maaaring bumaba ng kabundukan at
bumalik sa kani-kanilang mga pamilya. Ito ay sa kadahilanang
sila’y natukoy na ng mga militar, kung kaya’t sila ay maaari nang
arestuhin, ikulong, pahirapan, at patayin. Sa takot na
mapahamak pa, ang iba ay nagtitiis na lamang sa buhay-NPA,
at pinili na lang mamuhay nang patuloy na nakikibaka, at sa
kasawiang palad, ang iba ay napapatay sa engkwentro sa
militar.

Mr. President, the scenario presented in this Committee

Report is not new. It is unfortunate that the recruitment of young

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students by communist groups has been a vicious cycle for many
years now. But why do they go after the young generation? Why
victimize the juvenile minds whose spring of ideas is unsullied
and incorruptible? Why exploit the future of the youth by instilling
revolutionary philosophies of defiance, armed struggle and
radicalism?

The answers we have for these questions, Mr. President,

may not be final, but they are plausible, and they are reliable.
Your committee surmises that the central reason to why the
youth are being targeted lies in their vulnerability to
indoctrination, especially in accepting an ideological system that
they thought was the perfect answer to society’s struggles.

Ginoong Pangulo, hindi lingid sa kaalaman ng mga tao ang

presensya at impluwensya ng lider ng Communist Party of the
Philippines na si Jose Maria Sison. Ayon sa mga paguulat, siya,
na dati ring aktibista, ang nagbibigay ng direktiba sa mga
kaalyadong organisasyon – dapat mas lalong paigtingin ang
panghihikayat sa ating mga kabataan na sumanib sa mga
aktibidad ng kanilang grupo. Sa ganitong paraan, lalong dadami
ang kanilang mga kasapi, lalong lalawak ang paglaganap ng
kanilang pilosopiya, at lalong lalakas ang armadong pakikibaka

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sa ating bansa. At nagagawa nila ito sa pamamagitan ng mga
nagpapakilalang lider ng aktibistang organisasyon ng mga
kabataan at estudyante.

Ganito ang nangyari sa ating mga estudyante’t anak, at ang

kanilang kuwento ang nakapaloob sa Committee Report na
inihain ko sa Senado. Ang kuwento ng mga menor de edad na
estudyanteng nahikayat na sumanib sa Kabataan Partylist, sa
grupong Anakbayan, at sa League of Filipino Students, na hindi
na bumalik sa kani-kanilang mga magulang, at ngayon ay
patuloy na hinahanap ng kani-kanilang pamilya.

SLIDE 11 (STUDENT ACTIVISM -

WHITE)

Lest we be misunderstood, allow me Mr. President to

emphasize that being an activist does not necessarily equate to
being a communist. School activism is, by all means, a positive
step towards the enlightenment of young minds to the various
social maladies, and the corresponding action of the
Government and its citizenry in responding to the needs and
welfare of the people. Hence, the democratic right to express
one’s opposition to the Government and its leaders is more than
accepted; it is gravely important.

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 SLIDE 12
(STUDENT ACTIVISM – ORANGE)

The right to express one’s beliefs in how to manage the

affairs of the State should never be curtailed nor suppressed.

However, the corresponding actions done pursuant to one’s

ideology should never be at the expense of the rights and welfare
of others, especially our young people, whose innocence should
not be exploited by the leftist groups. The directive to focus on
the youth as the buffer zone for revolutionary movement should
be condemned. It is definitely not worth the sacrifice. Many of
our young people have already lost their lives by being at the
frontline of the armed revolution. These were the same youth
who had promising futures, who led brilliant academic lives, and
who were cared for by their families, until they were recruited by
the wrong people who led them towards the road to perdition.

SLIDE 13
(Admin Recommendations)

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 Mr. President, there are several administrative and
legislative recommendations in the Committee Report submitted
for consideration by this August Chamber.

First, we must increase and intensify the internal security

enforcement in schools, taking into account CHED
Memorandum Order 09, Series of 2013, entitled Enhanced
Policies and Guidelines on Student Affairs and Services,
specifically section 28, Safety and Security Services, and DepEd
Order 44, Series of 2005, or the Declaration of Schools as Zones
of Peace.
SLIDE 14
(POLICE VISIBILITY)

Second, we must increase police visibility in school

premises, with the reasonable number of police forces at an
acceptable designated time. We value the right of expression
and academic freedom. However, the exercise of these rights
should not be at the expense of the rights and interests of the
youth who may end up as armed combatants by insurgent
groups.

SLIDE 15
(STUDENT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM)

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 Third, there must be stringent regulations on the issuance
of student identification cards in schools. Schools must adopt an
efficient, reliable, and secured identification system.

SLIDE 16
(IMPLEMENT DepEd and CHED ORDERS)

Fourth, there must be a strict implementation of DepEd

Order No. 66, series of 2017 or the Implementing Guidelines on
the Conduct of Off-Campus Activities, and CHED Memorandum
Order 63, series of 2017 or the Policies and Guidelines on Local
Off-Campus Activities. School authorities should observe due
diligence in the conduct of off-campus activities; otherwise,
administrative sanctions will be imposed.

SLIDE 17
(LIABILITIES OF TEACHERS)

Fifth, CHED and DepEd should look into the possible

liabilities of school administration and teachers of the universities
and colleges where the minors are enrolled. Furthermore, CHED
should likewise look into the reported continuing recruitment of

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students in Higher Education Institutions to determine liabilities
of the school administration and teachers.

SLIDE 18
(AFP AND PNP FORA)

Sixth, the AFP and the PNP shall conduct seminars or

lectures to students and parents on “Arouse, Organize,
Mobilize”, and career orientation in the law enforcement sector
in order to encourage students to pursue studying law
enforcement related courses.

SLIDE 19
(REVIEW CURRICULA)

Seventh, DepEd and CHED must exercise regulatory and

supervisory powers in reviewing schools’ curricula, syllabus and
Daily Lesson Log, to ensure that values of patriotism, cultural
enrichment and historical preservation are taught in schools. An
exception is granted to those private higher education institutions
that are autonomous or have deregulated status, pursuant to
CHED Memorandum Order 52, Series of 2006.

SLIDE 20

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 (INVESTIGATE TEACHERS)

Eighth, an Administrative Order must be issued by the

CHED and DepEd, mandating school administrators to initiate
thorough administrative investigations against teachers who
instigate their students to join rallies and demonstrations
advocating radical or subversive ideologies. And as a result of
said investigations, administrative sanctions should be meted
out against the teachers, if the facts and evidence warrant.

SLIDE 21
(DEBRIEFING PROGRAMS)

Ninth, there must be an adoption of psychological de-

briefing and de-radicalization programs by the DSWD, PNP, and
AFP for the recruited and indoctrinated minors and students.

SLIDE 22
(INVESTIGATE RECRUITERS)

Tenth, further investigation of the recruiters of the minors

should be done for possible filing of criminal charges.

SLIDE 23

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 (INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE)

Eleventh, an Inter-Agency Task Force shall be created for

the search and rescue of missing students who are believed to
be recruited by leftist groups. The task force shall be composed
of DepEd, CHED, AFP, PNP, DSWD, CHR other government
agencies and private institutions. The task force shall closely
coordinate with the National Task Force to End Local Communist
Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

SLIDE 24
(LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS)

Mr. President, as part of the legislative recommendations,

your Committee endorses the following: amendment to RA
11188 or the Special Protection of Children in Situations of
Armed Conflict, to expand coverage of recruitment of children in
armed conflict to include students recruited by insurgent groups
in schools.

SLIDE 25
(RA 9208)
Likewise, amendment to RA 9208 or the Anti Trafficking in
Persons Act of 2003, must be introduced, in order to include as

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“qualified trafficking in persons” the recruitment of children as
armed combatants.

Furthermore, RA 7610 or the Special Protection of Children

Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, should be
amended in order to include in the definition of “child trafficking”,
the recruitment, indoctrination, and immersion of children in
communist-insurgent movements and activities.

SLIDE 26
(RA 9372)

Also, it is important to amend RA 9372 or the Human

Security Act, by including within the ambit of the definition of
“terrorism”, any criminal act committed pursuant to a subversive
dogma, in order to coerce the government to give in to an
unlawful demand.

Equally necessary is the amendment to RA 7941 or the

Party List System Act by mandating the outright refusal or
cancellation of registration of any national, regional, or sectoral
party, organization or coalition that advocates subversive
dogma, and pursuant thereof, undertakes criminal acts towards
this goal.

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 SLIDE 27
(OTHER LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS)

In addition to the aforementioned amendments, we must

institutionalize the preventive measures that would protect the
youth from being recruited as members of revolutionary
organizations.
SLIDE 28
(DepEd Memorandum)

Moreover, DepEd Memorandum Order 66, Series of 2017,

that regulates co-curricular and extra-curricular off campus
activities, providing penalties in case of violation thereof, must
be also institutionalized.
SLIDE 29
(SUPPORT TASK FORCE)

And lastly, it is essential to support the National Task Force

to End Local Communist Armed Conflict created under
Executive Order 70 by providing the necessary funds for the
implementation of its programs.

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 These proposals, hopefully, will address the urgent issues
at hand, and will add another layer of protection for the Filipino
youth.

We are also encouraged, Mr. President, by the fact that

after the hearings conducted by the Committee, there were a
series of successful operations done by the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and the Philippine National Police, retrieving several
minors who had already been recruited by the leftist groups. The
minors were found in the midst of ammunition and explosives,
and not to mention a strong atmosphere of resistance and
rebellion. If there is to be a noble end to these operations and
this retrieval, Mr. President, it is that they underscore the need to
protect our youth, or better yet, the need to become better
parents and guardians to our youth.

SLIDE 30
(FILIPINO YOUTH)

As Chairman of your Committee on Public Order and

Dangerous Drugs, I humbly submit this report to you my dear
colleagues, as I beg you to join me in this crusade in saving our
youth from the snares of the duplicitous and deceptive leftist

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groups who use our youth for violent ends. Think of your own
children, nephews and nieces, or even the ordinary children you
see on the streets, who are all potential victims of recruitment by
these revolutionary organizations and their leaders. Yes, we
share our children to the world for them to explore what lies
beyond the corners of our homes and schools. But we always
provide protective shields for them so that they will not to be
taken advantage of, and have their own freedom snatched away
from them.

The lives of our youth are worth our sacrifices. Let us lead
them to the right path. Let us teach them how to choose their
battles wisely, to fight the kind of battles that build up humanity,
rather than those that destroy and eat away at the fabric of our
communities. Let our fight be their guide, today and in the years
to come.

SLIDE 31 (SAGOT KITA)

Maraming salamat po.

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