‘Ka Eric’ tags Iloilo campuses as rebels’ recruitment grounds

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

Former Ilonggo activist and now National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) asset Jeffrey “Ka Eric Almendras” Celiz tagged anew four universities in Iloilo as hotbeds of recruitment by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

In a publicly attended and live streamed press conference Dec 10, 2020 at the Passi City Arena, Celiz, without offering any proof, said that the two University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) campuses in Iloilo City and Miag-ao, Iloilo; his alma mater West Visayas State University; and the Iloilo Science and Technology University remain cradles of rebel recruitment operations in Panay Island.

“Ang mga paaralan na ‘yan ay pinupugaran ng recruitment hanggang ngayon,” he said.

But Celiz denied red tagging or linking the institutions to the communist insurgents.

“Kung mayroong dapat i-criminalize ang gobyerno, it’s not the red tagging because red tagging is a concoction and invention of the CPP-NPA,” he said.

Instead, the government should run after the recruitment and recruiters “because they are the ones who are pretending to be leading the open organizations and open alliances but actually, they are operatives and functionaries of the underground movement of the CPP,” Celiz claimed.

“This is not red tagging. Ito ay patuloy na pagbubunyag,” he said.

Celiz added that Panay Island is “special” because it is one of the last vestiges of CPP operations that remain active.

“We started here,” he said referring to his earlier claims that he was recruited while being a staff of a campus paper.

He again accused leftist organization Bayan-Panay as one of the most persistent recruiters of the NPA.

“Again, this is not red tagging. This is unraveling the truth. This is exposing the truth,” he said.

He said no one could better explain or expose the modus operandi of the CPP-NPA-NDF than them who used to be with the organization.

He again narrated the role of Bayan-Panay, where he used to be the chairperson, in ousting Joseph Estrada.

“Bayan-Panay is the operation center that facilitates campaigns and alliances, orchestrated by the regional party committee of the CPP in Panay,” he said.

He also claimed that around 22 organizations under the umbrella of Bayan-Panay were creations of the CPP.

Celiz said they already expect counteraction from the said organizations, but he said they are not afraid because they have nothing to lose.

“The people are going to judge them,” he said.

West Visayas State University on Nov 16 issued a statement denying Celiz’s earlier claims against the school.

Celiz is a WVSU alumnus and former editor of the Forum-Dimensions, the University’s student publication.

In a statement, “WVSU vehemently contradicts his sweeping statement imploring that the University is a breeding ground for active recruitment by the CPP-NPA. This is an utterly baseless allegation which has caused unwarranted alarm and apprehension among our students and other stakeholders and tarnished WVSU’s brand of educational excellence.”

Further, “the University wishes to emphasize that before this irresponsible statement was made, there has been no report or incidents of infiltration or recruitment by communist groups in any of the campuses of the University.”

Meanwhile, UP Visayas Chancellor Clement C. Camposano also defended the premier state university’s reputation as a breeding ground for activists.

“We plead guilty to the charge that the University of the Philippines is a breeding ground for activists. We accept that activism is not only a big part of what we are as an institution but is also its leading edge,” Camposano said in a statement issued Nov 26.

He added that “activism is a refusal to keep to established ways because we are convinced that something better lies just beyond our field of vision. We cannot see into the future, but we feel it gnawing at our insides. Activists are people driven by such an impulse. They are hopelessly hopeful — throwing caution into the wind, risking their own welfare because they believe they are helping build a better future.”