MANY friends forwarded to me this letter from a government lawyer. I don’t know him from Adam but in the wake of the developments brought about by the landslide victory of former Senator Bongbong Marcos Jr. and Davao Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte in the May 9 presidential and vice-presidential race, I hope Filipinos would read and internalize his piece entitled ‘Hands Off Our Children.’

I’m saying this in the wake of more than 40 protest rallies launched by supporters of defeated presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, many of them involving students who are really testing the patience of the police amid PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vic Danao’s order for them to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with the protesters.

Come to think of it, the consistent protesters are from militant groups BAYAN, Gabriela, Anakpawis, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Migrante, ACT-Teachers, SELDA, Karapatan, Bayan Muna, Sinagbayan, Kabataan party-list, COURAGE, Kadamay and some Catholic Church-affiliated organizations who have strongly supported the failed presidential ambition of Mrs. Robredo.

Lt. Gen. Danao told me that everybody has the right to air their grievances and as enshrined in the Constitution, all have the freedom of speech and expression. However, he said that they won’t allow the protest actions to turn violent and affect the peace and order situation in the country.

The letter was penned by Prosecutor 2 Flosemer Chris Gonzales, the Acting Spokesperson for Legal Affairs of the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-ELCAC.

Here is how it goes.

*Hands Off Our Children!*

Recent events clearly tell us that our youth are facing a clear and present danger.

The CPP-NPA-NDF terrorist group and their allied front organizations are on a recruitment spree targetting our students and our youth.

The recruitment and radicalization of our students by the CPP-NPA-NDF thru their front organizations will eventually lead to these young people dropping out of school and joining the ranks of the CPP-NPA-NDF armed terrorists.

In a few months time, many of these young victims of CPP-NPA-NDF recruitment will end up dead. They will be buried in unmarked graves in the remote areas. Their families will remain unaware of what has become of them.

This is the tragedy that has befallen many Filipino families whose children were taken away from them by the CPP-NPA-NDF. This is the tragedy that we want to avoid. We care for your children.

We want them to have a future that is free from any and all forms of hatred, violence, and exploitation.

Let it be known that the CPP-NPA-NDF is the largest human trafficking criminal group in the Philippines. They wantonly recruit children to become armed fighters for the New People’s Army.

They teach our children to hate, to kill, to lie, to spy, to extort, to destroy, to make bombs, and to turn their backs to everything that is decent and good in a democratic society. This is how the CPP-NPA-NDF treat our children. This is how evil the CPP-NPA-NDF is.

This is what happens when we allow our children to join the front organizations of the CPP-NPA-NDF. Nagsisimula yan sa pa rally rally, mass action dito, martsa duon, cutting classes, teach ins, immersions.

These are acts that eventually brainwash the youth. It is in this context that, we call the attention of Parents, of Guardians of our youth. Be vigilant. Make sure that your children are in school and not on the streets being radicalized by the CPP-NPA-NDF.

We call on school officials and teachers to protect our youth and our children from the deceptive recruitment and radicalization by the CPP-NPA-NDF and their front organizations.

We call on our barangay and local officials, community leaders and elders, protect your communities from the infiltration of the CPP-NPA-NDF. Together, we can protect our youth from becoming the next unwitting victim of the CPP-NPA-NDF and their front organizations.

In closing, let us say a prayer to all the victims of the CPP-NPA-NDF who died in the local armed conflict, including children who were forced and/or deceived by the CPP-NPA-NDF to take up arms against the government and the Filipino people.

Let us utter a prayer to all the children who now lie in unmarked graves, left alone and abandoned by the CPP-NPA-NDF. Let us not forget those whose lives were wasted by the CPP-NPA-NDF terrorist organization. Let us pray for justice. Let us pray for peace.

Most of all, pray that your children will be spared from the recruitment and the clutches of the CPP-NPA-NDF and their allied front organizations. You yourselves may not be ready to answer the question, What would you do if the CPP-NPA-NDF take your child away from you?

Prosecutor 2 Flosemer Chris Gonzales

Acting Spokesperson for Legal Affairs, NTF-ELCAC

As I have mentioned in a previous column, what disappoints the police and the military is the regular presence of government scholars in these anti-government rallies. Lt. Gen. Danao’s explanation is simple: these students are getting free education from the government which they are supposed to serve once they graduate. However, they are either being used wittingly or unwittingly by the CPP/NPA/NDF which has been waging a more than 50-year effort to take over the government.

Officials say this is also the reason why militant sectors have been opposing the revival of the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps or ROTC in public and private schools nationwide. It is widely believed that the mandatory requirement for military service training for all college students would greatly affect the rebel influence among our supposed to be future leaders.