FOUR Metro Manila universities denied the claim of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict that they are “recruitment havens” of the New People’s Army.

Far Eastern University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo de Manila University said their accusers presented no evidence to prove their claim.

They said that the statement issued by Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. of the NTF-ELCAC that 18 universities are recruitment havens was a rehash of the public accusation the general made in 2018 “irresponsibly since cast without proof.”

The four universities added that their role is to educate.

“We seek to direct our students to engage in acts that contribute to the strengthening of social cohesion, defend the country’s democratic institutions, and promote nation-building,” the statement said.

“As institutions of higher learning that are stewards of the youth, repositories, and producers of knowledge, and builders of communities, we must retain independence and autonomy from the State and other social institutions,” they added.

The four universities said that they neither promote nor condone recruitment activities of the New People’s Army or any movement that plans to overthrow the sitting government.

“We take as a sacred trust our primary responsibilities to promote learning and safeguard the rights of the young who are entrusted to our care. We are committed to the mission and have always held ourselves accountable to our primary constituents, the learners and by extension, their parents,” they said.

Several youth groups have also condemned what they called malicious red-tagging of schools, saying this could put lives of students in danger.

In a statement, the National Union of Students said that “educational institutions are democratic spaces where students are given the right to think freely without consequence and to organize or be organized.”

“As schools produce a variety of people, students who decide to join the armed struggle are part of it but that doesn’t make universities hubs for recruitment of the NPA. Rather, it is a reality that this administration fails to realize time and time again,” it added.

Student groups from Far Eastern University said that schools have been the “beacon of truth, justice, and democracy.”

“As Tamaraws, we are taught to be brave and to battle for the right, thus, we will continue to take charge in defending the democratic rights of our fellow students and the Filipino people. Time and again, we shall uphold Fortitude, Excellence, and Uprightness,” the FEU Central Student Council said.

“This baseless accusation is an attack on the democratic rights of the students and a threat to the safety of those who are critical of the government,” it added.

The Intramuros Organization Alliance, meanwhile, believes that academic freedom should never be compromised.

“We are not just students, but also citizens of this country who genuinely aim for a free, equal, and just society. We will never achieve this goal if we will not speak up and challenge the status quo. We can never separate ourselves from the contradictions brought about by the injustices done to us by the oppressors,” the alliance said.

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines’ Solidaridad, an alliance of student publication, said that no forms of repression can stop them from writing and telling the truth.

“Naninindigan kaming walang basehan ang mga paratang ng NTF-ELCAC, at malayo sa ipinipinta nitong radikalismo ang kinakatawan ng aming samahan at unibersidad,” it said.