SEN. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday urged appropriate government agencies to check the veracity of an allegation made during a Senate committee hearing that Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel is supposedly involved in the recruitment of young students to the communist movement.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order into the alleged communist rebels’ recruitment of students in educational institutions, a resource person who identified herself as “Arian Jane Ramos” and said she was a former member of the New People’s Army (NPA), told senators that allegedly Manuel helped in the recruitment of young students in the communist movement being a former member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
Dela Rosa said “mere membership” from the CPP-NPA is not a crime, but recruitment of students is. “That is a crime sa (under the) Anti-Terrorism Act,” he said.
Manuel slammed Dela Rosa for red-tagging him, a fellow lawmaker of the senator.
“Hindi ito asal senador. Pag-aaksaya ito ng rekurso ng Senado at pag-abuso sa pondo ng bayan (This isn’t how a senator behaves. This is a waste of the Senate as as a recourse and abuse of public funds),” he said.
“Hindi dapat gamitin ng sinumang opisyal ang kanyang posisyon sa gobyerno para umalpas sa kanyang pananagutan at atakihin ang mga kabataan at kababayan nating nagsusulong ng hustisya (No public official should use his position in government to escape liability and attack the youth and our countrymen who are advocating for justice),” Manuel said in a statement.
Manuel noted that Dela Rosa called for the hearing just to “throw mud at a fellow legislator and retaliate because of the youth [group’s] stand to push for the ICC [International Criminal Court] investigation.”
“Proud siya sa balak niyang mangdiin ng mga kabataang pumapanig sa mga biktima ng war on drugs (He’s proud that he wants to pin down youth who are siding with the victims of the war on drugs),” he said.
During the hearing, Ramos said she supposedly facilitated the integration of the CPP to the youth and student sector, along with Manuel and others she identified as Daniel Delosa, Kurt Susa, and Angel Fortich.
Ramos alleged their areas of operations were in Barangay Diagohoy, Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
Ramos’ claims were backed by Kate Roca, also a self-confessed former CPP-NPA member, who claimed she had the chance to work with Manuel in the recruitment of students to the Kabataang Makabayan and for the CPP in the University of the Philippines.
“In addition, sir, I was able to work with Raoul Manuel when he was still a UP student regent. We were together recruiting for KM and the CPP and we facilitated the NPA recruitment, as well as in the University of the Philippines. I am sure he will deny this, my good old friend Raoul,” Roca said.
The Kabataan party-list group denied the allegations against Manuel. — With Wendell Vigilia
