In one of my classes, I mention Marxist analysis on education and its application within the classroom. Based on the accounts of Ivan Illich, Paolo Freire, Henry Giroux, and Peter McLaren, the so-called “critical pedagogy” progressed closer to its goal of emancipating the “oppressed” through an essential awakening of consciousness. Issues in social justice and democracy must be part of the discussion in order to understand the root of societal struggle. Learning is not exclusive to the classroom as community immersion and sharing knowledge to change society can lead to social transformation.
One of my students asked: “There [is] plenty of opposition—they never cease to dissent from government? Aren’t they afraid of the government?” I responded; “As long as there is injustice, opposition continues to exist. People should not be afraid of government; rather, government must be afraid of its people.” Such opposition in the Philippines is considered “leftist,” which can lead to “red-tagging.” Delivering his opinion in the Zarate vs. Aquino III cases, Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Victor Leonen cited a 2011 journal article that defined red-baiting/tagging, noting: “The act of labelling, branding, naming, and accusing individuals and/ or organizations of being left-leaning, subversives, communists or terrorists (used as) a strategy [by] state agents, particularly law enforcement agencies and the military, against those perceived to be ‘threats’ or ‘enemies of the State.’”
For government, leftist groups are on par with the Communist Party of the Philippines, which is considered a breeding ground for the New People’s Army (NPA). However, such thinking is a fallacy. The government uses weaponry to limit the NPA’s movement in such a way that it castigates leftist groups. In the last elections, support for left-wing groups saw drops between 40 and 70 percent as the military formed the dominant bloc under the President Rodrigo Duterte government.
The masses see leftist groups as a symbol of hope
I previously mentioned how media is biased and the government controls the media by filtering out news that does not support the interests of the government—some even air black propaganda in order to demonize progressive group. Why? While leftist groups still comprise the minority, when they fight for the voiceless, oppressed, and marginalized, they expose the crimes of the Duterte administration, along with the police and military.
However, they are demanding justice for the tens of thousands killed in the drug war, along with those involved in the massacre of peasants, workers, students, priests, lawyers, journalists, among others. Government is afraid of the left because it serves as a hindrance to the “whole nation approach,” or complete authoritarian rule. Leftist will continue to resist the “tyrant”—that is why the left is right.
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Comments and suggestions are welcome at sensei.adorador@chmsc.edu.ph/WDJ