CLAVERIA, Misamis Oriental – As part of the unit’s awareness campaign, the 58th Infantry Dimalulupig, in partnership with the Misamis Oriental Institute of Science and Technology (MOIST), conducted an information drive to its teachers and personnel after their flag raising ceremony at MOIST covered court, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, April 26, 2021.
In late March of this year, 58IB began conducting an information drive for students in Misamis Oriental in collaboration with various universities/colleges. With over 2,000 students participating in the information drive, dubbed “Lamang ang May Alam: An Anti CPP-NPA-NDF Youth Recruitment Online Data Drive,” the 58IB decided to address this lecture to educators as well, as they are the ones who have the most direct effect on the youth.
The information drive’s audience consists of 183 MOIST teachers and staff. The participants were given lectures on the Army’s and Government’s interventions in dealing with communist insurgency in the country, as well as the CPP-NPA-recruitment NDF’s recruitment schemes. The primary goal of the information drive was to educate the public and convince them not to help or join the CPP-NPA-NDF in any way. The secondary goal was to keep teachers informed about the government’s anti-insurgency efforts and to inspire them to join us in protecting the youth.
“Thank you for the initiative of 58IB for providing this information dissemination to the faculty of MOIST, teaching and non-teaching personnel,” said Dr. Julius Sol O. Jamero, MBA, Vice President for Academic Affairs. I am pleased with the men in uniform for conducting this info drive pertaining to insurgency. This is critical in light of Executive Order No. 70, or the Whole of Nation Approach, in which we, in the private sector, can also participate and join hand in hand with the government to support its programs and projects in reducing the number of NPAs. As an academic institution, we will take the initiative to revisit our curriculum and incorporate this critical information in our subjects, as well as disseminate it to our students. To prevent local armed conflict, as an institution, we can have a greater effect on the part of the students’ lives that prevents them from joining the Communist Terrorist Group.”
Sir Lucas Z. Valmores, Jr., the Director, Student Affairs and Services also remarked, “On behalf of the institution, we are so glad happy upon the realization of this activity, because it’s really a great help to us, educators. We are dealing with millennial students who are very exposed to society, and we have no idea what is going on with them exactly and because of this, we were able to grasp a lot of things, a lot of inputs that we could really use in the real-life situation, especially that this coming June we will already be having limited face to face interactions with the students, so with all the information given during the lecture, we are now more confident in handling situations of relating to the possible involvement of some students in these front organizations or even in the armed group.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Ricky L Canatoy, Commanding Officer of 58IB expressed gratitude to the MOIST faculty for their support and for allowing the 58IB to conduct an information drive, saying, “The information drive was carried out, recognizing that communist insurgency has lasted much too long due to resource generation in terms of manpower, which poses a major threat to the young minds of Misamis Oriental. And I am grateful that you, as teachers, have given up your valuable time for this information drive, even though it is targeted at senior high school and college students. It is unfortunate that the youth in universities and colleges have been proven to be a source of manpower; schools have now become platforms for the CPP-NPA-NDF to manipulate the youth.”
“Many apparently innocent student groups have an ulterior motive of deceiving the young into supporting the CPP-NPA-NDF’s cause and eventually joining the armed struggle, falling prey to the pitfalls of the enemy. And we do not want this to happen, which is why we continue to spread the truth and hope that it will continue to do so in the future. I’m confident that you, as these students’ instructors, will pass on this important information to them.” Lt Col. Canatoy ended.
