MANILA, Philippines – Naniniwala ang National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) na may pangangailangan para magpatuloy ang national discussion ukol sa ‘terror grooming, radicalization at violent extremism.’
Sinabi ni NTF-ELCAC Executive Director, Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., na ang nangyaring June 22 school shooting sa Tacloban City kung saan nasawi ang tatalong estudyant habang 20 naman ang nasugatan ay hindi na ekslusibo sa battlefield, sa mga armado na nakikipaglaban sa kanayunan o sa organisadong terrorist networks.
“More and more, it is becoming clear that the pathways to violence are now passing through classrooms, chat groups, online communities, social media feeds, and homes where actors continuously concoct styles and methods to recruit children and youth,” ani Torres.
Aniya, suportado ng NTF-ELCAC ang Senate Bill 1366, House Bill 7460, House Bill 05484 at House Bill 07204, o ang panukalang Terror Grooming and Radicalization Prevention Acts, makapangyarihang depensa laban sa pinakamapanganib na sandata ng mga terorista, ang pag-groom sa mga maralita upang ipagkanulo ang kanilang kinabukasan.
“The purpose is not to criminalize children or to demonize students, activism or free expression. The proposed measures are intended to fill a perceived gap in the country’s counterterrorism framework by addressing the earliest stages of terrorist recruitment,” ang winika pa ni Torres.
Aniya pa, sa halip na nakatuon lamang sa terrorist acts, hangad ng batas na lansagin ang proseso ng ‘grooming, indoctrination, radicalization at recruitment’ na pinagagana ng terrorist organizations para mapanatili ang kanilang membership at impluwensiya.
Tinuran pa nito na na, “measures are particularly relevant to concerns regarding recruitment pathways identified in intelligence and security assessments, including ideological conditioning, immersion activities, online influence operations, and the exploitation of vulnerable sectors by extremist organizations.”
“For decades, we have seen how organized extremist movements prey on the youth. They take anger and give it ideology. They take pain and turn it into hatred. They take idealism and redirect it toward armed violence. Today, we must also contend with more creative, faster, and more hidden forms of violent influence, especially online,” ang tinuran pa rin ni Torres.
Sinabi pa ni Torres na ang aral ng Tacloban shooting ay hindi lamang na “ang bawat bata na may galit ay isang ekstremista.”
“This oversimplification is unfair and dangerous,” anito sabay sabing ang leksyon ay “that the country can no longer afford to wait until violence erupts before taking prevention seriously.”
“In this context, the proposed legislations, deserve sober and serious discussion. Prevention is not ‘fascism’ when it is anchored on child protection, due process, human rights, and community support. Schools need stronger guidance systems, functioning child protection committees, mental health referral pathways, trained teachers, and clear early-warning protocols,” anito pa rin.
Sinabi pa ni Torres na ang pagpo-protekta sa mga bata mula sa terror grooming at radicalization ay bahagi ng pagprotekta sa kanilang karapatan sa buhay, kaligtasan, edukasyon at isang future free mula sa pagkatakot.
Ang mga eskuwelahan at unibersidad ay dapat na manatiling lugar ng pag-aaral, pormasyon, pagkakaibigan at pag-asa.
“They must never become places where fear, recruitment or violence can quietly take root,” ang tinuran ni Torres. (KRIS JOSE)
