Pearl Baybayan, a UP Baguio social sciences student, and her sisters made it their mission to help disadvantaged children learn through Project Namnama, a youth-led campaign that builds community-based libraries and conducts educational discussions in far-flung areas.

But what state forces repaid them with were surveillance, intimidation, and red-tagging.

On March 3, supposed members of the 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army knocked on the Baybayans’ residence demanding they disclose the names of the organization’s members and sign an affidavit that their group was already nonfunctional to prevent them from organizing more projects.

Baybayan and other victims reported the incident to the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights in San Fernando City, La Union, but were told that the most they could do was file a blotter report—a difficult task since they did not know the supposed soldiers’ real names.

“Kulang kasi yung pagtulong sa 'min. Ang gusto namin, completely ma-stop, matigil, wala na yung paniniktik nila. Pero sinabihan lang kami na ipa-blotter kung sakali,” Baybayan told the Collegian. 

State-sponsored Attacks

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that “red-tagging, vilification, labelling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security” a basis for the issuance of a writ of amparo or legal remedy for any victim of such.

But it would be difficult for Baybayan to file an official case because of the individuals’ undisclosed affiliation with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Baybayan herself only made the connection after peeking at the documents they were holding.

Since its inception in 2018, the NTF-ELCAC has continued to intimidate activists and community leaders through state surveillance, as per Baybayan’s case.

The undisclosed documents brought by the individuals also contained the organizational chart of Project Namnama categorized under the New People’s Army (NPA)---an accusation that has already become familiar to Baybayan and her group since the project’s establishment in 2022.

In this particular incident, the individuals who visited Baybayan pleaded, “Sige na po, tulungan niyo kaming matapos ang trabaho namin,” which Baybayan assumed was pertaining to a quota they needed to reach for their quarterly report used to justify NTF-ELCAC’s operations amid calls for its abolishment. This could also explain the three other incidents of red-tagging among UP Baguio student leaders from January to March, she added.

Not an Isolated Case

Bernardo “Bdog” Constantino, another UP Baguio student and executive member of student organization League of Filipino Students - Metro Baguio, was intimidated by state forces in March when a police officer in their province warned his parents of his affiliation with leftist groups through Messenger. 

“Kasi parang ang nang-trigger talaga ng situation na ito was my opinion sa pagkakaaresto kay Rodrigo Duterte. So parang sinabi daw yung police na, ‘Ah bantayan niyo po yung anak niyo kasi parang yung language niya ay pang aktibista na,’” Constantino told the Collegian.

The officer then proceeded to send a PowerPoint presentation, detailing the history of the communist insurgency in the Philippines up to the present time, connecting the Bayan Muna partylist, Gabriela partylist, LFS, and Anakbayan, among others, to the NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, both University Student Council Officer Aiverson Del Rosario and student leader Angelene Quinto received false accusations that they were NPA members from an anonymous account on Messenger, also informing them that their address and personal information are known by the anonymous individual. 

There were nearly 50 red-tagging-related violent events in the three years since the passing of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. But this number only includes violent incidents and not other encounters of intimidation and arrests.

The NTF-ELCAC only heightened these kinds of threats, according to human rights groups.

Fending for Themselves

The student leaders were referred to the Crisis Management Committee of UP Baguio. But in Baybayan’s case, she was told that the report did not fall under the university’s jurisdiction.

“Ang sabi ay yung situation ko, hindi daw hawak ng school kasi student ako ng UP doing a civic advocacy outside of the university and not affiliated with the university. Basically, ang matutulong lang nila ay psychologist help,” Baybayan said.

No follow-up sessions were held for Constantino and other student leaders when they could not initially meet with the Crisis Management Committee due to their unavailability during the set time.

Baybayan and Constantino had to take their safety into their own hands.

“Every time na umuuwi na ako, I make sure na maraming tao kasi malay natin baka mayroon palang sumusunod na sa atin. So usually pag umuuwi ako, may kaibigan akong kasabay or maaga para medyo may tao pa sa kalye na dinadaanan ko kasi very dark yung daanan papunta sa dorm,” Constantino said.

Meanwhile, Baybayan’s family had to install security cameras at their house and ask for help from their community to take turns guarding their area.

But instead of being cowed, Baybayan is determined to use her experience as motivation to fight against intimidation by state forces and to continue advocating for accessible education.

Baybayan’s Project Namnama has not ceased from organizing initiatives, with the Makabayan Coalition’s miting de avance in La Union last April 27 as their most recent activity. 

“Now is the time to not be silent dahil ito na yung rehimeng Marcos-Duterte. Kapag tumahimik tayo, talo tayo. Talo tayong mga kabataan. Talo tayong mga estudyante,” Baybayan said. ●

First published in the May 7, 2025, print edition of the Collegian.