NTF-ELCAC urges universities to elevate debate on insurgency

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has called on universities to elevate campus discussions on insurgency, youth recruitment and academic freedom, saying debates should be guided by responsible dialogue rather than propaganda.

In a statement, Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr., executive director of NTF-ELCAC, said recent social media discussions sparked by a forum held last year at the University of Santo Tomas highlight the ongoing tension between academic freedom and the need to address the realities of insurgency.

“Universities have always been spaces where ideas collide. Here, convictions are tested and difficult national questions are debated,” Torres said.

“Our aim should always be to elevate discourse in ways that promote peace and academic freedom while steering conversations away from propaganda and toward just peace and nation-building,” he added.

Torres said the government recognizes the role of universities as venues for critical thinking and intellectual exchange, where students and faculty can examine even contentious national issues.

However, he stressed that individuals who speak about insurgency and youth recruitment—particularly former rebels and scholars with firsthand experience—should not automatically be dismissed as enemies of academic freedom.

“Many of those who speak candidly about these matters do so precisely because they have witnessed how young lives can be drawn into cycles of violence through ideological manipulation or what can be described as terror grooming,” Torres said.

He added that professors and resource persons who raise such concerns deserve to be heard even if their views are strongly challenged.

“Passionate debates are part of university life,” Torres said. “But the manner in which we engage each other—whether with respect or dismissal—ultimately determines whether dialogue enlightens or divides.”

Torres also noted that discussions about insurgency, activism and youth recruitment are part of a broader national conversation.

He said debates should focus on strengthening democratic dialogue and protecting young people from being drawn into armed conflict.

“The challenge before us is not to silence debate but to elevate it,” Torres said.