Pure Ignorance: Cardema told to read the law which created NYC

📷Kabataan partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel

INSTEAD of complying his mandate as national chairman of the National Youth Commission (NYC), Ronald Cardema seemed more preoccupied with finding ways to justify red-tagging despite a Supreme Court resolution which categorically stated that such practice puts individuals at risk of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing.

According to Kabataan partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel, Cardema doesn’t seem familiar with the law which created NYC, even as the militant sectoral congressman claimed that nowhere in the Republic Act 8084 (Youth in Nation Building Act of 1995) stipulates NYC’s engagement in “fight against insurgency.”

Citing NYC’s official website, Manuel said that the National Youth Commission’s mandate “is to provide the leadership in the formulation of policies and in the setting of priorities and direction of all youth promotion and development programs and activities.”

Section 8 of the same law also mandates the NYC “to encourage wide and active participation of the youth in all governmental and non-governmental programs, projects and activities affecting them; to harness and develop the full potential of the youth as partners in nation-building; and to supplement government appropriations for youth promotion and development with funds from other sources.”

Manuel likewise assailed Cardema’s wife – Duterte Youth partylist Rep. Drixie Mae Cardema whom he said gave her husband the floor to lengthily expound lies and disinformation through what looks more like a privilege speech.

According to Manuel, the act by which Rep. Cardema colluded with her husband (NYC chair Cardema) during the budget deliberation is by all certainty inappropriate, citing conflict of interest as “they are husband and wife.”

“Madam Chair, it is clear that there is a conflict of interest because it is clear that they are related to each other,” he noted.

During the deliberations, Rep. Cardema asked her husband, Chair Cardema, about NYC’s fight against the communist insurgency and the supposed vagueness of red-tagging and academic freedom – which according to Manuel only goes to show that the NYC chair doesn’t even know what he’s talking about.

“Before I start with my questions, Madam Chair, I just want to start off with a point of privilege because this affects the conduct and performance or the functions of this body. Madam Chair, a while ago, the NYC Chair spread disinformation through his responses to one of our colleagues who readily accepted the responses, although it seems he is not that knowledgeable with mga topics discussed,” the Kabataan partylist legislator claimed.

Manuel likewise reminded the couple no less than the Supreme Court (SC) has spoken on May 8 – that red-tagging, or linking people to the communist armed movement, is connected to the use of threats and intimidation, which effectively puts a red-tagged individual at risk of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing.

He likewise took a swipe at the NYC chair for describing academic freedom as another vague provision.

“When they said that red-tagging is vague, maybe the NYC Chair does not know that last May 8, 2024, the Supreme Court publicized a decision defining what red-tagging is. When they said that academic freedom is vague, well, for their information, Madam Chair, academic freedom is protected under international law, specifically within the International Bill of Human Rights,” Manuel noted.

In a bold remark seemingly passing on the blame to the Supreme Court, Chair Cardema maintained that red-tagging has become too vague because the high tribunal prevented them from calling out groups whose members allegedly joined the ranks of communist armed group New People’s Army (NPA) as the act could already be considered red-tagging.

“I think we have made the definition of red-tagging too vague. The reason why it is vague is because we cannot condemn the recruiter, the groups whose members get killed as NPA members. For example […] Akbayan partylist of Senator Risa (Hontiveros) has been critical of us, but we do not speak against them. Why? Because they do not produce NPA members,” said Chair Cardema.

“None of their members die as NPA. So we understand that what they only want to do is to criticize us and the government from time to time. But for those organizations whose members die as NPA fighters, it’s not isolated. If three or five of their members join the NPA, it could be, but if it is 10, 50, or half a thousand members who get neutralized as fighters — without the group condemning them — then red-tagging becomes vague,” he added.

Regarding the NYC chief’s remark on academic freedom, Manuel took another jab at Chair Cardema whom he said against made a grand display of ignorance, specifically on the claim that all policemen are not allowed to enter the University of the Philippines because of the so-called academic freedom.

Citing the University of the Philippines (UP) – DILG accord, Manuel said that Chair Cardema lied again – or maybe has not even read the agreement.

“When they said that the UP-DILG accord prevents police from entering UP, Madam Chair, that’s another wrong information. Maybe he has not read the UP-DILG accord; police officers are not restricted from entering UP as long as there is coordination, or in the case of a hot pursuit,” Manuel noted.

“It was a good thing that our DILG Secretary (Benhur Abalos) is at least prudent enough to comment on this, unlike our NYC Chair,” he added.

Instead of focusing on insurgency “which is not even part of NYC’s mandate,” Manuel told Chair Cardema to revisit RA 8084 from where he would be able to have an idea what he is supposed to do as NYC chairman – to train Sangguniang Kabataan officials.

According to Manuel, only 18 percent of the SK Mandatory and Continuing Training Fund for 2024 has been utilized. (ANGEL F. JOSE)