CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar — Student journalists are standing together after a Leyte Normal University student leader was reportedly red-tagged and harassed in his own home.
Jon Ivan Torreros, the university’s Student Regent and Supreme Student Council President, was allegedly visited at his family’s house in Tacloban on August 4 by four individuals — two claiming to be soldiers, a barangay captain, and a former rebel. They reportedly accused him of being linked to communist rebels, pointing to his outspoken political opinions and social media activity.
The Courier, the official student publication of Northwest Samar State University, described the visit as a blatant intrusion into Torreros’ privacy and safety.
“To brand criticism as rebellion is to silence accountability,” the paper said, warning that red-tagging only puts students’ lives at risk.
In a separate statement, The Pillar, the student paper of the University of Eastern Philippines, said Torreros had been under “constant surveillance.” The group claimed the military had admitted to tracking him and pressuring him to stop criticizing the government. It also said Torreros’ family — including his younger siblings — had been subjected to intimidation.
“The repeated harassment of student leaders is part of a disturbing effort to silence dissent,” The Pillar said, adding that similar incidents had been reported in Tacloban and other parts of Eastern Visayas.
The publication called on the Commission on Human Rights to investigate, describing the attacks as “an attempt to take away critical voices from the youth.”
Both publications stressed that activism is a constitutional right, not a crime, and urged officials to keep campuses as safe spaces for students to speak freely.
The Samar Chronicle has reached out to the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division through its Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO) for comment but has yet to receive a response as of this writing.
By Ricky Bautista, News & Features, Samar Chronicle
