‘PUP not NPA recruitment hub’

BY MINKA TIANGCO

Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) president Miguel Muhi denied a military official’s claims that the campus serves as a recruitment hub for the New People’s Army (NPA).

Muhi’s statement came after Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr., spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), recently named PUP and several other universities in the country as recruitment grounds for the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

In a Facebook live broadcast on Monday, Muhi said the university works hand-in-hand with the government in producing topnotch graduates.

“Uulitin ko ulit na hindi tayo isang recruitment hub ng NPA,” he said.

“Bilang isang institusyon of higher learning, tayo po ay katuwang ng gobyerno sa pagbibigay ng serbisyong edukasyon o pang-edukasyon na nagpo-produce ng pinakamarami at pinakamahuhusay na professional sa bansa,” he added.

PUP has repeatedly topped lists of universities where employers prefer to hire new graduates from.

Muhi called for unity in the PUP community and for the protection of the university’s students, teachers, and staff.

“Hinihiling ko po na proteksyunan ang imahe ng sintang paaralan, proteksyunan po natin ang mga estudyanteng nagsisikap at nag-aaral nang mabuti kahit sa gitna ng takot ng pandemya,” he said. (Minka Tiangco)