Posters red-tagging community leaders circulate in Albay schools
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – “They have a budget for fascism but no budget for education.”
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Bicol Union condemned posters circulating in Albay schools that red-tag progressive leaders including their Vice President Julius Espadero.
“It’s outrageous that they are committing fascism and intimidation against teachers but they are not taking action against thieves. Meanwhile, teachers are fighting against corruption. That’s why the injustice is so severe,” said Roque Lamadrid, president of ACT Bicol Union.
Posters were spotted at Bicol University (BU), Bicol College (BC), Legazpi City National High School (LCNHS), Legazpi Science High School (LSHS) and Daraga North Central School (DNCS).
Aside from Espadero, other red-tagged leaders were Jen Nagrampa and Dan Balucio of Bayan Bicol, Aubrey Verzosa and Sherra Buen of Tarabang para sa Bicol, Inc. (TABI), Ramon Rescovilla of Condor-Piston Bicol and Tau Gamma Phi-National Associate Adjudicator Ranny Morada Ugalde who is also active in Albay Movement Against Corruption (AMAC).
Their faces and names were printed in several colored copies linking them as ‘traitors’ of the revolutionary movement. The posters used a photo of five bodies of those killed during the clash against the 83rd Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on December 23, 2025 in Brgy. Burabod, Lagonoy, Camarines Sur.
On February 9, Espadero filed a police blotter report stating that around 10:00 am of February 8 while he was at his residence, he received a message from his co-teacher at LCNHS that a poster containing his name and picture was seen on the fence of their school.
Espadero said that he is not a member and he has no transaction with the said revolutionary group. He then proceeded to his school and removed the posters.
According to Lamadrid, the armed conflict between the New People’s Army (NPA) and the military is a civil war where there is a deep reason that until now there is an armed struggle. “However, the teachers’ resistance has no connection or involvement. Why did they link it since the teachers’ resistance is a matter of benefits, wages, high salaries and to pay attention to his rights as a teacher and as a citizen,” he said.
Such moves, according to Bayan Bicol, are dirty tactics of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). “They attempt to threaten and silence the progressive groups who continue their people-centered activities.”
“They are trying to link it to the same tactics they’re using. They want to make it appear that the ones who are making the accusations are the NPA against the progressive leaders in urban areas,” said Bayan Chair Jen Nagrampa, adding that the incident is no longer surprising since there were previous malicious posters last year.
This is a strategy of red-tagging which is just part of the state fascism and psychological warfare, according to ACT Bicol Union reiterating their support for Espadero.
“It is not right and unjust to accuse or connect him to the armed conflict. This is a gross slander and a dangerous statement against him,” Lamadrid said.
As part of the sole teachers’ union in the Bicol region recognized by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Espadero appeared publicly during the anti-corruption protest actions in Legazpi City last September 21 and November 30 last year. He has been active since then in a wide alliance of various sectors in the region against corruption.
“He was our representative in speaking at the protests where he exposed government corruption and bureaucrat capitalism where there is a budget for thieves instead of the budget for education,” Lamadrid said. “We think this is the reason why the state agents want to stop him because he has potential as a leader where the teachers’ movement in Bicol is making great progress.”
In a separate statement, ACT said that the Philippines, as a member-state of the International Labour Organization (ILO) is bound by international obligations to uphold freedom of association, the right to organize, and the right to engage in collective action.
“In high-level tripartite engagements and formal recommendations issued by the ILO, the Philippine government has been repeatedly urged to end red-tagging, harassment, and the criminalization of trade unionists and human rights defenders. To date, however, the Marcos Jr. administration has failed to fully and meaningfully implement these recommendations,” ACT Philippines said.
ACT Bicol previously recorded a series of surveillance after Espadero’s participation in the protest actions last year. State elements also went and tried to obtain information at the workplace and residence of his family members, according to the group.
On December 1, 2025 around 6:50 pm onward within the premises of Liberty Commercial Center (LCC), two unidentified individuals were observed engaging in suspicious behavior, including conducting surveillance and taking photographs of the plate number of Espadero’s motorcycle. These persons subsequently followed him after he purchased goods inside LCC.
Students’ Involvement
On February 11, some BU students took the initiative to report about the posters and remove some of it that were found in the waiting sheds, near the new building of College of Arts and Letters (CAL), near the Student Affairs and Services (OSAS), in the Gate 3 and 4 of their University.
According to Rise for Education Bicol University, their campuses must remain spaces for critical thinking, democratic engagement, and principled dissent, not arenas for fear and surveillance.
“Red-tagging is not new to the youth and students. It has long been used as a tool to harass, intimidate, and silence activists and progressive organizations. It intends to isolate individuals, create an atmosphere of suspicion, and weaken collective action. But the youth know better. We recognize these tactics and we refuse to be cowed by them,” the group said.
“The timing of these actions, likely as a tactic to plant fear with the 40th EDSA anniversary approaching, makes it clear that such harassment is intended to silence student voices during a period of historical reflection and civic mobilization,” said College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) – Bicol.
“The circulation of these defamatory materials raises serious concerns, as they appear to be efforts to sow fear and discourage student involvement in pro-people campaigns and community-centered advocacies supported by progressive groups. These acts of intimidation threaten the safety, rights, and freedom of expression of the youth, and undermine their ability to organize, advocate, and participate in campus and community initiatives,” CEGP – Bicol said.
“Threats and intimidation against the youth continue to escalate. At a time when the nation is called to remember the power of collective action against dictatorship and repression, attempts to instill fear within our campuses resurface again. These acts seek to distort truth, vilify activism, and discourage students from speaking out,” Rise for Education BU said.
“The statement released by Rise for Education BU is correct since we know that the target or those who join the anti-corruption actions are mostly the youths. That’s their main target to intimidate, scare, and keep them from not taking action on social issues,” Nagrampa said.
“We refuse to be silenced. We refuse to be afraid. Youth will continue to organize, educate, and mobilize in defense of our rights, our schools, and our future,” Bicol University Student Council stated.
“We have proven in history that in times of state attack and fascism, silence is helpless since silence is siding with the status quo. We need to be bold and courageous to expose the ongoing system of red-tagging, intimidation, and state repression,” Lamadrid said. “If not, who will fight corruption if progressive organizations like ACT Bicol Union are intimidated and silenced?” (DAA)
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