Parents decry FB takedown of group page

PARENTS belonging to the ‘Hands Off Our Children Movement’ (HOOC) have decried the decision of Facebook to take down its page based on the representation of ‘civil organizations’ that are closely identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and Rappler, an online news site receiving money from foreign groups despite being contrary to the Philippine Constitution.

In a message to Pinoy Exposé, Luisa Espina, one of the founders and administrators of the HOOC page, confirmed the FB takedown.

But aside from taking down the page for allegedly violating FB’s policy on ‘coordinate inappropriate behavior’ (CIB), FB also removed Espina’s personal account and that of her other daughter, who helps administer the HOOC page.

Espina is the mother of Louvaine Erika, a student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). The young last of 16 was recruited in 2016 by Anakbayan, which has close ties with the CPP.

Erika has stopped her studies and has become a “full-time activist.” She is now believed to have joined the New People’s Army (NPA) and has not come home since 2018.

Other leaders of the HOOC like school teacher, Gemma Labsan and Anabelle Sabado, also saw their accounts taken down by FB.

Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Facebook’s security/cybersecurity policy, announced last September 22, 2020, that they “removed” a total of 212 accounts, 42 pages, 9 groups and 26 Instagram accounts based in China and the Philippines for violating its CIB policy (see related story in this issue).

And among those it “purged” were those from the HOOC, the personal accounts of its administrators and those “identified” with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

The HOOC is a movement of parents whose children have been recruited first as “activists” by groups affiliated with the CPP such as Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, National Union of Students of the Philippines and, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines.

Later on, they ended up as CPP “cadres” or fighters of the NPA.

The group’s aim is to enlighten parents on the danger posed by these CPP front organizations on their children and to seek help for those already recruited to communism to return to their families and start life anew while they still have the chance.

Karapatan, a self-styled “human rights” group also with close ties to the CPP, has made it known that together with Rappler, it also wrote FB to take down accounts for ‘red-tagging.’

Rappler for its part, took pride in having a hand over the decision of FB to violate free speech and free expression by claiming it was behind the investigation by FB on “fake accounts.”

More tellingly, Rappler, in an article last September 23, 2020, even named Army Captain Alexandre Cabales as the “operator” of the “fake accounts” taken down by FB.

Aside from casting doubt on Cabales’ integrity, Rappler had also “fingered” Cabales for violent retaliation by the NPA hit squads commonly known as ‘Sparrow Units.’