Rights Groups Worry Over Philippines’ Ban of ‘Subversive’ Literary Books

Journalists and activists stage a protest calling to defend press freedom in suburban Quezon City in Metro Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 19, 2018. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)

A state commission in the Philippines has ordered to ban five books deemed to have “subversive” contents, drawing outcry from human rights groups who viewed the move as repression of free speech.

The Commission on the Filipino Language (KWF) issued a memorandum in August calling for a halt to the distribution of the books in schools and libraries, which allegedly contain “anti-Marcos and anti-Duterte contents.”

KWF accused its chairman, Arthur Casanova, of approving and entering into contracts without the board’s knowledge and demanded that he be held accountable, local media PhilStar reported on Aug. 14.

The commission demanded that the publications cease, citing their violations of the anti-terrorism act, and criticized Casanova for “inciting rebellion” by allowing the books to be published.

Casanova denied the accusations and said the five books passed through the KWF review process and “the usual scrutiny” that all publications must go through.

“The allegations that these books are subversive is a dangerous accusation which may already be stepping on the boundaries of freedom of expression and academic freedom,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

Casanova said he was willing to divulge any information at the proper forum and urged authorities to investigate the allegations against him.

“I am also calling on the proper authorities, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Anti-Terrorism Council, to look into these allegations and see for themselves that they are baseless and malicious,” he added.

NTF-ELCAC is a task force formed by the Philippine government in 2018 to raise awareness about the communist rebellion in the country.

Books Banned for ‘Communist’ Material

One of the KWF commissioners who signed the memorandum, Benjamin Mendillo, said on Aug. 15 that the five books contain references to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

“NTF-ELCAC is not yet in the picture, but on our own, we have reviewed the text and we have found evidence, explicit idealism, ideology, CPP-NPA taglines,” he said, local media Inquirer.net reported.

Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of the human rights group Karapatan, called the KWF ban “shameless and idiotic acts,” saying that it sets “a dangerous precedent in the exercise of academic freedom.”

“Those responsible for these acts are deranged individuals who use their platforms or their previous or current association with the NTF-ELCAC to deny the public with much-needed literature and materials encouraging thinking and knowledge on Filipino history and language,” she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, more than 30 culture and educational departments issued a joint statement on Aug. 12 denouncing the KWF’s order to cease publications of 17 books that were perceived as “subversive” or “anti-government.”

“Many books, be it in Filipino or English, will certainly cite or quote materials from various references, including those from groups considered by the government as subversive or revolutionary,” they said, according to PhilStar.

The agencies called for the “immediate abolition” of NTF-ELCAC and “other red-tagging entities that curtail the people’s right to information, right to free expression, and academic freedom.”