Senator Robin Padilla on Friday, Aug. 19 expressed concern over students who are “becoming left".
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Padilla particularly mentioned artists who are getting affiliated with the left, which he said is a problem.
“Hindi po ba kayo napasok na ng kaisipan ng kaliwa? (Aren’t you infiltrated by leftist ideology?)” he asked Philippine High School for the Arts Director Josue Zuniega, “Wala po ba kayong problema doon? (Don’t you have problem with that)?”
But it seemed Zuniega wasn’t bothered. He said the institution is “exposed to all types of ideologies", and that it has such type of people.
For Padilla, it was a cause for “concern”, which was supposedly also expressed by his fellow countrymen.
He also alleged that “scholars are even the ones who are anti-government".
“Karamihan ng mga namumuno pa dito ay nasa artist side (And those leading the leftist groups are even from the artists side),” Padilla, a former actor before becoming a senator, further claimed.
So he asked Zuniega what measures the institution were taking to address the concern.
The school director responded by saying the school is conducting programs that are child-friendly and balanced.
He also said he encourages a “politically-neutral” atmosphere in the school, an answer that satisfied Padilla.