“Wala man ta may ginahimo nga illegal ukon malain. (We are not doing anything illegal and wrong.) We only struggle with the people, so nothing to do but move forward in the service of the broad masses.
Student leader and journalist Florence Guzon remains resolute despite the state-sanctioned harassment, surveillance, and illegal search he has experienced since April 25.
In a fact sheet obtained by Paghimutad, Guzon’s mother recounted around 1 to 4pm, two state agents entered their home in Talisay City. She was alone with Guzon’s sister at that time.
“Wala namang matigas na bato. Kung pinapatakan lagi ng luha o tubig, lalambot din yan,” one of the agents told Guzon’s mother, urging her to convince Guzon to lie low from his work as Secretary General of the regional chapter of Kabataan Party-list.
The state agents warned her of alleged recruitment work of Guzon in schools and linked him to the New People’s Army (NPA). They pressed Guzon’s mother to list down the schools her son is frequenting.
They then asked to be let inside Guzon’s room. His mother agreed and in fear, willingly brought out the documents inside Guzon’s room.
They took photos of these documents, including publicly accessible documents such as Espesyal na Kursong Masa (Special Mass Course) and Araling Aktibista (Activist Studies), and works by Vladimir Lenin.
After, the state agents warned Guzon’s mother that Florence is already “too deep” in rebel’s “doctrine.”
“We will give your son a chance, just convince him to lie low,” the state agents told Guzon’s mother.
“There is nothing wrong about learning and reading the concrete conditions of Philippine society and the toiling masses in general. They are only afraid of critical youth,” Guzon said.
Furthermore, they alleged Guzon rudely interacted with a military personnel back in 2022 in their college campus. This was denied by Guzon as he remembers classes in 2022 were mainly held online.
The state agents also claimed Guzon is the one handing the revolutionary movement’s budget of the whole of Negros Island. Guzon refuted this, adding that even the campaigns and community work of the local Kabataan chapter is reliant on their own members’ personal finances and if needed, through solicitation.
This claim is especially alarming, he added, citing the recent charges of terrorist financing against fellow Negrense activists and development workers in South Negros. (Related: PDG holds press conference on the charges against them)
Guzon also suspected that they were tailed by a man in a single motorcycle en route their home last May 13.
Beyond the page
Guzon recounted before becoming an activist, he started as a campus journalist back in high school, eventually becoming Editor-in-Chief of The Parchment of Don Hilarion G. Gonzaga Memorial High School in Talisay City.
His stint as EIC was during the militaristic lockdowns of the previous Duterte administration, he recalled. His coverage of the pandemic and how the crises translated on ground in his immediate community have exposed him to the reality of state neglect and corruption.
A pivotal moment, too, was the railroading of the Anti-Terror Law and when he saw fellow Negrosanon youth held a picket protest in front of Congressmen Greg Gasataya’s office. He began to realize the importance of collective action and was inspired by their show of militancy.
He eventually became part of the media staff and a dedicated campaigner for former Vice President Leni Robredo during the 2021 election. It was then, too, that he became a member of Kabataan Party-list.
He previously held the position Copy Editor for The Technopacer Talisay in Carlos Hilado Memorial State Univerisity (CHMSU). Guzon was also instrumental in the reactivation of the the regional chapter of College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) in 2023.
Guzon is also actively working with ecumenical and civil society to promote good governance as part of the secretariat in the broad People’s Coalition for Democracy Negros (PCDN). He is also elected President of Talisay Organization for Gender Inclusivity (TOGI), a broad coalition for LGBTQ+ youth under the Local Youth Development Council in his hometown Talisay City.
In a Facebook post, Joel Jaquinta said: “I can vouch that Florence Guzon is not a member of NPA neither a supporter. As a student and youth leader, he is passionate about so many advocacies that advance the rights and welfare of the students and youth and different sectors.”
“He is young, intelligent and dynamic. His enthusiasm and idealism may be perceived by some as left leaning but I know he is for the welfare of the poor and the oppressed,” he added.
Guzon is currently collating facts and working alongside human rights groups to file a formal complaint to the Commission of Human Rights.
In Negros, two former Kabataan Party-list coordinators have also been victim of state attacks, including former VP for Visayas CJ Matarlo and Negros Coordinator turned peasant organizer Harlyn Balora, both of whom are still in detention since 2022 due to trumped-up charges.
Paghimutad 