DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Heroine Fernandez learned on the afternoon of Sept. 29 that someone identifying himself as a military personnel had been looking for her—not by contacting her directly, but by reaching out to her mother.
Fernandez said her mother contacted her after receiving a Messenger message from a Facebook account called “Charlie OneTwo,” whose user introduced himself as “PFC Dagohoy.”
The person asked to speak with her mother and meet her face-to-face to discuss Fernandez’s organization at the University of the Philippines Mindanao, where she recently graduated. The user reportedly said the matter could still be “agapan pa nang maaga,” or addressed early.
Fernandez said the message alarmed her because she could not understand why someone identifying himself as a military personnel would be looking for her family.
“I was alarmed because, naturally, why would they be looking for me? I didn’t have anything to be afraid of,” Fernandez told Davao Today in Filipino.
Fernandez immediately asked her mother to screenshot the conversation.
The contact did not end with the Messenger exchange. Fernandez said the person behind the account also called her mother twice, once at around 3:43 p.m. and again at around 4:30 p.m. the following day, Sept. 30.
The Facebook account contained photographs of the person wearing a military uniform, according to Fernandez. She said the account has since become unavailable and can no longer be searched or tagged.
Fernandez said she and her friends attempted to determine the person’s military affiliation, but acknowledged that the information they found linking the account to a particular Army unit had not been independently confirmed.
Contact through the family
Fernandez said the Sept. 29 incident was not the first time her family had received information that someone connected to the military was looking for her.
On Sept. 2, her mother learned that a military relative of her godchild had also been asking about her.
“That was the first time but we didn’t have any tangible evidence of it. So, we just kept it as documentation,” Fernandez said.
She said the incidents shocked her family, particularly because she had not been completely open with them about the extent of her involvement in activism.
Her parents became worried about both her safety and theirs, including concerns that her organizational activities could lead authorities to associate her with armed groups.
Fernandez reassured her parents that the organizations she belongs to are legal.
“I am doing my best to console them that they have nothing to worry about because this is a student organization and we carry campaigns of the masses. There’s nothing to worry about because it’s all completely legal.”
History of alleged surveillance
Fernandez believed the contact may be connected to her previous activities as a student leader at UP Mindanao. She served as a University Student Council councilor for academic year 2023-2024 and as chairperson for academic year 2024-2025. She was also previously chair of the League of Filipino Students (LFS)-UP Mindanao chapter and currently the coordinates LFS-Davao.
During her tenure as USC chairperson, Fernandez was involved in campaigns concerning student rights, including calls for the relocation of the 11th Regional Community Defense Group (RCDG) from the UP Mindanao campus.
She recalled a Facebook post by an individual associated with the RCDG during a Martial Law commemoration last year, where commenter asked who had led the campaign calling for the relocation of the military unit.
According to Fernandez, the person who uploaded the post replied by naming her as the campaign leader, although her first name was misspelled.
Fernandez is also aware of other student leaders and activists who have allegedly experienced similar incidents but have not publicly disclosed them because of security concerns.
“Some of the student leaders and activists didn’t feel comfortable sharing their issues on social media because there are factors to consider, especially security,” she said.
Fernandez said she chose to make her case public because she wanted to challenge attempts to intimidate activists and their families.
“I chose to publicize because it’s counter propaganda to the state, to the military that did that to my family,” she said. “It’s a big blow for them because they deactivated their account,” she added.
Youth groups condemn monitoring
The Hands Off Mindanao Youth Activists Network (HOMYA) condemned the harassment and intimidation against Fernandez and her family.
“The harassment and badgering of an activist’s family by state forces is not merely an act of intimidation—it is a deliberate assault on their sense of safety and a serious threat to their mental, emotional and psychological well-being,” their statement read.
“By bringing fear and pressure into the family’s home, state forces inflict distress not only on Fernandez but also on her loved ones, forcing them to bear the emotional burden of attacks directed at an activist.”
The group called for an immediate end to harassment, surveillance, intimidation and criminal-tagging against Fernandez, her family and other youth activists in Mindanao. It also demanded accountability from the concerned military personnel and their commanding officers and called for a transparent investigation into the incident.
The All Student Councils Assembly (ASCA) of UP Mindanao also condemned the surveillance and pressure against Fernandez and her family, highlighting her previous role in the USC and her involvement in advancing student demands. The group called on UP Mindanao to convene its Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights (CAFHR).
Seeking accountability
For Fernandez, the central question remains why the person identifying himself as a military personnel chose to approach her family instead of contacting her directly. If the military had concerns about her organizational involvement, she said, those concerns should be addressed to her directly.
“The accountability I need is for Charlie OneTwo to show up and directly address the reasons why I am being sought out and why my family is being dragged into this; if Charlie OneTwo has an agenda or business matter, it should be taken up directly with me so we can discuss it properly and confront the issue.”
She questioned why her participation in student organizations would warrant attention from the military in the first place.
“A normal individual would join organizations, right? Because they are in college, they are students—individuals who want to discover and learn about our society.”
Fernandez said her family is considering seeking legal assistance and psychological first aid following the incident. For now, she wants the person behind the account to explain why he sought out her family and what prompted the contact.
“Activists are not terrorists. Let us push for a stop on the monitoring of progressive student leaders. They are just fighting for human rights. And there’s no more beyond that,” she said. (davaotoday.com)
