Maria Carolina "Carol" Castillo Pagaduan Araullo (born December 15, 1953) is a Filipino activist and was formerly the Chairperson of

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan () is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The ...

(''New Patriotic Alliance'').

College education and early activism

Araullo went into

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

as a psychology major. Active in extra-curriculars, she was elected councilor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and later as vice-chairperson of the

University Student Council A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. She also joined the UP Student Catholic Action. During the

Diliman Commune The Diliman Commune was a nine-day uprising led by the students, faculty members, and residents of the University of the Philippines Diliman, on February 1–9, 1971 — about a year after the events of the First Quarter Storm and about a yea ...

, she was studying for exam when she was called by a fellow student by realizing unto her that while the students are outside protesting, she is still studying. She participated in the said mass action but was initially critical of the violence coming from both the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and the protesters. But having witnessed the shooting of Pastor Mesina radicalized her, realizing that, "the State, the government, that has a monopoly on sanctioned violence." She became a known youth leader during the resistance under the martial law era under then-dictator

Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the country under ...

. She graduated from

University of the Philippines College of Medicine The University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine (CM) is the medical school of the University of the Philippines Manila, the oldest constituent university of the University of the Philippines System. Its establishment in 1905 anteda ...

. She delivered the valedictory address at the 1975 UP commencement exercises after she was detained for two years. She also went and organized in the underground.

Post martial-law

After martial law, she realized that even though the president changed, the system did not. While not practicing medicine formally, she was able to organize health practitioners among rural communities. Araullo has been the Chairperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan since 2008. She has continuously spoken regarding various issues in the Philippines beyond regarding human rights, economics, and sovereignty. In October 2022, Araullo and her son Atom were red-tagged by social media trolls, including former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz, claiming that she is a member of the New People's Army and responsible for the Mendiola Massacre. Her son,

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

, called out the red-tagging incident and filed a suit against Badoy and Celiz for civil damages, which ruled in favor of the Araullos. She writes an editorial in

BusinessWorld ''BusinessWorld'' is a business newspaper in the Philippines with a nationwide circulation of more than 117,000 (as of March 2014). Founded in 1967 as ''Business Day'', it is Southeast Asia's first daily business newspaper. History ''Busin ...

, titled "Streetwise."

Personal life

Her husband is Miguel Araullo, an engineer. She is the mother of journalist and TV personality

Atom Araullo Alfonso Tomas "Atom" Pagaduan Araullo (; born October 19, 1982) is a Filipino broadcast journalist and television presenter. He currently hosts documentary programs such as '' The Atom Araullo Specials'' and ''I-Witness'', and is serving as th ...

. She said that Atom's activism also came into him personally, during the protests against then-president

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Araullo, Carol Filipino activists University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Living people 1953 births