MANILA, Philippines — Members of the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc believe that Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy should resign for red-tagging them without any sufficient basis.
Members of the bloc — composed of party-list groups Bayan Muna, ACT Teachers, Gabriela, and Kabataan —issued individual statements on the issue on Wednesday before the House Committee on Appropriations after the hearing on the proposed budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
ACT Rep. France Castro said that the delays in the deliberation of the PCOO budget — which were stalled after she called for a suspension of the hearings — could only be attributed to Badoy.
“Badoy has no one else to blame except herself for the delay of the deliberations of the PCOO budget,” Castro said.
“We will not allow an undersecretary of a government agency to keep spreading her lies that bring violence and threats to our lives and our families,” she added.
[Original statement in Filipino: “Hindi kami papayag na basta na lang hahayaan na ang isang Undersecretary ng isang ahensiya ng gobyerno ay patuloy na maghahasik ng kaniyang mga kasinungalingan na nagdudulot ng pandarahas at pananakot sa aming buhay at pamilya.”]
“It’s no joke that red-tagging could ruin an individual or an organization. She has been continuously spreading fake news about us, the members of the Makabayan bloc, oppositionists like Vice President [Leni] Robredo, and progressive groups and individuals. We will not allow this to continue, especially now that they’ asking for their budget before this Congress,” she added.
[Original statement in Filipino: “Hindi biro ang maaaring kapinsalaan ng red-tagging sa isang indibidwal o organisasyon. Talamak ang pagpapakalat nila ng fake news tungkol sa aming mga miyembro ng Makabayan bloc, mga oposisyong tulad ni Vice President Robredo, mga progresibong organisasyon at mga idibidwal. Hindi natin ito hahayaang pagpatuloy lalo ngayong humihingi sila ng badyet sa Kongresong ito.”]
Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas aired the same sentiments, saying: “If Usec. Badoy will continue to use her position and taxpayers’ money to criminalize dissent, she might as well leave her post. Her baseless accusations against activists and legal organizations are dangerous, especially in this political climate where activists who are voicing out the demands of the crisis-hit Filipinos were being red-tagged, illegally arrested, and even killed.”
Brosas and Castro were referring to Facebook posts Badoy made over the weekend, asking Makabayan lawmakers to drop their “legislator” title and admit to being high-ranking members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) — which has been conducting an uprising, mainly in rural areas, for over 50 years.
Badoy said that the lawmakers were threatening the country’s democratic institutions.
But Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said that the official should instead focus on explaining the alleged pork barrel insertions in the PCOO budget.
This was not the first time that administration officials— including the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in which Badoy is a member — tagged progressive groups as members of CPP through legal fronts.
During the House hearing, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said that they would not allow a government official to red-tag elected lawmakers, as it was irresponsible and placed them and their families in danger.
In response, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said that Badoy’s post did not represent the agency and should not affect budget discussions.
“It was her own Facebook post using her own Facebook page. It was not posted on the PCOO’s page. Whatever our esteemed Undersecretary Badoy says, that is her own post on her page and that should not affect the rest of the PCOO’s budget, including the agencies’ budget,” Andanar said.
Administration officials and activists have been butting heads recently, due to various issues like the need for a better COVID-19 response, economic assistance to poor families, and recently, the absolute pardon granted to US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Pemberton.
Previously, members of the NTF-ELCAC said that progressive groups acting as legal fronts of the communist armed movement were jumping on the ABS-CBN shutdown issue to gain support.
This prompted the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to step in and remind the NTF-ELCAC that legitimate dissent from journalists and activists were protected by law, and diverse opinions should not be a reason to be tagged as NPA members.
But prior to the pandemic, NTF-ELCAC officials and the Southern Luzon Command chief, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., said they had truckloads of evidence to confirm the Makabayan members’ affiliations to CPP-NPA.
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