House minority bloc wants Badoy out for ‘malicious red-tagging’

UNDER FIRE: Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy

MANILA, Philippines — The minority bloc lawmakers of the House of Representatives have called on the resignation of Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy over her “malicious red-tagging” of Makabayan bloc lawmakers.

In a manifesto, which was read by Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante during the plenary on Tuesday, minority lawmakers said PCOO, through Badoy, has “made use its resources to peddle fake news disinformation, and attacks on critics and the opposition, in an attempt to curtail dissent.”

“At the forefront of these attacks is PCOO Usec. Lorraine Badoy. Her actions as an appointed government official do not uphold the basic Filipino core values and deliberately disrespect elected public officials who were mandated to serve their constituencies,” the manifestation read.

“These relentless attacks of Usec. Badoy through her social media platforms, which even incited her followers to issue threats of harm against sitting members of the House, are not acceptable to the Minority, and, we will not take it in stride or sitting down,” it added.

Aside from Badoy’s resignation, the lawmakers urged her and PCOO officials to take down its social media posts that “disrespect and slander” the Makabayan bloc lawmakers.

They also urged PCOO and Badoy to issue a public apology.

“Finally, [we call for the] removal of Usec. Badoy from her post, as she does not embody the proper conduct of a civil servant,” he said.

“Usec. Badoy’s malicious terrorist tagging of the Makabayan bloc Representatives are putting in jeopardy, not only the security but more importantly the lives of sitting members of the House,” it added.

Makabayan lawmakers earlier called for the resignation of Badoy over red-tagging them without any sufficient basis.

Badoy initially rejected the call to resign, saying that she should not be the one to leave office because she had never deceived Filipinos.

However, Badoy said she is only willing to resign if the six progressive lawmakers denounce the communist rebels’ atrocities, among other conditions.  [ac]