MANILA, Philippines — Even though the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (J2) Maj. Gen. Alex Luna was relieved over the publication of an erroneous list of University of the Philippines (UP) graduates who had supposedly joined the New People’s Army (NPA), crucial questions remain unanswered, a red-tagged UP alumni said Thursday.
Free Legal Assistance Group member Raffy Aquino, who was wrongly included on the list, said there are unanswered questions about how the military generated the list.
“What were the bases of J2 for including us in the list? What are the objectives for drawing up that list, to begin with? Would this be to facilitate military targeting?” he asked in a statement.
“What is the official thinking guiding the generation of these lists and their use? Does the military still have dossiers on the political activities of conscientious Filipinos, dating back to the 1970s and 1980s?” he added.
Aquino pointed out that he and his family continue to be “threatened and insecure” following his inclusion in the said list.
He said he was also pondering what the list could do for Filipino activism.
“Weighing heavily on my mind, however, and on the minds of my fellow UP alumni who were included in that list, is what all this [does] for Filipino activism,” Aquino said.
“If this could be done to us, how much easier could a similar outrage be inflicted upon our countrymen who do not have the same access to media and legal resources, including ordinary students and their teachers?” he further continued.
He said red-tagging is “fatal to the free expression” underpinning Filipino democracy.
Lorenzana had called the release of the list an “unforgivable lapse.”
“His negligence only shows a lackadaisical attitude towards his job resulting in confusion and damage to reputation,” the defense secretary said.
“We do not take these offenses lightly, and I want to hold the people involved accountable,” he added.
READ: Lorenzana sacks senior intel officer for UP Red-tagging blunder
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