DILG chief: I don’t mind being called a fascist
MANILA, Philippines — Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who supervises the Philippine National Police (PNP), said he “didn’t mind” being called a fascist by youth activists.
Remulla was at a La Salle Institute of Governance forum at the De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila on Thursday when, during an open forum segment, youth activists could be heard chanting their calls, ending with “DLSU, cut ties with fascists!”
“See? I told you I was called a fascist. It’s okay. I don’t mind,” Remulla replied. “No one will arrest you. No one will tag you. You have that right. Exercise that right.”
READ: He ‘should be ashamed of himself’: Remulla scores Parlade
Before this exchange, the DILG chief was asked about the 51 individuals arrested during a rally ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address last Monday (Sona) and the death of construction worker Eric Saber, believed to have been caught in the crossfire between police and rioters in Manila during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption protests last year.
Remulla defended the arrest of the 51 individuals, saying the PNP only used “minimum force.”
Forty-two of the 51 individuals had since been freed, while nine remained under Quezon City Police District custody, awaiting criminal charges, according to the PNP.
‘Not targeting students’
The secretary was also asked whether the DILG’s open government partnership with educational institutions would also involve the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
“I’d like to correct that,” Remulla replied instead. “I was part of that NTF-Elcac. I attended the meetings. It was never against student activists.”
He cited an encounter between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), in Toboso, Negros Occidental last April, which killed 19 individuals.
READ: CPP releases names of casualties in ‘Toboso 19,’ including 9 civilians
The AFP insisted that all 19 individuals were NPA combatants, but the CPP maintained that nine of the fatalities were civilians, including University of the Philippines (UP) student-leader Alyssa Alano, 22.
Nonetheless, Remulla asserted, “The last encounter we had in Negros was a grand plenum of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which involves students.”
Remulla pointed out that he was an alumnus of UP.
“We have demonstrations every day. We have forums every day. And they voice their sentiments. And no one has been targeted,” the secretary said.
“Students are not targeted. It’s when you join the armed revolution that’s when you cross the line and then, the government takes over,” he maintained.
“But, I assure you, I’m head of the PNP, we never red-tag students if they are voicing their concerns and I give you that guarantee,” he added.
Human rights groups have historically been in the crosshairs of the NTF-Elcac.
For instance, in March 2025, the party-list of the women’s group Gabriela lodged a red-tagging and gender-based sexual harassment against the NTF-Elcac before the Commission on Elections.
Gabriela cited statements in which the task force insinuated the group and other Makabayan-affiliated entities were connected to the CPP-NPA.
Remulla himself once criticized then-NTF-Elcac spokesperson and AFP Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. for red-tagging Gabriela.
NTF-Elcac was created through Executive Order No. 70 issued by then-President Rodrigo Duterte in December 2018. /mr
