Raphael Martin Magno
Lorraine Badoy strikes again, and her target vows to strike back.
Although no longer a government official and spokesperson for the anticommunist task force, Badoy continued to Red-tag former Vice President Leni Robredo and her nongovernmental organization (NGO) Angat Buhay.
But Raphael Martin Magno, executive director of Angat Pinas Inc., the registered name of Robredo鈥檚 Angat Buhay movement, said they would not let Badoy鈥檚 allegations pass unchallenged.
鈥淗er claims are utterly baseless and completely false, and worse, encourage the harassment of our staff members, volunteers and partners,鈥� Magno said.
鈥淭o our friends and supporters, rest assured that we are not taking this sitting down,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e will not allow these efforts to sabotage our work to prosper.鈥�
He said their lawyers were being consulted for 鈥減ossible legal actions鈥� against Badoy, who served as spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) under the Duterte administration.
In a short clip of her July 4 interview with SMNI 黑料社 Channel that is circulating on social media, Badoy said that communist rebels were 鈥渞eally working overtime on their recruitment鈥� and was being carried out through Angat Buhay.
鈥淔ellow Filipinos, the people behind Angat Buhay is CPP-NPA-NDF,鈥� Badoy said, referring to the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing, the New People鈥檚 Army, and its political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
She also said that there were mothers looking for their children 鈥渨ho are now gone and they can no longer find them.鈥� Badoy claimed without proof that these children had 鈥渏oined Leni Youth.鈥�
鈥楤ring it on鈥�
Magno said the possible legal move against Badoy was intended to 鈥減rotect the integrity鈥� of Angat Buhay, their work and their volunteers and partners.
In a curt response on Facebook on Friday, Badoy said: 鈥淏ring it on. My lawyers await you.鈥�
As Vice President and as a presidential candidate, Robredo, who is now Angat Buhay鈥檚 chair, was a constant Red-tagging target by the NTF-Elcac and other pro-administration officials who claimed that her presidential campaign was supported by communist rebels.
Both Robredo and the rebels have denied this.
鈥淭he time to stand up to fake news and hold its purveyors to account is now,鈥� Magno said. 鈥淥ur work is beyond personalities and politics. Our work is about fundamental values. Our work is about leaving no one behind.鈥�
Various civil society groups and personalities have filed charges against Badoy in the Office of the Ombudsman for Red-tagging them.
Marcos adviser shuns it
In the Philippines, Red-tagging is a form of labeling individuals and groups as communist party members or sympathizers. As a result, many of them had either been prosecuted, persecuted, attacked or killed by government security forces or pro-state armed groups.
Various local and international human rights organizations have called for a stop to Red-tagging, citing the real life-and-death consequences on individuals and members of groups that had been so labeled.
The new administration鈥檚 National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, the former president of the National Defense College of the Philippines who will cochair the anticommunist task force with President Marcos, rejects the Red-tagging practice, saying it should be stopped 鈥渂ecause it makes no sense labeling people.鈥�
Carlos, a retied political science professor, had said that government resources should instead be invested in addressing 鈥渋ssues of injustice, lack of opportunity and the huge inequality between the poor and the rich鈥� in the state鈥檚 counterinsurgency efforts.
Complaints piling up
On March 23, three separate complaints were filed by 26 individuals against Badoy with the Ombudsman for Red-tagging them and Robredo. This was prompted by Badoy鈥檚 claim that the former Vice President allegedly colluded with the Reds through a 鈥減act with the devil鈥� supposedly to boost her presidential bid.
The complaints filed by teachers, concerned citizens, youth groups, among others, were followed a week later by progressive groups of farmers and workers, also charging Badoy with Red-tagging.
The Alliance of Health Workers also filed a similar complaint against Badoy.
Later, the mother of community pantry advocate Ana Patricia Non and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa lodged separate complaints against Badoy.
The first complaint against Badoy鈥檚 Red-tagging spree was filed in 2020 by independent economic research outfit Ibon Foundation. The Ibon complaint also included Carlos鈥� predecessor, Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and now retired Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr.
In that same year, human rights group Karapatan, the National Union of Peoples鈥� Lawyers, then-Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, and Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago also charged Badoy with violating the antigraft law and the ethical code for public officials and employees for her conduct.
Badoy, Esperon and other senior officials appointed by Mr. Duterte to the anticommunist task force are considered to have also ended their service in government after the former president stepped down on June 30.