This photo taken on June 8, 2021, shows the facade of the Commission on Human Rights office in Quezon City. 鈥擣ile photo by NI脩O JESUS ORBETA | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) praised broadcast journalist Atom Araullo鈥檚 victory in a civil suit against Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) hosts Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz, warning that 鈥渞ed-tagging downplays the truth.鈥�
In a decision dated Dec. 12, 2024, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 306 ordered Badoy and Celiz to pay Araullo P2.07 million for violating provisions of the Civil Code when they tagged the journalist as a member of the communist movement.
鈥淎cts of red-tagging undermine the credibility and professionalism of journalists, negatively affecting press freedom and every citizen鈥檚 right to information,鈥� the CHR said in a statement Friday.
鈥淏y arbitrarily associating them with communists or terrorists, the truth is placed at risk of being downplayed. This has a detrimental effect on ensuring every Filipino can freely access evidence-based information,鈥� it added.
CHR cited the Supreme Court ruling last May, which declared that acts of red-tagging 鈥渢hreaten one鈥檚 life, liberty, or security.鈥�
The commission continued: 鈥淲e take this opportunity to remind everyone 鈥� both public officials and private individuals 鈥� that we all have the responsibility to ensure our actions do not infringe upon the rights and liberties of others.鈥�
鈥淟iving in a democratic country entails not just enjoying freedoms but also carrying the duty to respect and protect the rights of others,鈥� it added.
Badoy is a former spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), while Celiz is a confessed ex-communist rebel.
The pair of SMNI hosts targeted Araullo and his mother, Carol Araullo, who is chair emeritus of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), in red-tagging sprees on their show 鈥淟aban Kasama ng Bayan鈥� (Fighting Alongside the Country).
Atom Araullo was branded a 鈥渟pawn鈥� of an active Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) central committee leader and was also accused of orchestrating attacks against the government supposedly by producing content aligned with the propaganda of the New People鈥檚 Army (NPA), the CPP鈥檚 armed wing.
In its ruling, the lower court said that remarks of Badoy and Celiz 鈥渨ere aimed at damaging the plaintiff鈥檚 reputation and credibility, both as a person and as a journalist, by associating him with the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front) without proof.鈥�
The CHR said: 鈥淭he Commission is hopeful that this landmark victory, beyond setting a stronger legal precedent for related cases, will further empower victims of red-tagging to seek redress and utilize available legal mechanisms against arbitrary actions that threaten their safety and well-being.鈥�
For her part, Badoy said she will 鈥�exhaust all legal remedies until we reach the highest court of the land if need be鈥�, declaring that the 鈥渇ight was not over.鈥�