By Ade S. Fajardo
Red-tagging did not invade the national consciousness until Rodrigo Duterte created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) at the height of his popularity in 2018.
This task force was notorious for branding government critics and dissidents as terrorists, and made them vulnerable to abductions and executions. To some, getting listed as a member of the New People’s Army was equivalent to a death sentence.
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In this context, Siegfred Deduro filed a petition for the issuance of a writ of amparo with the regional trial court of Iloilo.
Deduro is a founding member and vice president of Bayan Muna Party-list and Bayan Muna Coalition. He was Bayan Muna Party-list representative in the 12th Congress.
He alleged that military officers in the 3rd Infantry Division red-tagged and accused him of being a ranking member of the CPP-NPA during a meeting held at the Iloilo provincial capitol in June 2020.
The allegations were published by Bombo Radyo Iloilo and the Philippine News Agency.
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Posters of Deduro’s image were posted alongside those of lawyers, activists and members of non-governmental organizations in public places in Iloilo City.
Worse, two persons whose photographs were also publicly posted had met violent deaths. Bayan Muna Iloilo City coordinator Jory Porquia was liquidated right inside his home in Arevalo on April 30, 2020.
Human rights activist Zara Alvarez was only 39 years old when she was gunned down in Bacolod City on August 17, 2020.
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Iloilo judge Nestie Go dismissed Deduro’s petition because his contentions were “purely baseless and not supported by evidence as the same failed to show by prima facie evidence that such incidents constitute threats against petitioner’s right to life, liberty and security.”
The petition was dismissed outright. The judge did not even require the respondents to respond to the petition.
What is staggering is that while Deduro’s appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, his lawyer Angelo Karlo Guillen reported that he was attacked and stabbed several times in March 2021. He had to undergo surgery and physical therapy.
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The Supreme Court reversed the outright dismissal and directed the trial court to conduct a summary hearing on the petition.
Red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association constitute threats to a person’s right to life, liberty or security which may justify the issuance of a writ of amparo, according to the Court.
The basic function of a writ of amparo is to compel disclosure of details concerning extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. It is meant to prevent impunity and to punish perpetrators by investigations and actions.
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This Supreme Court ruling has renewed calls for President Marcos to address red-tagging by disbanding the NTF-ELCAC.
The task force has been accused of fabricating lies to quell dissent and attacking individuals and organizations with disinformation.
If at all, this is a breath of fresh air after several years of fear to advocate for social causes. Activism plays a major role in shaping a developing economy./WDJ