'There is no such thing as red-tagging’: NTF-ELCAC spox

MANILA – No one is “red-tagging,” National Task Force to end Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson for sectoral concerns and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Badoy said “the term red-tagging is just a tool” of front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), to silence those who speak against them “to blow their cover.”

“There is no such thing as ‘red-tagging’. No less than the Supreme Court has ruled that there is no danger to life, liberty, and security when one is identified as a member of the CPP-NPA-NDF,” Badoy said.

She noted the NTF-ELCAC is standing firm in its duty of telling the truth to the Filipino people.

“The time for silencing us is long past. It is now time for the CPP-NPA-NDF to shut up,” she added.

Badoy said the CPP-NPA-NDF and its various front organizations have been deceiving the people to recruit them in the armed struggle.

“ [And] once in, lead them down the road to extremism with one goal and one goal alone—the violent overthrow of the government and the installation of communism in the Philippines. Countless lives have been sacrificed in the altar of the terrorist Joma Sison—our children, our indigenous peoples, the most vulnerable among us,” she added.

She emphasized that the job of the NTF-ELCAC is to put an end to what she described as a “tragic bloodbath” type of communist armed revolution.

The anti-insurgency programs of the NTF-ELCAC, she said, have pushed almost 24,000 rebels to lay down their arms and return to the folds of the law.

“Almost 24,000 Filipinos no longer killing fellow Filipinos, 24,000 Filipinos rejoining their families and once again leading peaceful, productive lives,” she added.

The whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach of the NTF-ELCAC has also dismantled a significant number of guerilla fronts of the CPP, clearing many barangays nationwide free from insurgencies.

She said this also brought to institutionalizing good governance within local communities, particularly the communist-infiltrated areas, as directed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

“We stand firm in ending this 53-year communist terrorist scourge and this also includes speaking the truth about politicians who form unholy alliances with the CPP-NPA-NDF and who lend them material support for their political ambitions at the expense of our country. We will be unstinting with the Truth and we will name them and not be a party to their cover-up,” Badoy said.

Badoy said they will continue to push peace efforts in the countryside—especially in areas penetrated by the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) and their allies.

“We will not be a party to anything that prolongs the life of this communist terrorist group that has brought untold grief and destruction to our country—on no small measure brought on by the alliances made by traitors in our midst who pretend to be public servants while selling us and our children to these terrorists in exchange for whatever votes they can get from rotten deals they make,” she said.

Badoy said, “peace is no longer a distant dream in the Philippines.”

“In the countryside where numerous barangays have been cleared of the toxic presence of these terrorists, our countrymen are finally breathing the air of free men and women for the first time in decades. Peace has become a reality and it has made landfall in communities all over the country that have known nothing but the abuse and exploitation of the CPP-NPA-NDF,” she added.

Violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees were filed against Badoy by different sectoral groups and personalities in the Ombudsman on Wednesday morning.

However, Badoy remained unfazed by the administrative complaints filed against her.

“This obvious propaganda at the doorstep of the Ombudsman of the CPP-NPA-NDF fronts like KABATAAN, ANAKPAWIS, BAYAN MUNA, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), GABRIELA—collectively and aptly named KABAG— doesn’t even register with us,” she said.

“The Filipino people stand united with us in this fight for the country and together we will put an end to the terrorist CPP-NPA-NDF,” she added.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973. (PNA)