Tag Archives: Red Tagging

[Statement] NTF-ELCAC’s Unwanted Visits to Unionists Homes Threatens Unionists | CTUHR

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#HumanRights #StopRedTagging

NTF-ELCAC’s Unwanted Visits to Unionists Homes Threatens Unionists

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) raised the alarm anew on the report of a new wave of “unwanted visits” of elements of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to homes of union officers of Nexperia Philippines Inc. Workers Union (NPIWU), in Laguna last Sunday, August 22.

According to the account of the union, elements of the NTF-ELCAC, clad in fatigue military uniforms, some with firearms, simultaneously visited the homes of four (4) officers of their union at around 8:00 to 9:00 in the morning of August 22. The residences of the four (4) are in Brgy. Pulo and Brgy. Banaybanay in Cabuyao, Laguna. The said agents were summoning them to the Barangay Office to have an orientation with a “surrenderee” and sign an “agreement.” The three (3) refused to come to the Barangay Hall, while the other one was at work at the time of the visit.

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[Statement] Profiling of lawyers is an assault to the administration of justice | NUJP

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#HumanRights #RedTagging

Profiling of lawyers is an assault to the administration of justice

On March 12, 2021, a certain Police Lieutenant Fernando G. Calabria, Jr., Chief Intelligence Officer of Calbayog City Police Station wrote a letter to the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Calbayog City Hall of Justice “requesting” a list of lawyers representing supposed communist-terrorist group (CTG) personalities in court. The letter shows that the request is supposedly in compliance with the order of “PNP higher offices” to which the data will be submitted. Attached to the letter is a table of the data being requested from the clerk of court, to wit: “Legal Personality, Affiliations, Client (CTG Personality), Mode of Neutralization, Case Filed, and Status”.

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[Statement] AMRSP solidarity statement for Mayor Aquino’s death, Otto de Vries, bloody Sunday, and the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines

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#HumanRights #Killings #RedTagging

AMRSP solidarity statement for Mayor Aquino’s death, Otto de Vries, bloody Sunday, and the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines

From AMRSP FB page

We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’ – Jeremiah 8:15

What is happening in our land?

Violence continues to spiral uncontrollably and with such impunity in our beloved land. So much pain and anguish, hatred and division have afflicted our peoples and nation that we seem indifferent to these deadly events happening in our midst.

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[Statement] on the forceful taking of the lumad children and red-tagging of their counsel, Children’s Legal Bureau | ALG

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#HumanRights #StopRedTagging

Statement of the Alternative Law Groups (ALG) on the forceful taking of the lumad children and red-tagging of their counsel, Children’s Legal Bureau

The Alternative Law Groups (ALG) strongly denounces the red-tagging of the Children’s Legal Bureau, Inc. (CLB), a member of the ALG, and the act of government agencies involved in seizing Lumad children in the University of San Carlos (USC) Talamban on Feb. 15, 2021.

The incident concerns members of the Lumad Bakwit School, children and their teachers alike, that were unlawfully arrested in the USC Talamban campus in Cebu City. This was conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Cebu City Department of Social Welfare and Services.

The PNP issued a statement alleging that the children were first “lured to enroll with communist front” and then brought to Cebu City to “undergo revolutionary training as future armed combatants.” They claimed it was a “rescue” operation for Lumad children studying in the Lumad Bakwit School. In truth, the children taken are refugees from militarized areas of Mindanao that are seeking education they do not have access to.

In a statement issued by the CLB, an ALG member that represents seven of the Lumad children, they have indicated that the forceful taking of the children were “unnecessary and uncalled for” because the children were not in a dangerous situation. They further added that greater prudence could have been practiced by the government agencies if the children’s best interest were put first. To add to this grave misconduct by the government, CLB was recently red-tagged in a public poster seen in Mandaue City, Cebu by a certain People for Peace Coalition-Central Visayas.

Chad Errol Booc, volunteer teacher for Math and Science with the Lumad Bakwit School, was among those arrested. Chad along with other indigenous leaders who have long-suffered from red-tagging are assailing the constitutionality of the Anti-Terror Law.

The ALG is alarmed by these incidents that further reinforce the fear of progressive organizations and indigenous peoples that the Anti-Terror Law will be used as a political tool to suppress human rights and other liberties.

The ALG stands by the CLB, the Lumad children and their parents, and the indigenous peoples community and advocates that walk with them. We call on the government to take actions so that the agencies concerned be held accountable. We also continue the call to junk terror law as it only further sows a culture of fear, violence, and impunity.

FreeLumad26

JunkTerrorLaw

SaveOurSchools

Alternative Law Groups
Ateneo Human Rights Center
BALAOD Mindanaw
Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Inc. – ELAC
ERDA Foundation, Inc.
Humanitarian Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc – HLAF
KAISAHAN
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center
Process Foundation Panay,inc
Rainbow Rights Philippines
SALIGAN
Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau – WLB

https://web.facebook.com/TheAlternativeLawGroups/photos/a.806936606128956/1892271134262159/

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[Video] Ano nga ba ang red-tagging at bakit ito mapanganib?

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#HumanRights #RedTagging

Ano nga ba ang red-tagging at bakit ito mapanganib?

Videos from:

CNN Philippines
ABS-CBN TV Patrol
PAHRA
iDEFEND

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[Statement] Philippine General Should Answer for ‘Red-Tagging’ -HRW

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#HumanRights #NoToRedTagging

Philippine General Should Answer for ‘Red-Tagging’
Long-Overdue Investigation of Deadly Practice
By Phil Robertson

The Armed Forces of the Philippines surprisingly announced this week that it was investigating Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. after he accused a journalist of “aiding terrorists by spreading lies.” The military’s provost marshal was tapped to lead the investigation.

The big question is whether this action is a one-off, or whether pressure against the military’s use of red-baiting tactics may finally be having an impact.

The journalist in question, Tetch Torres-Tupas of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, had earlier reported on a petition before the Supreme Court that contained allegations that soldiers tortured members of an Indigenous community. Activists and fellow journalists took Parlade’s tirade as a threat to Tupas.

This is not the first time Parlade has courted controversy. As both a government spokesman for an anti-communist task force and commander of the military’s Southern Luzon Command, Parlade has in recent months been on a “red-tagging” spree, publicly accusing leftist activists but also journalists and celebrities of being either members or supporters of the New People’s Army communist insurgency.

Communist-baiting has long been part of the government’s counterinsurgency campaign, and over the years has been linked to many killings. The deadly practice has continued to the present. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found in a June 2020 report that “red-tagging” in the Philippines has “posed a serious threat to civil society and freedom of expression.”

The problem does not start and stop with Parlade. President Rodrigo Duterte has frequently used “red tagging” to attack leftist critics of his administration. In November, Duterte singled out Congressman Carlos Zarate as a communist. In previous public statements, other Duterte administration officials likewise “red-tagged” their critics.

“Red-tagging” constricts further the increasingly diminished democratic space in the Philippines, where activists, rights lawyers, journalists, and even ordinary Filipinos on social media are under threat. The military’s investigation into Parlade should be both thorough and impartial, and this should be the start of larger efforts to hold to account all government officials who give a wink and a nod to extrajudicial killings by their “red-tagging.”

Phil Robertson
Deputy Asia Director
Human Rights Watch
@ReapRoy

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[From the web] On the incredulous red-tagging of Altermidya Network at the Dec. 1 Senate hearing -Kodao

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#HumanRights #StopRedTagging On the incredulous red-tagging of Altermidya Network at the Dec. 1 Senate hearing

ONCE AGAIN, state forces led the hostile red-baiting of independent media at the December 1 Senate hearing after they presented the Altermidya Network and its members nationwide as so-called communist fronts.

The red-tagging of Altermidya journalists, online and on-ground, has intensified even more in the past months. These incidents, just like the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) presentation at the Senate hearing earlier, were done without evidence and incredulously linked the member outfits of Altermidya to an underground Communist organization.

In fact, the task force, despite its billion-peso-budget, merely copied the publicly-available Altermidya list of members and placed it under an incredible organizational heading.

We are appalled at this irresponsible practice, which is a stark contrast to our ethical commitment of truthful and careful reporting as journalists. The Altermidya Network is the broadest alliance of community journalists, independent media outfits, community radio broadcasters, and grassroots film collectives in the country. Its member outfits have a consistent record of covering underreported issues in communities – some for more than two decades, while other community-based media outfits in provinces join and continually expand the network.

Click the link to read the complete article: https://kodao.org/on-the-incredulous-red-tagging-of-altermidya-network-at-the-dec-1-senate-hearing/

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[Right-Up] McCarthyism vs. Arts in the Time of Turmoil -by Norman Novio

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#HumanRights #NoToRedTagging McCarthyism vs. Arts in the Time of Turmoil by Norman Novio

Last Tuesday’s (November 3, 2020) investigation on red-tagging by the Philippine Senate reminds me of the October 1947 hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC on the alleged involvement of some movie personalities in the Communist Party of America. I read about it in the 80s.

That was when McCarthyism invades the very fiber of American society. It was a raucous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs although a huge number of them, in fact, do not belong to the Communist Party.

“May tinatawag po na underground groups sa hanay ng mga manunulat, sa hanay ng mga artista, sa showbiz,” a witness said in a Senate hearing yesterday. “Hindi ko na sasabihin yung mga pangalan nila pero ang mga pelikula nila ay [inaudible], ‘Maynila sa Kuko ng Agila’ at ‘Walang Himala,'” he further said.

As a movie fan, this mixing up made my head twirl!

Around 15,000 families in the island province of Catanduanes, some province in the regions of Cordillera, Bicol and Southern Tagalog were affected by the recent typhoon. In Catanduanes, which is directly hit by TS Rolly, is in urgent need of food and water. The devastated island seeks aid, power and telco restoration in super typhoon’s aftermath. Yet, in the halls of the Philippine Senate that very day, McCarthyism prevailed over recovery from disaster, such as relief and rehabilitation missions.

As the hearing in the Senate transpires, the Philippines’ COVID-19 reached 387,161 and additional 1,772 cases plus 49 new deaths was reported by the Department of Health (DOH) when that man appeared before the Senate hearing Tuesday.

To the Filipino McCarthyists, as alleged, are hiding in the government program called National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC). They have included as targets of red-tagging and red-scare our patriotic artists.

History tells us that Joseph McCarthy was halted by then President Dwight Eisenhower. Red-tagging and red-scare will die and fade away in the long run when the righteous people appear from the political horizon at any given time and situation in the future. That is if we will sustainably expose and oppose such drastic acts detrimental to our enjoyment of our basic human rights.

Arts and truth combined can defeat all fascistic lies in this country and anywhere in the world. Filipino artists will continue heighten their quest for the truth by continuing with their crafts, by proving that in art there is might.

We all look forward for a society freeing up the arts and the whole of Filipino nation. Under those conditions artistic expression, and all other forms of expressions, would be totally liberated from McCarthyism and tyranny in whatever form.

Take no notice of McCathyists, heed the aspirations of the people through arts but not through arms!

(Photo: Galloway)

http://nanovio.blogspot.com/2020/11/mccarthyism-vs-arts-in-unsettled-times.html?m=1

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[In the news] Angel Locsin: ‘Kung magkaiba tayo ng paniniwala, hindi ibig sabihin pwede mo na ako i-red tag’ -INQUIRER.net

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#HumanRights #NoToRedTagging Angel Locsin: ‘Kung magkaiba tayo ng paniniwala, hindi ibig sabihin pwede mo na ako i-red tag’

“Kung mag kaiba tayo [ng paniniwala], hindi ibig sabihin pwede mo na ako i-red tag. Hindi tayo magkakalaban dito.”

(If we have different views, that doesn’t mean you can red tag me. We are not enemies here.)

This was what Angel Locsin said on Friday after Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. warned actress Liza Soberano and other celebrities to withdraw their support for women’s group Gabriela.

In his statement posted on Facebook, Parlade warned Soberano and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray not to “follow the path” of Ella Colmenares, who he alleged “took in the underground” is now a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Please click the link below to read more:

Angel Locsin: ‘Kung magkaiba tayo ng paniniwala, hindi ibig sabihin pwede mo na ako i-red tag’

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[Statement] Reported revocation of PAHRA SEC registration a gag order – iDEFEND

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Government propaganda machine Philippine News Agency is misleading the public and falsely reported that PAHRA’s operation as NGO is illegal because its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration has been revoked. In its continuing attack on civil society, the Duterte administration, now through the SEC named PAHRA along with other human rights and sectoral organizations as communist supporters.

In fact, the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates re-filed and was duly registered again with the SEC since 2010 and this registration information is publicly available. It has been operating legally without encumbrances save for those which government levies on its critics. PAHRA has served for more than thirty years empowering sectors and grassroots communities to improve their lives through human rights advocacy. It has worked with the international community to strengthen human rights implementation and accountability worldwide; and cooperated with academic, legal, and government agencies including the Commission on Human Rights on numerous projects.

SEC’s press release finally sheds light to the true objective of the recently issued SEC Memo Circular 15 Series of 2018, purportedly to protect NPOs (Non-Profit Organizations) from terrorists and money laundering financing abuse by assessing the level of risk of NPOs. The risk assessment is supposed to start when all NPOs have submitted their profile by July 31, 2019. It’s incredible that PAHRA and other NPOs have already been rendered judgement. The SEC is being used by Duterte to target these organizations as he targets the church, independent media, strong women and political opponents, with a single aim to debilitate any and all voices of criticism.

PAHRA is not connected in any way to the CPP nor the NPA. The real agenda why the SEC is acting as an intelligence bureau making this claim is to march to the beat of Duterte’s authoritarian cadence- to silence PAHRA, its partners and network, and all those raising the alarm about the dangerous path onto which this administration is taking the country.

The government’s action is a retaliation to the consistent and comprehensive opposition of PAHRA to government policies at the outset, including the war on drugs, martial law, TRAIN law, contractualization, mining law, charter change and all other “kill bills” that Congress has enacted.

Protecting and defending human rights is first and foremost, government’s legal obligation. As long as government itself continue to violate this mandate it is the people who will rise time and again to demand a rights-based governance towards the realization of social justice and human rights for all.

Source: idefend.ph

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[in the news] Missionaries ignore threats as they aid poor Filipinos Rural Missionaries of the Philippines say they will ‘rise to the challenge’ and not be deterred -UCAN news

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A starving child crawling to an empty pot in the middle of a temporary shelter while its mother looks on helplessly is a scene that Muy (not his real name) constantly encounters in his work.

Scenes like this prompted the young nurse from the northern part of the country to work as a lay missionary in conflict areas in the southern Philippines.

“It was my desire to serve God and the Church since I was young,” he told ucanews.com. He asked that his name not be revealed because he has received threats to his personal safety in recent weeks.

In April 2018, Muy left his city job to join the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, a church organization that assists poor farming and tribal communities.
The young man’s visits to the villages where the missionaries’ work helped him understand the value of working for the poor.

Read more @www.ucanews.com

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[Statement] Solidarity Statement for Rural Missionaries of the Philippines! -AMRSP

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PEACE BE TO THIS COUNTRY

We, the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, an association of 327 religious congregations in the Philippines, strongly condemn the continued barrage of malicious allegations made on the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines and other human rights and sectoral organizations, by some leaders of the government and the military as communist fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, a mission partner of the AMRSP, was established in 1969 as a Church response to the plight and unjust conditions of the rural poor.

Fifty years of missionary work speaks for the integrity of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines. Moreover, fifty years of continued presence in the most forgotten places in the Philippines, to accompany the marginalized and poorest farmers and indigenous peoples is by itself a testimony of the fervent commitment of the religious and the Catholic Church to be living witnesses to the good news of just peace and equity to all Filipinos.

Red tagging, accusing individuals and organizations as communist terrorists, is inimical to democracy and respect for human rights. In its most extreme, red tagging, can lead to a warrantless arrest, detention without charges, torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings.

We are already disturbed to the core of our souls by the growing mistrust, division, and animosity among our peoples, unending violence in our midst, the more than 20,000 nameless victims of summary executions and extrajudicial killings. We are also disturbed to the core of our beings by the surrender of our patrimony and our natural resources to the Peoples’ Republic of China, who are in fact, communists.

We long, thirst, hunger and pray for social equity and just peace in our country. Let the members of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines do their jobs where we in the government and church agencies have failed to go to address issues of peace, education, respect for life, freedom, the dignity of persons, good governance and good politics in the far-flung rural areas. Lord, spare our mission partners from deadly malice and give them peace.

“Often, too, the fair speech of friends entrusted with the administration of affairs has induced many placed in authority to become accomplices in the shedding of innocent blood and has involved them in irreparable calamities by deceiving with malicious slander the sincere good will of rulers” (Esther 45:5-6)

8 April 2019

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[In the news] More Philippine church leaders, rights workers on ‘red list’ -UCAN news

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More Philippine church leaders, rights workers on ‘red list’

The “red-tagging” of church leaders and activists has intensified with priests of the Philippine Independent Church included on a new list of people alleged to have ties with communist rebels.

Aside from the priests, the list also included the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the Union of Peoples Lawyers, and youth group Kabataan.

The list, containing the names of 19 individuals, including a journalist and his family, was distributed outside the venue of a human rights forum in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao last week.

“We fear for our lives and liberty knowing that we are on this list,” said Bishop Felixberto Calang of the Philippine Independent Church whose name was also on the list.

The Protestant prelate said the list is part of a series of “smear efforts,” including the painting of graffiti on the walls of churches in some areas of the southern Philippine region of Mindanao.

“When the police and military can just plant evidence against innocent people they claim are ‘enemies of the state,’ that is lawlessness,” said Bishop Calang.

Read full article @www.ucanews.com

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[Statement] RED TAGGING: Hands off NUJP-Cagayan de Oro member Cong Corrales and family -NUJP

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RED TAGGING: Hands off NUJP-Cagayan de Oro member Cong Corrales and family
February 22, 2019

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines deplores the inclusion of our member and former director Cong Corrales, his wife and son in an anonymous list naming alleged members of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Cagayan de Oro.

The list also includes religious, lawyers and groups working for human rights and the welfare of the lumad.

There is nothing more cowardly and deplorable than to vilify persons and put them in mortal peril behind the cloak of anonymity.

And as has happened all too often, Red tagging is not mere intimidation. All too often it can be a virtual death sentence.

Even media have not been spared from Red-tagging and other acts clearly intended to intimidaye a critical press into silence, as with the ongoing vilification campaign against the NUJP and the cyberattacks on alternative media.

National Directorate
Hotline +639175155991

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[In the news] PNP monitors school orgs amid alleged leftist recruitment -GMAnews

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PNP monitors school orgs amid alleged leftist recruitment

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it is monitoring some school organizations amid the alleged recruitment of the communist rebels among the students in some state colleges and universities.

In Mariz Umali’s report on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, a former rebel who surrendered to the government said that young people from some state universities were being persuaded by leftist groups to join the armed struggle.

“Ang mga estudyante po na sinasabi ng mga nag-aaral sa UP, parang nakikipamuhay rin po sila sa amin. Nagtatanong kung maginhawa po ba yung aming ginagawa o mahirap. Pagkatapos nun, bumababa na rin po sila (mula sa bundok) kinabukasan,” said the rebel whose face was covered when he was presented by the police at a press conference.

Read full article @www.gmanetwork.com

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[From the web] Tabloids link NUJP to CPP-NPA-NDF -CMFR

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Tabloids link NUJP to CPP-NPA-NDF

CMFR/PHILIPPINES — Three Manila-based tabloids published similar banner stories on 7 January 2019 linking the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

The NUJP said it was an orchestrated government attack through unscrupulous elements in the media intended to silence journalists.

Local tabloids Police Files Tonite, Bagong Bomba and Saksi Mata ng Katotohanan used the same headline, “NUJP Pinamumunuan ng CPP-NPA-NDF” (NUJP headed by CPP-NPA-NDF ), in their “reports.” All three said their source was a certain “Ka Ernesto” who claimed to be a former member of the NUJP and who said the organization has links with CPP founder Jose Maria Sison.

NUJP said it was the second time in a few weeks that they have been linked to the “rebels.” On 26 December 2018, the 50th founding anniversary of the CPP, a certain Mario Ludades, who claimed to be a founder and former member of the CPP, accused the Union of being a “legal front of the communist movement.” The Union said it was part of an “orchestrated effort” to intimidate and silence them.

Read full article @cmfr-phil.org

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[In the news] Paranoia? Government lists in PH proven to be dangerous to lives -ABS-CBN.com

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Paranoia? Government lists in PH proven to be dangerous to lives

President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal adviser, Salvador Panelo, charged the 180,000-strong Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) of “paranoia” following the exposé of a Philippine National Police (PNP) intelligence program aimed at an “inventory” of the militant union’s nationwide membership.

Panelo trotted out the trite line, that the innocent have no cause to fear.

He then promptly undermined that argument, claiming the teachers’ alliance “has been identified as legal front” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Any surveillance, he added, must have “a good excuse.”

Read full article @news.abs-cbn.com

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[From the web] Artist group organizing film screenings in schools slams ‘red-tagging’ -DAKILA

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Artist group organizing film screenings in schools slams ‘red-tagging’

DAKILA, the artist-activist group behind the Active Vista Human Rights Film Festival, condemns the ‘red-tagging’ of the Duterte administration of schools, youth, artists and groups organizing Martial Law-themed film screenings. DAKILA, a group known to organize film screenings complemented with discussions on social messages of the films it screens in schools, communities, cinemas, and alternative spaces, reacted after the Armed Forces of the Philippines issued a statement implicating 17 schools as part of the alleged “Red October” plot of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

According to DAKILA OIC-Executive Director Rash Caritativo, “DAKILA vehemently condemns this administration’s malicious and groundless red-tagging against students, educational institutions, and creative avenues like film screenings as part of the Duterte government’s orchestrated attack to condition the minds of the people for this looming dictatorship. “

Caritativo further claims, “In a democracy, citizens have the right to criticize the government without fear of any repercussions or their safety and well-being. The lies and groundless allegations of the government clearly intend to justify its crackdown on activists, to tag legitimate protests as acts of terrorism, and to ultimately push its tyrannical advances. This clearly impinges on our right to freedom of expression, speech and assembly, and endangers all of us – as artists, as audiences, as students, as educators, as parents, and as citizens.”

DAKILA has been organizing human rights-themed film screenings and forums in schools nationwide since 2008. It has been presenting films tackling a wide array of human rights issues from gender and reproductive health rights to children’s rights and climate justice. In the past, it has conducted nationwide roadshows of historical films like Heneral Luna and Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral which encouraged discourse on issues on our Filipino identity, national struggle for freedom, and the concept of nationhood. Every year, DAKILA holds its Active Vista Human Rights Festival which showcases the best social advocacy films.

Active Vista Executive Director Leni Velasco, said, “Attacking venues for critical discourse and education like schools and film screenings through red-tagging puts the lives of innocent civilians, especially our youth and our artists, at risk and in danger. Its real intent is to keep our people ignorant and misinformed so those in power can continue to feed lies, deceit, and a narrative that perpetuates only their self-serving interests to conceal the truth of our current social conditions.”

Velasco added, “Formal education and alternative spaces of education have important roles to play in building our nation. It provides citizens with knowledge and information, and allows them to reflect and analyze, so that they can make informed decisions about their future and contribute to nation-building. By attacking learning institutions and artistic endeavors as a form of expression and reflection, what this government wants is to keep our people divided, sow fear, and silence voices of dissent. This ‘red-tagging’ is clearly the tool of tyrants who are scared of the growing people’s resistance against dictatorship.”

Active Vista has been screening Martial Law-themed films like Citizen Jake and Respeto in schools nationwide to spark discourse on current social issues, educate students on the perils of Martial Law, and encourage critical thinking among audiences. DAKILA is a non-partisan group promoting the movement for modern heroism especially among artists and the youth.

“In times of darkness, art and education shed light to social realities that surround us. They are our ultimate weapons to reflect on our social conditions and shape our genuine path to national development,” Velasco further added.

DAKILA together with other organizations, youth and cultural groups, and artists are set to hold a Human Rights Festival to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights this December 10, 2018. The festival shall feature film screenings, performances, talks, exhibits, workshops, a youth summit, and a concert to show the united action of the people in the promotion, protection, and defense of Human Rights in the Philippines.

In ending, DAKILA’s Rash Caritativo said, “If this administration is willing to make such preposterous claims towards educational institutions, youth, educators, artists, and cultural workers, then they must also realize that they have only fueled the flames of resistance igniting in campuses and communities.”

“For every attack of this administration on our rights and freedoms, a thousand film screenings shall emerge in all spaces; artworks on social realities shall blossom; and discourse on social conditions shall flourish in schools, churches and communities, online and offline,“ she concluded.

#ResistTyranny #NoToRedTagging #ActivistsNotCriminals #CriticsNotCriminals #ResistCrackdown #NeverAgain #NeverForget #Artists4Democracy

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DAKILA is a group of artists, students, and individuals committed to working together to creatively spark social consciousness formation towards social change.

Learn more at http://www.dakila.org.ph

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[In the news] Kibungan folks assail NPA tag by mine firm – baguiomidlandcourier.com.ph

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by Jimmy Laking

Source: http://baguiomidlandcourier.com.ph
Barangay officials and community residents of Palina in Kibungan, Benguet have denounced a statement attributed to a mining company that tended to link villagers to the rebel group New People’s Army.

“This is damaging to the integrity and reputation of the community,” the officials said in a resolution addressed to Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan, the provincial board, and the Philippine National Police.

The resolution was signed by barangay officials led by punong barangay Deliano Faustino and by officers of the Palina Indigenous Peoples and Community Association led by its president, Jose Gallano.

The barangay officials called on the PNP to investigate the “truth or falseness” of the statement attributed to the mining company.

The barangay officials said the statement was contained in a comment furnished by the company, through its legal counsel, Atty. Rodrigo Kito, to the municipal circuit trial court of Kapangan.

The barangay officials said Kito, in the comment, described Barangay Palina as “known to be an NPA infested area.”

In their resolution, the barangay officials and IPO officials denied knowledge of NPA presence in their community and that it is peaceful and free from the presence of NPAs.

They added they felt bad towards the statement because it tended to describe their place as a NPA haven and its residents protectors of the outlawed organization.

The barangay officials said Da Gama Minerals, Inc. or Kito have no authority to declare the barangay as infested with NPAs.

The company has filed charges for theft, robbery, and malicious mischief against several Palina residents after they prevented a mining crew from its attempt to bring equipment for exploration work in the community last year.

The people’s organization responded by filing a complaint for damages at the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

The IPO has ruled out sitting down with the company to settle the cases out of court if the condition is to allow the company to continue with its exploration.

Galiano said the community has remained firm in its opposition to exploration and to any mining activity in the area.