MANILA, Philippines (Updated 6:03 p.m.) — Sen. Chiz Escudero took his oath as the new Senate president on Monday, just minutes after Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri bowed out of the position in an emotionally charged privilege speech.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano nominated Escudero for the post and received no objections from the 24-member chamber.
In his speech, Escudero thanked Zubiri and hailed his achievements as Senate president for the last two years.
“Hopefully, you will not leave my side when I ask for guidance and your wisdom. Sana magkasama tayo sa mga darating na panahon (I hope we stick together in the coming days),” Escudero said in his first address as Senate president.
Zubiri’s exit as Senate president also came with a leadership shakeup as senators vacated their posts to give way to Escudero’s picks.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada took his oath on Monday as the new Senate President Pro Tempore, replacing Sen. Loren Legarda for the second-highest position in the upper chamber.
Sen. Francis Tolentino also took his oath as the new Senate Majority Leader, replacing Sen. Joel Villanueva.
Sen. Nancy Binay, Sen. Sonny Angara and Sen. JV Ejercito also resigned from their chairpersonship of various committees.
In his speech, Escudero acknowledged those who resigned from their positions and similarly expressed his openness to working with them.
“Binabati ko rin ang ating majority leader na sa Sen. Joel Villanueva at ibang pang mga nagbitiw sa kanilang posisyon, hindi ito ang katapusan ng ating pagsama-sama sa pagtatrabaho dito sa Senado,” he said.
(I also want to acknowledge our majority leader Sen. Joel Villanueva and others who resigned from their positions, this is not the end of our work together in the Senate.)
Zubiri’s two-year term as Senate president was hounded by at least two ouster plot rumors, the latest of which took place in March. During this time, Sen. Imee Marcos claimed it was the members of the House of Representatives pushing for a leadership change in the Senate.
As a response, 17 out of 24 senators signed a manifesto of support for Zubiri. Those who did not sign the statement were Escudero, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Cynthia Villar, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Robin Padilla, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
Romina Cabrera – The Philippine Star, May 19, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has recommended putting Bamban Mayor Alice Guo under preventive suspension for alleged “serious illegal acts” involving Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said that the task force, under the DILG, has recommended Guo’s suspension to the Office of the Ombudsman for appropriate action.
“Based on the report, there are troubling findings of serious illegal acts, which may have severe legal implications,” Abalos said.
“The DILG recommended to the Ombudsman the issuance of a preventive suspension against Mayor Guo, to prevent any influence on the continuing investigations of our and other agencies,” he added.
Abalos did not specify the illegal acts committed by Guo, as he said that this is part of a courtesy toward the Office of the Ombudsman.
The seven-man task force, headed by Benjamin Zaballa of the DILG Internal Audit Service, was formed in April to investigate the allegations on Guo’s link to an illegal POGO in her municipality.
Abalos said that they have yet to finish their investigation on the citizenship issues surrounding Guo.
He again explained that they will refer any action to the ombudsman, as it has the disciplinary authority over elected officials of local governments, and that the DILG has no power to directly suspend or dismiss local officials.
“The DILG will continue to cooperate with the Ombudsman and other investigative bodies on this important issue, united in our shared mission of protecting our local institutions and furthering public interest,” Abalos said.
Additionally, Guo is facing an investigation at the Senate for the POGO allegations. The controversial mayor may also face a quo warranto case filed against her by the Office of the Solicitor General that recently got the backing of two members of the House of Representatives.
President Marcos backed further investigation on Guo, citing the ongoing Senate probe, as he added that Tarlac politicians do not know her.
“The President is very serious about these things,” Abalos added.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said that they are gathering information to determine if Guo is illegally “holding or exercising a public office.”
In Marilao, Bulacan, Barangay Patubig kagawad Roberto Gil del Rosario has confirmed in a Radyo Bandera Central Luzon interview that Guo has a barangay business clearance registered to QJJ Embroidery Center, located in Maligaya St., and being managed by the Bamban mayor.
The village official said that the embroidery center was last registered in their barangay on Jan. 17 this year and is on an expansion program. The business was already operational for several years and its products are being exported to other countries.
Besides the embroidery business, Del Rosario said that based on what he knows, Guo is also engaged in the Bulacan piggery industry.
He added that on several occasions over the years, Guo has invited Barangay Patubig officials for get-together celebrations and spoke to them fluently in Tagalog.
Photos with politicians go viral
After Guo’s pictures with politicians went the rounds on social media, senators yesterday brushed off any speculations by saying these are not proof of any cozy ties with the mayor.
Among the embattled mayor’s photos that went viral were those with the President himself, and the Chief Executive’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos.
Guo posted on her social media page last year her campaign trail photos with the President and his cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, at the height of the 2022 elections.
Sen. Marcos addressed the photos, saying she met the mayor for a distribution of social welfare assistance in Bamban.
“I met her there for the first time,” she said.
“With all due respect to the politicians with whom she had photos; it is usual for us to have pictures with anyone we don’t know. In the Senate alone, I must have had selfies with two hundred people already,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said during a dwIZ interview yesterday.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Guo’s pictures with politicians do not absolve her of alleged involvement in illicit offshore gambling activities.
“The pictures do not mean anything. We always get pictures taken with us as candidates. It does not mean we personally know them,” Gatchalian said in a separate dwIZ interview.
Zubiri expressed alarm at the findings during the Senate investigation, that Guo was linked to the recently raided Zun Yuan Technology, because she owned the Baofu Land Development where the POGO facility was leased.
Guo claimed she has sold her shares in the company. But before she won as Bamban mayor as a neophyte candidate in 2022, she facilitated the local permits of the predecessor to Zun Yuan Technology – Hongsheng Gaming Technology – which was also raided by authorities in February 2023. — Ramon Efren Lazaro, Marc Jayson Cayabyab
The International People’s Tribunal (IPT) found President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former president Rodrigo Duterte, the Government of the Philippines as well as President Joseph Biden and the Government of the United States of America (USA) guilty of war crimes in Philippines.
In an hour-long presentation of its verdict in Brussels, Belgium Saturday afternoon (local time), the IPT said the respondents are guilty of willfully killing civilians, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and property, as well as using indiscriminate means and methods of warfare that cause injury or unnecessary suffering.
Aside from causing widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment, the Manila government’s military operations cause displacement of the civilian population, impede humanitarian aid, and commit acts or threats of violence and terror among civilians, the IPT said.
“These acts constitute serious violations of treaty and customary international law applicable in armed conflicts. In view of the foregoing factual and legal findings, the tribunal unanimously finds the defendants…guilty of all crimes and charges, including war crimes and violations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) alleged in the indictment,” the IPT’s panel of jurors declared.
The Tribunal added that the respondents are guilty of willful killing of New People’s Army (NPA) fighters already rendered hors d’combat (French for “unable to fight”). It also found them guilty of torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment as well as “outrages against personal dignity and humiliating and degrading treatment and desecration of bodies of slain NPA fighters.”
In addition, the Philippine armed forces also “committed abduction and enforced disappearance, the arbitrary arrest and detention and deliberate attacks against civilians merely suspected of having links with a belligerent party, including the filing of trumped-up charges, red-tagging, terrorist labeling and designation, threats and harassments and intimidation,” the Tribunal said.
The jurors said the prosecutors proved with “clear, convincing, credible, consistent and relevant evidence” their allegations, leading to a unanimous verdict.
The Tribunal said it heard oral evidence from victims and families, expert witnesses and resource persons. It also read affidavits, letters, written statements, reports, publications, resolutions, and similar documents, as well as saw photographs and images, watched and heard audio-video recordings in the course of its two-day deliberations that started last Friday.
“[There were] 15 witnesses in the proceedings, eight in person and seven through video depositions, who delivered in clear and coherent manner. Eleven were victims, families or colleagues while four were experts or resources persons who testified on the context, nature and scale of IHL and human rights violations,” it said.
Policy and practice
The IPT cited the massacre of the Fausto family in Negros Island, the massacre of Tumandok tribespeople across Panay Island, and the killing and persecution of the Save Our School tribal school volunteers across Mindanao as examples of the “willful killing of civilians by GRP (Government of Republic of the Philippines) forces.”
It said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) uniformly claimed the victims were NPA fighters and planted evidence to bolster their canard.
The IPT also said that government air strikes and use of heavy ordnance in various places across the country were “indiscriminate.”
Many captured NPA fighters, including those already rendered hors d’combat have been summarily executed as a “matter of practice,” the jurors added, citing the cases of the five recently killed in Bilar, Bohol and of the 22-year old Jevilyn Cullamat
“That these happened in various regions has rendered this as a matter of policy for state armed forces…The scale and frequency of these practices indicate they were deliberate and undertaken as a matter of policy by the GRP,” the jurors said.
The Tribunal also found the defendants guilty of “sustained nationwide attacks against individuals and organizations led by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict through red-tagging campaigns and terrorist proscription.
Victims of such vilification campaigns often end up dead like NDFP peace consultant and peasant leader Randall Echanis, or permanently disabled such as paralegal and community journalist Beandon Lee, the jurors said.
The jurors also noted that there has been a steady rise of abduction and enforced disappearance under Marcos Jr. and his government, such as in the case of Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, as well as Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus last year.
The witnesses gave “astoundingly credible detail” of the systematic nature of the abductions,” the Tribunal said.
Witnesses to include former Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat whose daughter, slain NPA fighter Juvilyn, was desecrated by government soldiers. (IPT photo)
“The lack of genuine investigations into these cases and the impunity that characterize these cases all point to to the GRP as the author,” it said.
The Philippine government could not rely on the existence of its national laws as justification for violating humanitarian or human rights obligations under international law, also noting the lack of genuine police investigations or reports of violations, “even passing the blame on the victims.”
US equally guilty
The Tribunal said Biden and the US government are similarly guilty of the said war crimes and human rights violations.
It said the US places large resources at Manila government’s disposal, including USD1.14 billion worth of military equipment.
Presidents Marcos and Biden at the White House in 2023. (Malacanang photo)
The US is also building military facilities across the country and sends thousands of troops to train the AFP and participate in war games called the Balikatan, the Tribunal noted.
It added that the Philippine counter-insurgency strategy is adopted from US doctrine.
“The US is responsible for directing, training and operating the GRP…[playing an] indispensible role in the atrocities,” he tribunal said.
International jurors and prosecutors
IPT 2024 was presided by a panel of international jurors of lawyers, parliamentarians, professors, and a Bishop.
Julen Arzuaga Gumuzio is a Basque politician, writer and lawyer, member of the Euskal Herria Bildu coalition in the Basque Parliament since 2012. He is part of the European Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Lennox Hinds is founder of the National Conference of Black Lawyers and former counsel for the African National Congress. He currently teaches in the Criminal Justice Program at Rutgers University.
Suzanne Adely is a founder of the Middle East, North Africa Labor Solidarity Network in the United States. She is a long-time member of Al-Awda-NY, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Defend the Egyptian Revolution Committee of New York.
Joris Vercammen is a Belgian cleric and archbishop of the Old Catholic Church, active in the Netherlands. Vercammen was elected to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in 2006.
Séverine de Laveleye is a Belgian politician active for Ecolo. In 2018 she was elected as a municipal councilor of Vorst for Ecolo and was elected as as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2019.
The prosecutors meanwhile were Belgian human rights lawyer Jan Fermon and his German colleagueRoland Meister.
The jurors said copies of their verdict shall be sent to the Philippine Embassy in Brussels, the US Embassy in Brussels, the European External Action Service, the European Parliament, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, the UN High Commission on Human Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent, the UN Secretary General, and the Permanent People’s Tribunal. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Commission for Culture and the Arts proudly presented the works of National Artists Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera and Levi Celerio to the students and teachers of Bicol University in celebration of National Literature Month last April.
Dr. Lumbera is remembered for his impressive body of work that includes “Tales of the Manuvu,” “Rama Hari,” “Hibik at Himagsik” and “Viktoria Laktaw,” to name a few. He is the first activist writer to receive the prestigious National Artist honors in 2006, since Amado V. Hernandez did in the early 1900s.
Born on April 11, 1932, the celebrated poet died on September 28, 2021. As truth teller and nationalist writer, he was most known for his “Bagay Poetry.”
“A Eulogy of Roaches,” for instance, is poetry employing the use of metaphor to chronicle the downtrodden in society, written in a timeless narrative. Although literature changes and moves with the times, its nuances are understood by later generations.
The National Artist honors was established in 1972 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1001.
“We seek in literature what we can’t find in life,” shared Ian Ron V. Bello, founder of the Arabay Folkloric & Theater Group, who presented a short study on the life and times of Dr. Lumbera.
One reactor, poet laureate Abdon M. Balde Jr., former commissioner of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF), pointed out that even if 21st century literature is taught in schools, libraries do not carry 21st century literature.
Celerio, on the other hand, was introduced to the forum through “May Isang Pipit” (popularized by Pilita Corrales) that was translated into a dance and spoken-word presentation. Observers were quick to point out that most of the composers work are “schadenfreude,” a German term that means “laughing at the misfortunes of others.”
Some of Celerio’s most memorable compositions are “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit,” “Dito sa Pitong Gatang,” “Sapagkat Kami ay Tao Lamang,” “Kahit Konting Pagtingin,” “Kalesa,” “Rosas Pandan” and “Saan Ka Man Naroroon,” among many others.
He was inscribed on the Guinness Book of World Records as “the man who could play music on a piece of leaf.” Accounts say that during the Japanese Occupation, the composer always brought with him a piece of leaf. When asked who he was, he simply said “a musician.” And when asked to prove himself, he played music on the piece of leaf he carried.
While lyrics used by Celerio in some of the songs he wrote may seem repetitive, music people are of the opinion that redundancies in the lyrics are difficult to change, especially if it has become popular after publication.
Levi Celerio, who passed on in 2002, was hailed as a full-blooded “Anak ng Tondo,” and was rumored to have been a close friend of the late Asiong Salonga.
Aside from Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera, the other National Artists who hailed from Bicol include indie pioneer Manuel Conde, superstar Nora Aunor, filmmaker Lino Brocka, cartoonist Larry Alcala, dance meister Ramon Obusan, fashion designer Salvacion Lim Higgins and opera singer Fides Cuyugan Asensio. Ten (10) of the 81 National Artist honorees are Bicolanos.
Delon Porcalla – The Philippine Star , May 13, 2024
Michael Yang also linked to Pharmally scandal
MANILA, Philippines — A House of Representatives panel will invite former president Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser to a hearing on the 2023 seizure of illegal drugs worth P3 billion in Mexico, Pampanga.
Michael Yang – reputed to be a close friend of Duterte – will be invited by the House committee on dangerous drugs after Yang’s name cropped up in one of their hearings wherein he is suspected of being a drug trafficker, Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said yesterday.
Yang has also been linked to the Pharmally Pharmaceutical scandal, in which he allegedly brokered an P8-billion deal for the procurement of COVID-19 medical supplies between the government and the company.
On May 8, the Barbers panel found that Yang’s interpreter Lincoln Ong – another figure in the Pharmally scandal – is an incorporator of a firm with alleged links to other companies including Empire 999.
Empire 999 owns the Pampanga warehouse that stored the seized illegal drugs.
The company is owned by Chinese nationals who also reportedly owned other shell companies together with persons previously linked to anomalous activities under the previous administration.
Most of the incorporators of different companies were Chinese who presented fake Philippine documents to make it appear they were Filipinos, the House probe found.
Rep. Dan Fernandez, who chairs the public order panel, had moved to invite Yang to the next hearing after public accounts panel chair Rep. Joseph Paduano presented Yang’s links to Ong.
What started as a drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga turned out to be a “national security concern as these personalities and companies acquired real properties all over the country using fictitious documents,” Barbers said.
“This matter has now gone from a simple illegal drug smuggling to a national security concern. We need to establish the link between these companies and Michael Yang, the financier of Pharmally. It is not as simple as it seems,” he noted.
Pharmally cornered billions of pesos in alleged favored contracts with the DBM-Procurement Service, then headed by Lloyd Christopher Lao, to supply medical needs during the pandemic, Barbers recalled.
Without financial capacity, Ong revealed that the acquisition of supplies abroad was financed by Yang, he added.
The ombudsman recently ordered the filing of graft cases against Lao and former health secretary Francisco Duque III for the alleged irregular transfer of over P41 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 supplies in 2020.
“These personalities and their interests are so intertwined and intricately woven in an elaborate multi-layered company structure that resembles a maze deliberately designed to avoid detection and ultimate liability in case the scheme is discovered,” Barbers said.
“The activities of the other companies have not been unearthed yet but the incorporators have gone into hiding already and have started disposing their assets. There is more than meets the eye. We intend to get to the bottom of this issue in order to find out if indeed the drug bust is just the tip of the iceberg,” he added.
Yang’s connection to illegal drug activities “is no surprise,” Barbers said.
He recalled that Yang was named by a top Philippine National Police official in the past administration as “one on top of the drug trade.”
MANILA, Philippines — Amnesty International Philippines criticized the newly-formed special committee on human rights coordination as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy as it urged the Marcos government to prioritize genuine solutions to the country’s human rights issues.
Malacañang issued last week Administrative Order (AO) 22 creating an inter-agency body tasked to enhance mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights.
The special committee, a body under the Presidential Human Rights Committee, is chaired by the executive secretary and co-chaired by the justice secretary.
Amnesty International Philippines Section Director Butch Olano said that while AO 22 is a “step in the right direction,” the move “doesn’t really make any impact in actual human rights cases.”
“It is a superfluous addition to an already convoluted justice system in the country. Addressing a human rights crisis does not need window-dressing, true change needs to be more than just a facelift,” Olano said.
Olano noted the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) can handle what the new body wants to achieve. He added the Presidential Human Rights Committee, which advises the president on human rights concerns in the country, only needs new and competent personnel.
The special human rights committee aims to improve human rights investigations and accountability, collect data on violations by law enforcement agencies and work with civil society.
The body also seeks to facilitate access to redress mechanisms by victims of human rights violations, protect the rights of persons deprived of liberty and prevent torture.
“Marcos cannot continue to mislead the country with a mere show of force when accountability for violations has been scarce, and human rights defenders continue to be arbitrarily arrested and charged, disappeared, or killed,” Olano said.
“The government doesn’t need a ‘super body’ to champion human rights. What it needs to do is accept and implement the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) , the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion and get serious about returning to the International Criminal Court,” he added.
Human rights organization Karapatan earlier said the new committee was merely “a tactic to evade accountability” for human rights violations.
According to AO 22, the special committee on human rights coordination is tasked to sustain the initiatives of the United Nations Joint Program (UNJP) on human rights.
The UNJP, set to expire on July 21, 2024, was developed to implement the UNHRC’s October 2020 resolution on capacity-building and technical cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.
Nagdurugo ang puso nating isipin na may anay sa hanay
Nitong Mayo 10, inudyukan ni National Security Adviser Eduardo Año ang Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) na patalsikin sa Maynila ang Chinese embassy diplomats na naglabas sa media ng isa umanong recording.
Sabi naman ni Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro, dapat daw imbesitagahan ng DFA kung nilabag ng embassy officials ng Tsina ang Anti-Wiretapping Act ng Pilipinas.
Ang 12-minute alleged recording ay pag-uusap sa pagitan ni Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos at isang “Chinese diplomat.” Ito raw ang patunay na ang Pilipinas – na umano’y kinatawan ni Carlos – ay pumayag umano sa “new model” ng kalakaran sa Ayungin Shoal sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Last time we checked, ang tanging involvement ni Carlos sa action-drama na ito ay bilang bossing ng WesCom, at under sa kanya ang mga rotation and resupply mission sa BRP Sierra Madre, ang kinakalawang na barkong nabalahaw sa Ayungin Shoal. At ang siste, naka-personal leave itong si Carlos ngayon.
Bilang mga sibilyan, ang dami nating tanong: Una, bakit nakikipag-usap si Carlos sa mga Tsino? Pangalawa, bakit ang lakas ng loob ng Tsina na ilabas ang umano’y recording kung hindi ito authentic? At bakit naka-leave si Carlos sa panahon ng krisis – gayong siya itong gung-ho na heneral na sumakay pa sa Navy-contracted ships sa ilang resupply missions na na-water cannon? At kailan siya magpapaliwanag sa publiko? Bakit siya pinapayagang magtago ng mga boss niya?
Kitang-kita naman na may sariling smoke-and-mirrors na diskarte ang tag-team nina Año at Teodoro. Pilit nilang dinadala ang usapin sa illegal wiretapping, na, totoo man, ay hindi pinakakrusyal na tanong na dapat masagot.
Ano ba talaga ang ipinangako ni Carlos, at sino ang nagbigay sa kanya ng awtoridad na makipag-usap sa mga Tsino? Totoo bang nangyari ang pag-uusap nang may basbas ng higher-ups katulad nina Año at Teodoro, tulad ng ipinapahiwatig ng mga Chinese? At may isa pa bang kasama sa pag-uusap na sobrang taas sa chain of command pero redacted ang pangalan sa mga dokumento?
Sige, for the sake of argument, we will assume the best of these officials: na hindi nila alam na nakikipag-usap si Carlos sa mga taong ang tanging purpose in life ay tumambay sa WPS at mang-water jet cannon ng mga Pinoy sa sarili nating bakuran.
Hindi ba napakalaking pagtataksil sa chain of command ang nangyari, nang makipag-usap ang isang commander na hindi man lang Cabinet-level na opisyal sa ibang bansang katunggali natin?
Sabi ni Secretary Gibo, “We need to find out who is responsible for this and remove them from the country.”
Tama Sec. Gibo! Pero sino muna sa panig ng Pilipinas ang responsable sa kahihiyang ito? Bakit nakikipag-ututang dila ang heneral ni Año sa “adversary” at sumasang-ayon sa isang kasunduan? Gagawin ba talaga ni Carlos na pumalaot sa mga pag-uusap na way above his pay-grade kung wala siyang basbas?
Anong sanction ang haharapin ni Carlos, at bakit hindi inaabisuhan ang publiko tungkol dito?
Curiouser and curiouser. Kung may isang bagay tayong natutuhan sa pagko-cover sa militar at burukrasya ay ito: nothing is what it seems.
Go ahead, patalsikin ang Chinese officials na nang-wiretap. Pero dapat managot si Carlos at ang opisyal na nag-empower sa kanya.
Maging transparent for once, please? Ito’y para hindi tuluyang malustay ang goodwill na na-achieve sa sakripisyo ng mga sundalo at mangingisda sa pocket war na ito.
’Di ba’t may “transparency initiative” ang gobyerno sa aggression ng mga Tsino laban sa mga Pilipino? Dapat may transparency din kapag may nagkamali at natalisod.
Sa tuwinang mawa-water cannon ang mga sundalo, nagdurugo ang puso nating mga sibilyan. Pero lalong nagdurugo ang puso nating isipin na may anay sa hanay.
Nagdurugo ang puso nating isipin na ganito ka-naive at unsophisticated ang ilang nasa kapangyarihan, na hindi nila na-predict na mawa-wiretap, gagaguhin, at babaliktarin sila ng mga Tsino.
Mga Ginoo sa government security sector, ang laki ng implikasyon nito sa national security – imbes na red-tagging ng mga aktibista ang inaatupag ’nyo, dapat, at the minimum, ay mag-retraining at mag-discharge kayo ng mga reckless na katulad ni Carlos.
Sana naman nag-aaral kayo ng kasaysayan – ang ikinabalahura ng mga kilusang rebolusyon laban sa mga mananakop, maliban sa kulang na armas at maliit na puwersa, ay ang hidwaan sa pagitan ng mga liderato: nina Emilio Aguinaldo at Andres Bonifacio, Antonio Luna at Gregorio del Pilar, Del Pilar at Jose Rizal, to name a few.
Ang disunited front ng naghaharing uri, lalo na sa larangan ng militar, ang lasong mabilis na gumagapo sa anumang pagkilos. At lalo nang krusyal ang united front sa bansang humaharap sa manlulupig – na ngayo’y hindi na Kastila o Amerikano, kundi Tsino – sa panahon ng advanced spy tech at media warfare.
Mga Ginoo, ipaubaya ’nyo na ang diplomasya sa diplomats. Walang lugar para pumapel ang mga ilusyonado at gullible sa kiskisan sa West Philippine Sea. Ipapahamak ’nyo lang ang interes ng bayan. Muntik-muntikan na nga.
Pinakamahirap na kalaban ang kaaway na ’di natin nakikita: ’yan ang enemy from within. – Rappler.com
In its decision, the High Court says inherent to red-tagging is the ‘use of threats and intimidation to discourage ‘subversive’ activities’
MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has finally defined red-tagging as an act that threatens individuals.
In a 39-page decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, the High Court defined red-tagging as an act that threatens a person’s constitutional right to life, liberty, and security.
The decision publicized on Wednesday, May 8, said red-tagging is the use of threats and intimidation to “discourage subversive activities,” adding that “whether such threats ripen into actual abduction or killing of supposed ‘reds’ is largely uncertain.”
For years, progressive individuals and activities have been fighting red-tagging, or the act where people in power link individuals to communist groups. Red-tagged individuals end up arrested, sued, abducted, or worse – killed.
The SC decision stemmed from a petition filed by Siegfred Deduro, a founding member and vice president for the Visayas of Bayan Muna and the Makabayan Coalition. Deduro’s counsel is AK Guillen of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), the lawyer who survived a stabbing attack in Iloilo in 2021.
In his petition, Deduro sought the issuance of a writ of amparo, a legal remedy which is usually a protection order in the form of a restraining order, for the red-tagging attacks against him by the military.
The SC said in the decision that several organizations had already acknowledged red-tagging as a form of harassment and intimidation. The High Court cited a United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council report which found that red-tagging is used to characterize leftist groups as “front organizations of anti-democratic groups.” The UN body also called it as “vilification,” “labelling,” or guilt by association.
The High Court also took note of red-tagging’s transition to social networking sites like Facebook. The SC cited the 2020 report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which said that red-tagging comes “frequent surveillance and direct harassment.” The SC added that in the report, the UN said red-tagging can also lead to death of targeted individuals.
“The foregoing accounts of red-tagging depict it as a likely precursor to abduction or extrajudicial killing. Being associated with communists or terrorists makes the red-tagged person a target of vigilantes, paramilitary groups, or even State agents,” the SC said in its decision.
“Quite like the development of the Rule on Amparo, the damages inflicted by red-baiting evolve too: They start from the psychological before they tum physical. Amid a history of shifting social and political ties, we affirm the Judiciary’s sworn duty to see to it that the protection of every right guaranteed in the Constitution remains constant for all,” the High Court added.
In the decision, the High Tribunal said the red-tagging of individuals may justify the issuance of a protection order through the writ of amparo.
In the decision, the High Tribunal said the red-tagging of individuals may justify the issuance of a protection order through the writ of amparo.
“It is at this phase where the petitioner is at risk of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing when the writ of amparo becomes necessary,” the SC added.
A big win
This was the first time that a Philippine court has explicitly defined red-tagging.
Even in past decisions that were favorable to progressive individuals, no definition of red-tagging was given. The closest reference to the said act was Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen’s dissenting opinion on the Zarate vs. Aquino III case, where Leonen called “red-baiting” as “our version of McCarthyism,” a term used in the United States to refer to the “red scare.”
The SC’s explicit definition is important because it did not only reaffirm that red-tagging is dangerous, but also provided legal basis for individuals who will challenge the act. The lack of definition of red-tagging was advantageous for government officials and influencers. When authorities were challenged for red-tagging, they denied red-tagging’s existence because there was no legal framework that defined it.
“At long last, the SC has finally spoken categorically, unequivocally and clearly that Red-Tagging Threatens Right to Life, Liberty, and Security. It is not a mere legally meritorious victory, nor a vindication and potential shield of human rights defenders and a tribute to those fallen and already victimized by it, but a strong slap on self-righteous red-taggers before & now, particularly those who would even spin and distort what the Court say,” NUPL chairperson Edre Olalia said.
For Kristina Conti of NUPL National Capital Region, the SC decision “cautions” lower courts against dismissing petitions for a writ of amparo without proper hearing, since the SC itself said red-tagging justifies the issuance of the protection order.
Leonen concurs
In his concurring opinion, Leonen reiterated that the issuance of a writ of amparo is justified when there is red-tagging, “vilification, labeling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security.” Leonen also mentioned his 2015 dissenting opinion, where he outlined the dangers inherent to red-tagging.
“As astutely stated in the ponencia, a person seeking the protective ambit of a writ of amparo need not await the inimical outcomes of being red-tagged to come to pass to be entitled to the writ,” the senior magistrate said.
“The heightened risk of danger or death brought about being labelled as a Communist, a Communist sympathizer, or even merely being adjacent to a Communist cause should be seriously considered by judges in amparo proceedings,” Leonen added.
The case
Citing red-tagging attacks against him, Deduro sought the court’s help for the issuance of a writ of amparo. The respondent in the case is Major General Eric Vinoya in his capacity as the commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s Third Infantry Division. Deduro said the military red-tagged him and accused him of being a ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.
Deduro was among the activists red-tagged through posters in the Visayas, along with Iloilo-based Jory Porquia, Bacolod activist Zara Alvarez, and NUPL lawyer Benjamin Ramos. Porquia, Alvarez, and Ramos were all shot and killed by unidentified assailants.
The activist first sought the Regional Trial Court’s help, but the RTC immediately dismissed his petition in 2020. The lower court said it found Deduro’s “allegations of red-tagging baseless, unsupported by evidence, and insufficient for the grant of the extraordinary writ.” Deduro then brought his case to the High Court.
The activist first sought the Regional Trial Court’s help, but the RTC immediately dismissed his petition in 2020. The lower court said it found Deduro’s “allegations of red-tagging baseless, unsupported by evidence, and insufficient for the grant of the extraordinary writ.” Deduro then brought his case to the High Court.
In its ruling, the SC partially granted Deduro’s petition and issued a writ of amparo in favor of him. The SC also reversed the RTC’s ruling that denied Deduro’s request for the extraordinary writ.
However, the SC only granted the petition, and not yet the privilege of writ of amparo. The RTC will set a hearing that will determine if the privilege of the writ would be granted. The privileges of writ of amparo can include a permanent protection order, which functions like a permanent restraining order – With a report from Lian Buan/Rappler.com
