FLAG stands behind Zarate: Red-tagging ‘irresponsible, dangerous’

The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) has condemned red-tagging as  "irresponsible and dangerous," as it expressed support for Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate, whom state officials have accused of having communist links.

No less than President Rodrigo Duterte claimed Bayan Muna and other members of the House of Representatives' progressive Makabayan bloc are fronts for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Zarate has since denies the allegation, categorically saying that he is not a CPP member.

"This red-tagging is baseless and malicious. Such actions by the highest official of the land only subvert and hurt our already weak justice system," FLAG chairperson Chel Diokno said in a statement.

"And at a time when even government officials, judges, lawyers, and human rights advocates are being killed with impunity under Duterte's rule, such red-tagging is irresponsible and dangerous -- especially since such allegations are often the prelude to human rights violations, including harassment, unlawful arrest, torture, and threats to life," he said.

Activists have constantly objected to red-tagging, or the practice of labelling individuals or organizations as members or fronts of the CPP and the New People's Army, saying the tag places their lives in danger.

Red-tagging, in many cases, preceded the murders of activists and human rights workers. Even the United Nations' human rights office has warned of the dangers of red-tagging.

The government, for its part, maintains that the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front is co-opting human rights advocacy and using grassroots organizations for its own agenda.

At least five complaints have been filed against government officials for red-tagging progressive personalities and groups.

Diokno urged Filipinos to resist attempts to stop them from speaking out.

"FLAG has seen this in its decades of work: that it is when we are scared into silence that our rights are most under threat. They will try to do this by making an example of those who remain outspoken against Duterte," he said.

"We call on all Filipinos to resist any attempt to intimidate us into silence. Our rights and freedoms hang in the balance," he added. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News