Lacson having second thoughts on Senate panel’s draft report on red-tagging

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday said he would have the Senate committee on national defense and security's panel draft report on red-tagging reviewed after inconsistencies were seen in the Armed Forces of the Philippines' list of students who allegedly joined the New People's Army.

"Yung draft namin doon sa committee report is almost finished. Now, I'm having second thoughts and I have to review it again and ask the military to validate further the presentations that they made in this regard," Lacson, chair of the panel and a former chief of the Philippine National Police, said in an interview with CNN-Philippines.

"Kasi nga they based their decision in suspending or terminating 'yung UP-DND accord on what appears now to be false information. They included personalities na sinabing captured or killed in action by the military, 'yun pala nandyan buhay at hindi naman pala na-capture at all," he added.

In November and December, Lacson's committee held hearings on the alleged red-tagging perpetrated by the state security sector against militant groups and individuals.

During the inquiry, the military presented witnesses who claimed to be former rebels. They shared testimonies on alleged recruitment of communist combatants among students in different universities.

Lacson said the inconsistencies on the list recently released on the AFP Information Exchange Facebook account was "reason enough for the committee to take a second look at the presentations and the testimonies that the military or their witnesses made during the two-day red-tagging hearing."

Additional documents that would validate the presentations during the hearings would be required from the security sector, he added, noting that another hearing on red-tagging may not be necessary.

On Sunday, the AFP's  Civil-Military Operations Office apologized for the inconsistencies on the list of students who allegedly died and got captured after joining the NPA.

The list surfaced on the heels of the Department of National Defense's unilateral abrogation of its agreement with the University of the Philippines on barring the entry of state forces in the latter's campuses.

Lacson believes Defense Secretary Delfon Lorenzana should suspend the termination of the accord given the recent developments.

"I think it is prudent now for Secretary Lorenzana to at least suspend the termination of the UP-DND accord and hold a dialogue... in the meantime mas maganda munang i-suspend ang termination ng UP-DND accord and go back to the drawing baord, hold a dialogues, and thresh out differences between UP, PUP, and the DND establishment," he said. — RSJ, GMA News