UP Mountaineers demand apology from PCUP commissioner for 'red-tagging'

The UP Mountaineers on Monday demanded an apology from Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) commissioner Melvin Mitra for red-tagging the group without any basis.

Mitra made the claim during a Philippine Air Force radio program that was streamed on the Facebook page of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The mountaineers also asked the NTF-ELCAC to take down the video.

"This falsehood that was stated so cavalierly by Mr. Mitra maligns the reputation not only of our organization but also those of our individual members," the UP Mountaineers said in a statement.

"More significantly, it puts all of our members at great risk of harassment and personal attacks, all because a government official incorrectly tagged us as adhering to the ideologies of the CPP," the organization said.

"For this, we hold Mr. Mitra accountable and demand a retraction of his statement," it added.

Founded in 1977, UP Mountaineers "promotes responsible mountaineering as a healthy physical activity, and as a means to advocate environmental awareness-particularly forest conservation and protection of mountain habitats."

In its statement, the organization said it has a track record of successful projects on wilderness exploration, reforestation and biodiversity conservation, ecotourism and sustainable livelihoods, and emergency and disaster response.

Because of the diversity of its membership, the organization said it opts to focus more on its programs and to engage only in political issues which may directly impact the safety of its members and the mountaineering community.

"For the past 43 years, the UPM has played its vital role in nation building by advocating responsible mountaineering and environmental protection. We intend to keep on pursuing our advocacies, free from any false accusations, threats, and harassment," it said.

Several organizations and individuals have objected to being accused of commnunist links by government officials.

"Red-tagged" activists and human rights defenders have been killed, and more have reported being harassed and surveilled.

In a move that critics say "red-tagged" the entire UP community, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana unilaterally ended a longstanding agreement with UP that prohibited the unauthorized presence of state forces in UP campuses. -NB, GMA News