CHR: Red-tagging contradicts gov't officials' duty to protect constitutional rights

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Saturday underscored that public servants who resorted to red-tagging have contradicted their obligation to protect and promote the public’s constitutional rights.

In a statement, CHR executive director Jacqueline Ann de Guia welcomed the call of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to end red-tagging individuals without evidence.

Guevarra issued the remark when asked if he supported the supposed style of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in red-tagging or linking of people to the armed communist movement.

He, however, stressed that red-tagging was not a policy of the task force, noting that certain persons associated with the NTF-ELCAC might have been vocal about their impressions of certain groups.

He said the Department of Justice has always been clear about its position on red-tagging as he advised these individuals to refrain from doing so without evidence.

De Guia, meanwhile, noted the grave harm brought by red-tagging on the lives and liberties of civilians, human rights advocates, and civil society organizations, among others, who are merely exercising their right to free expression.

“CHR stresses that criticism and dissent are functions of a vibrant democracy. The free exchange of ideas through healthy discourse is meant to improve laws, policies, and the general affairs and welfare of the people,” she said.

“At the same time, CHR cautions against the exercise of rights resulting in the violation of law, as well as the rights of others. We stress that assertion of rights equally entails obligations to respect the rights of others and to exercise one’s rights responsibly,” she added.

The CHR official also expressed hope that the government would continuously protect and support human rights by “revisiting practices and policies that inflict harm to the freedoms of the people.”

NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy, who faces a string of administrative and criminal complaints for alleged red-tagging, had claimed that they were performing their duty to unmask "terrorists.”

Badoy also argued that the government should not shy away from calling supposed "communist fronts" terror groups. — DVM, GMA News