House suspends DSWD budget deliberation amid 'red-tagging' of solons

The House appropriations panel on Tuesday suspended deliberations on the 2023 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) after an official of its attached agency linked some lawmakers to the communist group.

On Tuesday's hearing, Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel asked National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) chairperson Allen Capuyan to clarify his earlier statement which identified former Bayan Muna party-list lawmaker Eufemia Cullamat, alongside other progressive groups, as armed communists.

Manuel also questioned Capuyan if red-tagging is a policy of the NCIP.

The NCIP executive replied, "There is no red-tagging, only truth tagging. This is an NCIP policy and my personal opinion."

"In 2021, the NCIP en banc recognized the atrocities by the CPP-NPA-NDF and their front organizations. We have researched and our intelligence agencies agreed with us," he added.

Not letting the allegations pass, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas sought deferment of the budget of the NCIP, an attached agency of the DSWD.

"We cannot allow public funds to be repeatedly used for the spread of lies, red-tagging, terror-tagging, and vilification of IP advocates and progressive organizations to the point of endangering the safety and lives of the very sector that the NCIP is supposed to protect," Brosas said.

House appropriations panel vice chair Jocelyn Limkaichong of Negros Oriental recognized the motion of Brosas, but Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta maintained that red-tagging did not happen.

"I was here, there was no red-tagging," Marcoleta said.

Further, he argued that red-tagging lawmakers is not a reason to defer the budget approval of the NCIP.

"Even on the assumption that somebody said there was red-tagging, is that a basis to defer the budget? This committee is supposed to look at the budget," he added.

Limkaichong then decided to suspend the DSWD budget deliberations.

As of posting time, there is no timetable yet for the resumption of deliberations of the DSWD budget.

For 2023, the DSWD is seeking a budget of P194.77 billion.  The NCIP will get P1.46 billion under the proposal. —LDF, GMA News