AN official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday welcomed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to reprimand two former officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), saying it provides hope in the battle against red-tagging.
In a decision released last week, the Ombudsman reprimanded retired Army Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., then NTF-ELCAC spokesperson, and Communications undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, for making statements linking the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) to communist rebels. The Ombudsman said similar offenses by Badoy and Parlade would be dealt with more severely.
“We really weren’t expecting this development but it certainly gave us hope,” said Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice chair of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice, and Peace (ECSAJP).
“The effect of red tagging is really to silence and make the world small for those striving to correct what is wrong in the society. So this is a positive step,” he added.
Alminaza said they are hoping there will be no more individuals — activists or not — who will be put in danger by those behind the red-tagging practice. — Gerard Naval
