CHR condemns ‘excessive’ red-tagging
FOLLOWING the “persistent” red-tagging of students, educators, and civil organizations in the country, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has consistently condemned the “carte blanche act of red-tagging,” especially when coming from elected government officials.
The human rights commission said, “As the country’s independent national human rights institution, CHR cannot stand idly by amid red-tagging.”
“We have stressed, time and again, that red-tagging is a serious violation of human rights, and can lead to worse forms of violence such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The Commission also underscores that we cannot further polarise sectors within our society by mere reason of dissent or varying opinion,” the statement said.
The CHR said, with “grave alarm,” they acknowledged the report filed by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) to their office, citing an incident that occurred on May 2, 2023, in which orientation was conducted by officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) for students of Carlos L. Albert High School on the “alleged recruitment” of students by the New People’s Army (NPA).
“CHR, in particular, takes cognizance of the presence of armed police personnel within the school premises, which is a violation of Department of Education (DepEd) Order no. 32, series of 2019 or the National Policy Framework on Learners and School as ‘Zones of Peace.’”
CHR added, as part of its mandate, CHR, through its National Capital Region office, is conducting an independent investigation on this matter.
“We are also looking into other alleged incidents of red-tagging against ACT members in Region V and Region VII,” it said.
CHR reminded “fellow duty bearers” that critics and human rights defenders who “raise valid issues that affect their livelihoods and realities should be heard and empowered in their participation to public governance.”
In the case of ACT and other teacher groups, red-tagging “only undermines the credibility and professionalism of teachers and educators,” CHR pointed out.
The CHR also added that, “As we welcome DepEd’s inclusion of ‘red-tagging, trolling, and extrajudicial killings’ as examples of serious human rights violations in its draft curriculum in basic education for Social Studies (Araling Panlipunan)[4], CHR urges that a similar approach be implemented within NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict).”
