The Ombudsman has found ex-spokespersons Lorraine Badoy and Antonio Parlade Jr. of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, or NTF-ELCAC, guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for red-tagging members of a lawyers group as communist rebels.
In a ruling signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on 9 August but released only on Thursday, the court reprimanded Badoy and Parlade for "unduly" tarnishing the image of the NTF-ELCAC with their statements against the National Union of People's Lawyers.
"It perpetuates the notion that it is being used as a government tool to silence dissent or opposition instead of legitimately pursuing its ultimate goal of lasting peace and ending the armed conflict with the communist rebels," the Ombudsman said.
The decision was in response to a complaint filed by the NUPL three years ago against Badoy, Parlade, and former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. for linking the organization to the communist armed movement.
"These matters are not communist propaganda as dissent and the upholding of individual rights are vital in a vibrant democracy. As such, the importance of raising awareness or highlighting these issues to the public cannot be gainsaid," the decision read.
The Ombudsman warned Badoy and Parlade that "repetition of a similar offense would be dealt with more severely."
The Ombudsman, however, found Esperon not guilty of the administrative complaint.
"Nevertheless, his defense appeared to be tempered, especially since he had stated that while he agreed that the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples' Army) had underground operations with legal fronts, he was not concluding that the NUPL was part of the CPP but that some of its members were allegedly part of these organizations working for the CPP," the Ombudsman said.
Esperon served as the NTF-ELCAC's vice chair, while Badoy and Parlade were its spokespersons.
The NTF-ELCAC was created in December 2018 by virtue of then president Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order 70.
Last week, during the deliberations on the Ombudsman's proposed P5.05-billion budget for 2024, Martires told lawmakers that there was no law against red-tagging. This paved the way for the dismissal of one complaint filed against Badoy and Parlade.
Not a crime
Meanwhile, Davao Rep. Ruwel Gonzaga said courts cannot categorize "red-tagging" as a crime amid calls to penalize those who brand people as left-leaning or communist sympathizers.
"When the law does not define the elements of a crime, of course, it is not a crime. It's not because we were called (this or that) or red-tagged, or you're a member of this, that's (already) a crime," Gonzaga said during Thursday's plenary deliberations of the House of Representatives on the proposed P57.79-billion budget for the judiciary in 2024.
While the courts cannot prosecute red-taggers, Gonzaga said "victims" of name-calling, surveillance, or background checks may avail themselves of the remedy of the writ of amparo or any applicable writs.
"If you are threatened by an act of a law enforcement officer or the PNP (Philippine National Police), that is the time you can avail of the remedy of the writ of amparo," Gonzaga said. "So that means, in the factual situation or allegation, we can really see what the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or the lower courts can entertain."
Gonzaga's statement was in response to ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro's asking the judiciary what remedies there are for red-tagging victims.
"Not just red-tagging, but terror-tagging. When you speak, and you question something here [in the Philippines], you are a terrorist. Has the judiciary taken any remedy against reg-tagging?" Castro asked.
Gonzaga responded that the Supreme Court and the entire judiciary always take action by issuing show-cause orders to red-taggers.