Philippines won’t abolish anti-communist task force

THE PHILIPPINE government on Monday said it would not abolish its anti-communist task force even after the Supreme Court ruled that branding people communists threatens Filipinos’ basic rights.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which is known for tagging activists and other government critics as communists, had helped weaken guerilla fronts of the local Maoist movement, the National Security Council (NSC) said in a statement.

“The NTF-ELCAC has been the game changer in the battle against the New People’s Army (NPA) and their allied and front organizations,” NSC spokesman Jonathan E. Malaya said in the statement.

Because of the task force, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines faced significant losses with its last remaining nine guerilla fronts having only about 1,000 members now, he said.

“Leftists clearly don’t want us to win against the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front),” Mr. Malaya said, accusing them of being “anti-peace and anti-development.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to “abandon red-tagging, including eliminating the abusive task force promoting the practice.”

The Supreme Court on May 8 said red-tagging and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty or security, as it granted a writ of amparo sought by a former party-list lawmaker whom the military had accused of being a member of the Communist Party.

The Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council had accused activist and former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Siegfred D. Deduro of being a member of the CPP-NPA.

Posters were put up around Iloilo City with his photo, tagging him a criminal, terrorist and a communist.

Mr. Malaya said Mr. Marcos will “never abandon” a task force that he himself chairs and “that has been very successful in bringing peace and development to remote areas.”

He said the President had ordered the group in a recent meeting to enforce an amnesty program for former rebels and boost financial support for a program that seeks to implement socioeconomic projects for former conflict-ridden communities.

HRW said red-tagging or red-baiting, which started in the country in the 1960s to fight communist insurgency, has targeted leaders and members of activist, human rights, religious, indigenous and environmental groups.

It said the practice worsened after then President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued an order that created the NTF-ELCAC.

“The task force has become the main agency behind red-tagging of leftist activists along with journalists, indigenous leaders, teachers and lawyers,” it said.

United Nations experts have cited a “broader trend of so-called red-tagging of human rights defenders, journalists, rural communities and legitimate organizations perceived as threats or enemies of the state.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza