Ombudsman reprimands Parlade, Badoy over red-tagging

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman reprimanded former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) officials, Lorraine Badoy and Antonio Parlade Jr., for making statements linking a lawyers' group to communist rebels.

In a 17-page decision released on Thursday, the Ombudsman stated, "WHEREFORE, this Office finds respondents Antonio Parlade, Jr. and Lorraine Marie T. Badoy GUILTY of Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service and imposes upon them the penalty of REPRIMAND pursuant to Rule III, Section 10 of Administrative Order No. 7, as amended by Administrative Order No. 17."

"The above-mentioned respondents are sternly warned that a repetition of a similar offense would be dealt with more severely," it added.

A first-time offense for "Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service" leads to a suspension of six months to a year, according to Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service. This would involve individuals paying an amount equal to their previous salaries while suspended. However, Badoy and Parlade have been given a warning instead of suspension.

The decision dated March 23, 2023 came after the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) filed a complaint against Badoy and Parlade, accusing them of actively participating in the government's policy of labeling progressive organizations and their members as "communist terrorists" or "fronts" of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People's Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

The investigation revealed that Badoy and Parlade had made critical comments about NUPL's activities, which included a forum on dissent and an information campaign aimed at educating the