Red-tagging claims made by party-list groups refuted

THE National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) yesterday refuted allegations of “red-tagging” made by the Kabataan and ACT Teachers party-list groups against an Army battalion based in Rizal.

In a statement, NTF-ELCAC acknowledged that the Army’s 80th Infantry Battalion distributed pamphlets but said these materials did not depict rallyists as “terrorists.”

The pamphlets were recently distributed during a recent seminar organized by the battalion and Department of Education at the Taytay Senior High School.

The two party-list groups denounced the distribution of the pamphlets, accusing the military of red-tagging activities.

Kabataan said the materials were meant to brainwash people against legal activist organizations. ACT Teachers said the distribution of the pamphlets was a “clear case of harassment and intimidation of our youth.”

The pamphlets warned that recruiters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army could be found at protests and are teaching people to despise the government.

“A careful perusal and review of the said pamphlets will easily prove that there is no ‘red-tagging’ in the said materials. Nowhere in the said materials does it characterize rallyists as terrorists,” the NTF-ELCAC said.

“It merely informed the students of the modus operandi of recruiters of the New People’s Army which is factual and based on evidence,” the task force added.

The NTF-ELCAC said the 80th IB conducted the seminar as part of a “civic education program” meant to raise awareness about “national security threats and promoting patriotism among youth.”

It said the seminar merely focused on educating the youth about the dangers posed by the CPP-NPA, which had been designated by the government and other countries as a terrorist organization.

“We strongly deny any accusations of red-tagging. The seminar in question focused only on NPA recruitment and did not target any other organization,” NTF-ELCAC said.

Contrary to the claims of Kabataan and ACT Teachers party-list groups, the NTF-ELCAC said the seminar “provided factual information that allows the youth to make informed decisions affecting their lives.”

The task force said it