UP Visayas, Chevening alums push back vs ex-Palace official's red-tagging
MANILA, Philippines — Attempts by former Palace official Lorraine Badoy-Partosa to link lawyer and UP Cebu Chancellor Leo Malagar to communist rebels are slanderous and should be rebuked, UP Visayas Chancellor Clement Camposano said Monday.
Badoy-Partosa had initially targeted Malagar's wife, Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, for dismissing a government petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army terrorist groups because the acts alleged in the petition did not qualify under the Human Security Act.
The Department of Justice will file a new petition before the Court of Appeals based on the Anti-Terrorism Act that repealed the HSA.
Badoy-Partosa has since deleted and disavowed a post saying: "If I kill this judge and I do so out of my political belief that all allies of the CPP NPA NDF must be killed because there is no difference in my mind between a member of the CPP NPA NDF and their friends, then please be lenient with me." But she has also insinuated that Malagar, whom she called a communist cadre, as well as members of the National Union of People's Lawyers are connected to the CPP-NPA.
RELATED: NSC discourages red-tagging, vows 'more cautious, prudent' approach to insurgency
In a statement on behalf of UP Visayas, Camposano condemned Badoy-Partosa's accusation as baseless and irresponsible.
Malagar is a former assistant secretary of the Philippine Statistics Authority and worked in the private sector before that. He has a Master of Laws degree from University College London and an Executive MBA from the Asian Institute of Management.
"The reckless red-tagging of Chancellor Malagar is atrocious, slanderous, and deserving of severe rebuke in a society claiming to subscribe to the rule of law and to be democratic," Camposano said.
In a separate statement, the Chevening Alumni Foundation of the Philippines also condemned Badoy-Partosa's red-tagging of the Malagars, both of whom are Chevening scholars.
"Red-tagging has no place in our democratic society. It goes beyond the scope of freedom of expression as it incites hatred and breeds disrespect of the rule of law," they said as they urged the public to call out people who engage in, and propagate the practice.
RELATED: UP Visayas denounces threats against students over critical cheer routine
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippine Judges Association on Monday called out Badoy-Partosa's online rants, with the PJA calling them an attack on democracy. "Stating rational observations on the decisions of the judiciary is normal. Attacking its members and threatening them with bodily harm is not," the IBP said.
Judges' group Hukom and civil society coalition Movement Against Disinformation issued similar statements over the weekend.
Badoy-Partosa, former spokesperson of the government's anti-communist task force, is facing several complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman for her statements accusing people and organizations of CPP-NPA links.
READ: NTF-ELCAC's Lorraine Badoy sued at Ombudsman over red-tagging spree
Among those complaints is one filed by Zen Bernardo, mother of community pantry organizer Ana Patricia Non whom Badoy-Partosa and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict officials claimed had rebel links.
After public backlash over the accusation as well as over surveillance and harassment of community pantries, the NTF-ELCAC said it supports community initiatives to distribute food during the pandemic lockdowns.
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