No more red-tagging?

Former UP professor Clarita Carlos was designated National Security Adviser in the incoming administration. And even though she is not yet officially in office, she said the so-called "red-tagging" of some persons or groups will stop, and that such labeling does not help, is counter-productive, and is only done by lazy people as seen by the lack of evidence. She adds more can be done to improve national security such as government investing resources on “issues of injustice, lack of opportunity and the huge inequality between the poor and the rich.”

Former AFP chief of staff Gen. Jose Faustino Jr. was appointed incoming secretary of the Dept. of Defense. According to him, he likewise does not agree with red-tagging but will name groups allied with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army. The work of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will continue but hopefully not in the same ethos as the Duterte administration. Faustino should have evidence if he does plan to name persons or groups supposedly allied with the communists, who are still considered enemies of the state.

These are welcome statements from Carlos and Faustino. Even the Commission on Human Rights lauds the end to red-tagging. Hopefully, the red-tagging that was rampant under the Duterte administration will stop. People like Lt. Gen. Parlade and Lorraine Badoy classified people or groups as communists without hard evidence, like Patricia Non who initiated the community pantry and was surveilled by police for her efforts to help people at the height of the pandemic. Badoy is facing many complaints and cases, the latest coming from a group of doctors who are asking the Professional Regulation Commission to suspend or revoke the medical practitioner license of Badoy. Quite ironic that a doctor labels fellow medical practitioners helping communities as communists. According to the group, many health professionals are now refusing to work in the provinces for fear of being labeled communists, putting their lives in danger.

The Hippocratic Oath is clear. “First do no harm”. A doctor is bound by this oath, vowing to help everyone no matter who they were. If a communist comes for medical or surgical help, a doctor is bound by his oath to at least administer first aid or relief. And if they do help, it doesn't mean they are communists themselves. That is the risk of red-tagging. There may be a general in the AFP like Jovito Palparan, who may bring in doctors whom they think are a threat to the country's security. Karen Empeño and Sheryl Cadapan have not been found, dead or alive, after Palparan ordered their arrest. Are two unarmed women a threat to national security? Only Palparan and the likes of Badoy can answer that.