MANILA (AFP): An independent United Nations expert accused Philippine security forces on Friday of tagging Filipinos as communist rebels without evidence, exposing them to harassment or even murder.
Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, made the allegations at a news conference on Friday after a 10-day fact-finding visit to the Philippines, which is fighting a 54-year Maoist armed rebellion.
Khan said many victims of "red-tagging" blamed the multi-agency National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), as well as the military, "state security officials, senior government officials, and some media outlets".
"There is clear evidence that red-tagging and terror-tagging are being practised by security forces as part of their counter-terrorism strategy," Khan said.
Jonathan Malaya, assistant director-general of the government's National Security Council, rejected Khan's allegation.
"The government does not condone red-tagging," he told a separate news conference
The NTF-ELCAC was set up in 2018 with the aim of getting civilian government agencies to help the military quash the rebellion.
The military-backed task force has often labelled activists and journalists critical of the government as communist sympathisers, without providing any evidence.
The practice can result in arrest and detention, and rights groups say some of those accused were later harassed or murdered.
Khan said rights campaigners, humanitarian workers, teachers, youths, health workers and tribal leaders had also said they had been targeted by the practice.
However, Malaya said Khan had been assured "that legal remedies are in place".
Khan urged President Ferdinand Marcos to abolish the "outdated" anti-communist task force.
"The abolition will not only address some of the most critical drivers of red-tagging but also allow this administration to modernise peace-building approaches based on changing political events," she said, urging Marcos to issue an executive order against red-tagging.
"The state has certainly the obligation to protect its people from terrorism, but must do so within the confines of the rule of law and in line with these international human rights obligations," Khan said.
Malaya described the task force as a "game-changer" in counterinsurgency.
"We feel it is improper to call for its abolition," he said.
The task force would transition into a campaign for "unity, peace and development" once the rebellion had been defeated, he said. - AFP
