A group of education workers on Wednesday, March 23, urged the Ombudsman to “deliver a strong message” by acting favorably on the complaint against Lorraine Badoy of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines expressed utmost support for two of its top union leaders who were among those who filed a complaint today at the Ombudsman against Lorraine Badoy of the NTF-ELCAC and PCOO.
“There should be no place in government for the likes of Badoy who is so vicious, high-handed and abusive of power,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Secretary General Raymond Basilio said.
ACT also expressed support for two of its top union leaders who were among those who filed a complaint earlier at the Ombudsman against Badoy.
‘It’s about time’
For the group, Badoy should be held “administratively and criminally liable for her grave violations of public trust and basic human rights and freedoms.”
Basilio said that ACT also welcomed and supported this overdue measure to seek accountability for Badoy’s “incessant, reckless, and completely baseless red-tagging,” --- which “she has been doing for about three years now.”
ACT alleged that Badoy, who is a high-ranking public official, has “repeatedly used her position and public coffers to spread hatred, fake news, and even to incite violence against those she has arbitrarily tagged as enemies of the state or supporters of supposed terrorist groups.”
Given this, the group said that Badoy’s “vicious behavior cannot and shall not be tolerate” any longer.
“We demand that she be immediately suspended from office and an impartial investigation be done to determine her culpabilities,” Basilio said.
ACT noted that Badoy’s and the NTF-ELCAC’s practice of red-tagging has caused “serious and immense economic damage and physical and mental injury” on their victims.
“Our own experiences are testament to the dire impacts of Badoy’s irresponsible and violative behavior, for which we fully expect the Ombudsman to hold her to account,” Basilio said.
ACT also joined the calls of the complainants for the Ombudsman to launch an investigation on Badoy’s history of red-tagging, with her most recent attacks targeting Vice President Leni Robredo and the Makabayan Bloc, and to pursue a criminal and administrative case against her.
“We pray for the Ombudsman to deliver a strong message against these ills that corrode accountability in governance and our democracy by acting in favor of the filed complaint,” Basilio said.