PH tells EU it opposes red-tagging, extra-judicial killings
While the US State Department earlier this year reported that red-tagging continued even under the Marcos administration, the Philippines has told the European Union (EU) that it is against such act.
During a recent talk between the Philippines and EU on human rights, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Manila “underscored its opposition to and condemnation of red tagging and extra judicial killings.”
Manila also presented its actions with regard to human rights “as guided by jurisprudence promulgated by the Supreme Court,” as well as the rules proposed by the high court aimed at fully ensuring human rights protection when designating individuals as terrorists, it added.
The Philippines informed EU of its efforts to protect and promote human rights as both sides met on Oct. 26 for the Third Sub-Committee Meeting on Good Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights under the Philippines-European Union Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in Brussels.
The country’s assurance that it is upholding human rights is important as it is among the beneficiaries of the regional bloc’s Generelized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a scheme that grants zero tariffs on imported products from beneficiary countries.
EU obliges its beneficiary countries to adhere to the 27 international conventions, which include human rights.
During the meeting, DFA said “the Philippines provided a state of play regarding the legislative process concerning the protection in law of human rights defenders and the EU took note of the challenges in passing the bill.”
“The EU noted updates provided by the Philippines on the cases of former Senator Leila de Lima, Maria Ressa, Diego Bello, and Percy Lapid,” it added.
In March 2023, the US State Department released its 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, where it said "the practice of 'red-tagging' continued under the new administration."
"The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, an anti-insurgency task force formed during the Duterte administration, was the primary actor in red-tagging media workers and government critics," the State Department added.