The "carte blanche (unconditional or blanket authority) act of red-tagging" of students, educators, and members of civil organizations in the country must stop, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) declared on Monday, May 15.
Red-tagging is the practice of law enforcement and national security agencies to publicly brand individuals, groups or institutions as allegedly affiliated with Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGs).
In a statement, the CHR said it “cannot stand idly by while these violations of human rights take place.”
"We have stressed, time and again, that red-tagging is a serious violation of human rights, and can lead to worse forms of violence such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings," it said.
"The Commission also underscores that we cannot further polarize sectors within our society by mere reason of dissent or varying opinion," it also said.
It said the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) reported to the commission that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) conducted an orientation last May 2 for students of the Carlos L. Albert High School on the alleged recruitment of students by the New People’s Army (NPA).
"CHR, in particular, takes cognizance of the presence of armed police personnel within the school premises which is a violation of Department of Education (DepEd) Order no. 32, series of 2019 or the National Policy Framework on Learners and School as 'Zones of Peace,'" the CHR said.
Thus, it said, the CHR’s National Capital Region office has started its own probe on the report and the reported incidents of red-tagging against ACT members in Region V and Region VII.
It reminded the government that red-tagging only undermines the credibility and professionalism of teachers and educators
"By labeling teachers and educators as communists or terrorists, their opinions and insights are at the risk of being dismissed without any consideration of their merit," the CHR said.
"This has a detrimental effect on the quality of the education system, as they are discouraged from expressing their views and providing critical analysis of government policies,” it also said.
Earlier, the CHR had urged government agencies to emulate DepEd in upholding human rights in its draft curriculum for Araling Panlipunan that cited “red-tagging, trolling and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) as human rights violations.”
“CHR hopes that this commitment from the DepEd is replicated by other stakeholders and government agencies to protect and promote human rights in all aspects of Philippine society,” it had stressed in a statement issued last May 3.