At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, on Oct. 26, 2020, then Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla publicly criticized Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., who was the AFP Southern Luzon Command chief, for his red-tagging activities. In a Facebook post that day, Gov. Remulla announced a ban on all anti-communist posters in Cavite province and vowed to personally remove any put up by Parlade or his men. His criticism was prompted by Parlade's controversial statements, which involved red-tagging celebrities Liza Soberano, Catriona Gray, and Angel Locsin, as well as Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

Parlade “should be ashamed of himself” for threatening and red-tagging outspoken individuals, said Remulla, calling the act “unfair, unjust, and downright cruel.” He said that public red-tagging endangered people's lives and was an ineffective way to fight insurgency, which he argued should be addressed through good governance, jobs, and education.

Moving fast forward to the present, the erstwhile Cavite governor is now Local Governments Secretary and his predecessor, former AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año, now serves as National Security Adviser. Last year, Sec. Año hosted a media briefing at which he declared that the “whole-of-nation approach, which includes local peace engagements and development projects, has been highly effective in weakening the communist insurgency.”

He credited the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for the achievement. This body’s avowed goal is “to end the local communist armed conflict through a comprehensive approach that involves government agencies, local government units, and community stakeholders.” Government reports claim that “the communist New People's Army (NPA) is at its lowest point in over 50 years of activity, which they attribute to the NTF-ELCAC's strategies.”

To Sec. Año’s credit, even organizations that have been critical of government were invited to that media briefing and given the opportunity to raise questions, as well as air their views. Some civil society organizations have, in fact, called for the abolition of the task force, but Sec. Año remains steadfast in asserting that government’s program will be pursued until it has attained full fruition.

As a university student at the onset of Dekada 70, I became keenly aware of the ideological divide. As a freshman, I joined the UP Student Catholic Action (UPSCA) and made many lifelong friends including Hector Soliman and Dinky Juliano-Soliman, and Lorna Patajo-Kapunan. My experience as a member of the UP Student Council exposed me to a broader spectrum of ideas that eventually resulted in my involvement in the national democratic movement.

This came about after coming to terms with Gustavo Gutierrez’s liberation theology, that seeks to apply religious faith by aiding the poor and oppressed through involvement in political and civic affairs. It is premised on the belief that “sinful” socioeconomic structures cause social inequities and Christians must actively participate in changing those structures.

As a university student, I became aware of the progressive ideas of Senator Claro Mayo Recto that were popularized by historian Renato Constantino. Senator Recto was an outspoken critic of what he regarded as among those targeted for persecution at the hearings conducted by the “excessive US influence in the Philippines.” He advocated a truly independent, nationalist foreign policy. This stance led to a concerted effort to undermine his political career and reputation. His campaign for economic independence, nationalization of enterprises, and a non-aligned foreign policy led to accusations from his opponents and the US of being “anti-American” and a communist.

He was often a lone voice of dissent during the Magsaysay era, and while he did not face formal congressional investigation, he endured significant political harassment and attempts to discredit his nationalist agenda. During the heated debates over the Rizal Law (RA 1425) in 1956, which mandated the reading of Jose Rizal’s novels in schools to promote nationalism, the Catholic Church hierarchy and its allies accused Recto, the bill's proponent, of being a communist and anti-Catholic.

After Recto’s death in October 1960, hearings were held in Congress that were modeled after those conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the United States that targeted progressive students, professors, and other activists. Local targets were advocates of Philippine sovereignty and reform.

Congress enacted Republic Act 1700, popularly known as the Anti-Subversion Law in 1957. While Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.’s Proclamation No. 1081, which declared martial law, did not directly "invoke" Republic Act 1700, Marcos issued presidential decrees to expand and intensify its application against opponents of authoritarianism.

In 1971, the Philippine Law Journal of the UP College of Law published an article by its editor Guillermo M. Canlas, Jr. on The Anti-Subversion Law and Subversion. He wrote in the conclusion:

“We have discussed the arguments both legal and non-legal regarding the repeal of the Anti-Subversion Law. The Law is not valid because it is a bill of attainder and is, therefore, unconstitutional. The Law is vague and is against due process and the principle of separation of powers. The Law is unnecessary because there are provisions in the Revised Penal Code, which are not bills of attainder, but which punish every conceivable act against the state. Lastly, the Law is not valid because it connives with the government against the people.”

As a hotbed of progressive thought and dissent, the University of the Philippines has served as a proverbial breeding ground of student leaders like Heherson Alvarez and Reynato Puno — who later became senator and Supreme Court chief justice, respectively — whose spirited espousal of civil liberties created a strong backlash that led to the termination of congressional investigations.

Subsequently, the Commission on Human Rights, created after the enactment of the 1987 Constitution, became a leading crusader against red-tagging, which it defined as “an act of State actors, particularly law enforcement agencies, to publicly brand individuals, groups, or institutions as…affiliated to communist or leftist terrorists.”

An enlightened citizenry, whose political consciousness has been raised in the crucible of People Power, is once again faced with crucial choices that could alter the course of governance in the run-up to the 2028 national elections.

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