The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has called for an end to "reckless and indiscriminate" red-tagging and urged the government to resume peace talks instead.

In a statement released Tuesday, Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes said that red-tagging targets ordinary farmers, indigenous peoples, workers, lawyers, doctors, artists, church leaders, and journalists.Â
"Red-tagging is real. It endangers people. It has to stop. Now," Reyes underscored, citing the case of two lawyers and a doctor who were killed in separate incidents after being subjected to red-tagging.
He added that red-tagging has "spun out of control" and now targets anyone who raises a critical voice against the administration or somehow associated with the schools and institutions that the administration disagrees with.
Reyes urged the government to heed the 2008 recommendations of the United Nations Rapporteur Philip Alston which directs all military officers to cease making public statements linking political or other civil society groups to those engaged in armed insurgencies.
Reyes also called on individuals, professionals, institutions, and democratic forces to stand up against red-tagging and against any efforts to silence dissent.
"(We) call on the people to support efforts to address the root causes of the armed conflict and push for the revival of the peace talks."