{"id":10521,"date":"2020-11-18T23:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T15:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/?p=10521"},"modified":"2020-11-18T23:01:33","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T15:01:33","slug":"tagged-but-not-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/tagged-but-not-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Tagged, but not it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>IBON staff reflect on red-tagging and its effects on ideas of the Left<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRed-tagging\u201d\nwas prominent in the news in the last few weeks. The spokespersons of\nthe National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict\n(NTF-ELCAC), Gen. Antonio Parlade and USec. Lorraine Badoy, and other\ngovernment officials have been labelling critics of the government as\nsupporters or members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)\nor its armed wing the New People\u2019s Army. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\nthe red-tagged organizations and individuals have in common is their\nvocal criticism of the government\u2019s anti-people policies and\ndemanding accountability. Most of them also propose doable solutions\nto the problems raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red-tagging\n\u2013 or the practice of branding individuals or organizations as\ncommunists especially by the state \u2013 has long been used against\nLeft-leaning organizations. During the Arroyo administration, under\npressure from the US government, the term \u201ccommunist\u201d was equated\nwith \u201cterrorist\u201d. Ergo, if you are tagged as communist, the\nvalidity of the issues and advocacies you raise are put aside and\nwhat remains is the personal attack of being a \u201cterrorist\u201d. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This\njeopardizes the safety and lives of activists and rights advocates.\nRed-tagging has tended to be followed by rights violations such as\nthe filing of trumped-up charges, enforced disappearances and even\nextrajudicial killings. People\u2019s issues raised, meanwhile, are left\nunaddressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nOxford English Dictionary defines terrorism as \u201ca policy intended\nto <strong>strike with terror<\/strong> those against whom it is adopted; the\nemployment of methods of <strong>intimidation<\/strong>; the fact of terrorizing\nor condition of being terrorized\u201d. It is a term associated with\nwidespread fear, killings, and pacification. Ironically, it is the\nstate\u2019s \u201ccounter-terrorism\u201d policy that spreads terror and\nfear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Seeing\nRed everywhere<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nlast four years of the Duterte administration has been a growing war\nagainst the poor. There is also impunity, giving up the country\u2019s\nsovereignty, corruption, unprecedented economic crisis, unscientific\nand disorganized COVID-19 response, disaster unpreparedness, and\npeddling of fake news. The condition of the majority of Filipino\nfamilies has unambiguously worsened under this administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\npublic has justifiably criticized the administration because it has\nrevealed itself as anti-people. The government, after all, is\nanswerable to its people and it is everyone\u2019s right to demand\naccountability and better governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet,\ninstead of listening to the demands of the people and genuinely\naddressing the worsening economic and political crises, Pres. Duterte\nand his clique are using authoritarian rule to suppress all kinds of\ndissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It has resorted to red-scare tactics to silence its critics. This administration has been engaged in various forms of red-tagging \u2013 from its Red October Matrix, Ouster Plot, Lists of Red universities and colleges, red-tagging of activists and rights advocates, red-tagging of personalities vocal about their advocacies, continuous red-tagging in social media by members and officers of the NTF-ELCAC, and its infamous European Union propaganda road-show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\ngovernment\u2019s accusations lack valid evidence. They only present\nquestionable information including outright lies. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\nare also on top of relentless extrajudicial killings and filing of\ntrumped-up charges against farmers, rights activists, environmental\ndefenders, and even peace advocates. Lest we forget, there have\nalready been at least two massacres of farmers and farmworkers under\nthis administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president and his ilk are using their high-budget red-tagging spree to shift attention from the people\u2019s issues being raised to personal attacks against the personalities and organizations raising them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their\npropaganda insists that being Red equates to terrorism. But what do\nthese words really mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why\nthe \u201cRed\u201d in red-tagging?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nterm Red was coined to refer to communists and came from the color of\nthe then-Soviet Union\u2019s flag. Currently, it is used interchangeably\nwith the term \u201cLeft\u201d to refer to individuals or organizations\nwith progressive ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\npolitical labels left-wing and right-wing also have an interesting\norigin. The terms are from the literal seating arrangement of two\nopposing sides during the French Revolution. In the drafting of the\nnew constitution, delegates were divided over the amount of power the\nKing is allowed to hold. The conservatives in favor of giving the\nKing the right to an absolute veto were seated at the presiding\nofficer\u2019s right, while those with the progressive and radical view\nof limiting the King\u2019s power were seated at the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nterm \u201cLeft\u201d has come to be used to refer to those believing and\nadvocating a progressive and radical point of view. It pertains to\nindividuals or groups advocating social change. Among the biggest\nradical steps towards social change happened during the socialist\nrevolutions in Russia and China. Socialism and the push for communism\nis the anti-thesis of the currently dominant capitalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In\ntheir efforts to preserve themselves, capitalist countries headed by\nthe US demonized socialism and communism and even communist\npersonalities themselves (the image of Russian Communist leader\nVladimir Lenin was even used to portray the devil in a book cover).\nThis propaganda war became rampant especially during the Cold War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anti-communists\ncapitalized on the success of capitalist roaders in Russia and China\nin derailing their respective people\u2019s revolutions. They used this\nto tarnish socialism and communism, downplaying how the present\ncapitalist Russia and China were actually built on the foundations\nprovided by socialist construction before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\npoint is that with the demonization of communism, all advocacies for\nradical social change were placed in one basket. Defenders of the\nstatus quo favoring a few rich over the poor majority brand vital\ndemands as Red or Left: land for the farmers, just wages, safe\nworking conditions, end to poverty, safe housing, respect for human\nrights, environmental preservation, right to education, and other\njust and reasonable demands. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But these are labeled as communist ideas which they insist equals terrorism. If you think about it, we shouldn\u2019t even have to demand these things because these are rights that everyone is entitled to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And\nso, ironically, the status quo of the \u201cdemocracy\u201d we have is\nrepressive, authoritarian, and fascist. Against a backdrop of\nwidespread poverty and stark inequality, the rights of the people are\ntrampled on\u2013 from the freedom of expression, association, and\nassembly and even the right to life. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red-tagging\nis intended to instill fear, quell dissent, and control the\npopulation. It is dangerous. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And\nwith the passage of the draconian new Anti-Terrorism Law, this danger\nis magnified. This heavily contested law has a very vague definition\nof what terrorism is and gives so much power to the anti-terror\ncouncil. The flimsiest evidence of supporting or being a member of a\nterrorist group is suddenly lawful reason to arrest and detain an\nindividual, even without any case in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Being\nred<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\nam an activist. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\nstarted when I was in college. I got curious and started asking\nquestions. Are only smart people and those able to pay entitled to an\neducation? Why are we afraid of going to the hospital for a check-up?\nIs corruption the root cause of our country\u2019s problems? Is the US\ngovernment and its military power our salvation? I know a lot of\nbrilliant engineers and scientists but why can\u2019t we develop our own\ntechnology or industry? What is neoliberalism? Should I care for\nothers? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are\nwe a doomed nation and is there nothing we can do to change our\nsituation? This last question is perhaps the most threatening to the\npowers that be. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because\nactivism provides an answer. Activism provides hope. Activism does\nnot just criticize, it suggests \u201cLeft\u201d alternatives that are\ndoable and will benefit the majority of the country\u2019s population. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Land\nto the tillers. Just wages and safe working conditions for workers.\nEnding contractualization. Create sustainable and meaningful jobs.\nEducation for all. Flatten the curve, raise the bar. Protect the\nenvironment from corporate greed. Recognize the national minority\u2019s\nright to self-determination. Independent foreign policy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But\nall of these valid calls are drowned by hysterical accusations of\nbeing a \u201cCommunist-front\u201d, \u201c<em>Komonesta<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>Makakaliwa<\/em>\u201d,\n\u201cNPA-supporter\u201d, and \u201c<em>terorista<\/em>\u201d. These barriers are\nset up to stop issues from being heard. That is what the propaganda\nof red-tagging is all about \u2013 to invalidate the bearer of the\nmessage instead of addressing the issues being raised and their root\ncauses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\npeace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the\nNational Democratic Front of the Philippines brought to the forefront\nthe reasons for the five decades of armed conflict in the country.\nBut these were terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most\nof the proposed Comprehensive Agreement for Social and Economic\nReforms (CASER), which was on the negotiating table before the peace\ntalks were shut down, are also the demands raised by various\norganizations. Does this similarity invalidate these demands? I don\u2019t\nthink so. On the contrary, this validates the justness and\npeople-centeredness of these demands. Too bad though that peace\nsaboteurs abound inside this administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Who\nis it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\nat IBON Foundation are not spared from red-tagging. Our offices have\nbeen subjected to surveillance. NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Badoy became\nmeme material when she harassed and red-tagged our Research Head on\nnational television. Our Executive Director is also frequently\nred-tagged in social media. The military even claimed, falsely, that\na young NPA martyr was a member of IBON Foundation before joining the\narmed struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\nhave known IBON since my high school days through its Facts and\nFigures Journal. I never felt that these journals were encouraging me\nto be a terrorist. All they did was explain issues that are mostly\neconomics or current events-related. they taught me to care about\nwhat\u2019s happening around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And\nit\u2019s still what we try to do \u2013 ask the most important questions\nfor the Filipino people and try to find the answers. I guess our work\ndoes terrorize some, especially those who benefit from the answers\nremaining buried deep beneath their factory of lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\nwas scanning Laura Westra\u2019s \u201cFaces of State Terrorism\u201d and I\nfound this quote: \u201cStart by doing what is necessary; then do what\nis possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.\u201d Times like\nthese make being \u201cRed\u201d necessary and it is possible to change our\nfuture because we deserve better. And soon enough it won\u2019t be\nimpossible to defeat those who actually spread terror. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re tagged as terrorists but we are definitely not it.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FEATURES<\/p>\n<p>The public has justifiably criticized the administration because it has revealed itself as anti-people. Yet, instead of listening to the demands of the people, President Duterte and his clique are using authoritarian rule to suppress all kinds of dissent.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":10519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-withbanner.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2048,3],"tags":[2317,347,2140,2164],"class_list":["post-10521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacies","category-banner","category-features","tag-anti-terrorism-law","tag-duterte-administration","tag-duterte-legacy","tag-red-tagging","wpautop"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-23 15:20:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10522,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10521\/revisions\/10522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}