In a 39-page decision dated July 4, 2023, that was only just recently made public, the Supreme Court declared that associating red-tagging and guilt by association jeopardizes a person’s fundamental rights to life, liberty, or security, as it set aside the ruling of the Iloilo Regional Trial Court in dismissing the amparo petition of Siegfred Deduro, a former lawmaker from Bayan Muna Partylist after authorities associated him with the communist insurgency.
“Petitioner should not be expected to await his own abduction, or worse, death, or even that the supposed responsible persons directly admit their role in the threats or violations to his constitutional rights, be the courts can give due course to his petition,” the decision read.
“In such cases, the consummation of the threat to the petitioner’s life, liberty, or security, or the commission of the abduction or killing may be the subject of proper administrative or criminal proceedings,” it added.
A writ of amparo protects individuals whose right or life, liberty, or security is violated or threatened by unlawful acts of public officials, employees, or private entities.
The case stemmed after military officers, led by Maj. Gen. Eric C. Vinoya, in 2020 explicitly said that Deduro and others are members of the hierarchy of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). That was then reported by Bombo Radyo and the state-run Philippine News Agency and there were posters put up in different locations about Deduro and other activists as members of the CPP-NPA.
That prompted Deduro to file an amparo petition before the Iloilo RTC, making Vinoya and other military officers the respondents.
The RTC, however, dismissed the petition on October 26, 2020, saying that the allegation of red-tagging was “baseless.” That prompted Deduro to elevate the petition before the SC, assailing the dismissal of the RTC.
In ruling in favor of the former lawmaker, the high court said that red-tagging depicts a “likely precursor to abduction or extrajudicial killing (EJK),” citing previous cases of enforced disappearances and EJK.
The SC also pointed out that several organizations have recognized red-tagging as a form of “harassment and intimidation.”
The decision was promulgated in July 2023 but was only made on the SC website on Tuesday. It was penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda.
It took some time, but it looks like the government is finally choosing the right side when it comes to its position on red-tagging. The Supreme Court decision that agrees that the practice is inherently evil, even if its release was delayed by almost a year, can be taken as a sign that the judiciary has finally taken a stand. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before the executive and legislative branches will also open their eyes to the dangers of red-tagging, which continues to be nonchalantly used on anybody, without any consequences towards those wielding it as a weapon that endangers affected Filipinos’ fundamental rights to life, liberty, or security.
End red-tagging now.*
