• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) claims that accusations of “red tagging” are only meant to deflect underground organizations’ “terrorist-grooming” efforts where select individual victims are systematically recruited and radicalized through deliberate manipulation and control.
This concept of “violent extremist or terrorist-grooming”, which is recognized by various international bodies, poses a severe threat to the safety and stability of the nation and its people, according to NTF ELCAC Executive Director and Undersecretary Ernesto Torres.
Torres made the statement after the Supreme Court (SC) declared red-tagging, vilification, labeling and guilt by association as threatening to one’s right to life, liberty, or security.
“Terrorist-groomers have specialized skills that they have honed through the years to manipulate and control radicalized individuals to embrace the armed struggle for a violent government takeover,” he stressed.
“The front organizations have been recruiting innocent Filipinos into their armed components to carry out terrorist activities nationwide,” Torres further said.
While they welcomed the Supreme Court decision on the case involving Siegfred Deduro as an opportunity for all parties concerned to present evidence in the interest of fair prosecution and the rule of law, he maintained that the High Court has yet to make a categorical ruling on the merits of the grant of the privilege of the writ of amparo prayed for by the petitioner since “the Regional Trial Court (RTC) is still yet to determine the relevance and consistency of the evidence by both parties in resolving the Petition.”
“We look at this decision as an opportunity for the respondent to present witnesses and evidence regarding Deduro’s connections with the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front). The SC’s decision shed light on the RTC’s procedural lapse in dismissing the case without requiring the respondent to file a return, thereby depriving the State due process,” Torres stressed.
In a 39-page ruling, the Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of the RTC of the Petition for Issuance of Writ of Amparo filed by Deduro and ordered the remanding of the case to the RTC for the conduct of summary hearing.*
