A UN expert visited the Philippines and called on President Marcos Jr. to speak out against red-tagging and disband an anti-communist task force.
The following article was published in the May-June 2024 issue of NewsNotes.
Irene Khan, the UN expert on freedom of expression, concluded her 10-day visit to the Philippines in February by urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to denounce the practice of “red-tagging” and disband the National Task Force on Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Khan and other UN special rapporteurs have named the task force, which sits under the Office of the President, as the source of the terrifying and sometimes deadly harassment known as “red-tagging.” Over the years, numerous “red-tagged” activists, journalists, and others have been physically attacked or killed, often by the armed forces or the national police, for being labeled as sympathizers, recruiters, or members of the communist New People’s Army.
When Susan Gunn, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, joined a faith leaders delegation to the Philippines in March 2023, red-tagging was a serious concern. “Church workers and human rights lawyers were afraid to be seen meeting with us,” she said. “Some members of the delegation were ‘red-tagged’ in flyers posted on public street posts describing the National Council of Churches of the Philippines and them as communist sympathizers.”
President Marcos Jr., who took office in June 2022, is more measured in his rhetoric than Pres. Duterte, inviting UN human rights experts to the country. But human rights violations continue to be dire. Human Rights Watch has compiled details of extrajudicial killings, including four journalists; red-tagging; and enforced disappearances under Marcos.
The Philippines receives international support despite ongoing serious abuses and the lack of accountability. The EU offers the Philippines favorable tariff preferences. The United States has signed an ‘enhanced cooperation agreement’ with the Philippines to fund and support responses to humanitarian, climate, and “other shared challenges.”
While the human rights situation may be improving in some ways, major shortcomings continue and there is an urgent need for a process to save lives and build peace in the Philippines. The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns is working with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines to ask the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Committee on Human Rights to hold a hearing about the Philippines. We also are cosponsors of the Brandon Lee Speaking Tour, to raise awareness about attacks on journalists in the Philippines.
Faith in action
Learn more about the Brandon Lee Speaking Tour at https://www.justice4brandonlee.org/
Photo of Irene Khan, Director-General of the International Development Law Organization, moderating the High-level Lunch Event on Strengthening Women's Access to Justice by the UN Photographer Catianne Tijerina via Flickr.