This week red-tagging has been taken to new heights. Now the director of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) hans accused Senate employees as being CPP-NPA spies. The brouhaha started after he posted this on his Facebook timeline.
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| https://www.facebook.com/100003056314669/posts/3665078826937292 |
DID YOU KNOW?
The Senate of the Philipines is manned by CPP-NPA-NDF front organization-COURAGE
The Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon (SENADO), the Senate's union serves as the eyes and ears of the CPP-NPA-NDF to hijack government plans and programs.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/782780/sotto-now-inclined-to-back-criminalization-of-red-tagging-after-accusation-vs-senate-employees-union/story/ |
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said he is now inclined to support the measure seeking to criminalize "red-tagging" after the Senate employees' union was accused of having links with communist rebels.
In a text message to reporters, Sotto said that "red-tagging" of the Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon (SENADO), a union of employees in the Senate, made him want to support Senate Bill 2121, or the proposed law defining and penalizing red-tagging.
"Because of this, I am now inclined to support the criminalizing of red-tagging," he said.
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) director general Alex Monteagudo on Tuesday shared a post on his Facebook account tagging SENADO as a front of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People's Army (NPA).
Sotto said Monteagudo sent word to him saying that the latter was only telling people that the CPP has "tentacles" even in the Senate halls through the Confederation of Unity Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), with which SENADO is affiliated.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier claimed in an internal memorandum that COURAGE is associated with rebel groups.
"I said I want NICA to give me the names of the employees and I will have them investigated," Sotto said, adding these names will remain confidential nonetheless.
What a hypocrite. Here he is last December rejecting such a law because it might cause complications with freedom of speech!
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| https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/12/1/sotto-lacons-on-criminalizing-red-tagging.html |
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson do not think that red-tagging should be considered a crime, saying it may run counter to the right to free speech.
The Senate President on Tuesday said that to criminalize red-tagging, or publicly alleging that individuals are rebels or allies of rebels, would also call for the need to criminalize "fascist-tagging" which would further complicate matters.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense, echoed Sotto's concern but added that he plans to seek the Department of Justice's advice on the issue.
[Translation: It may cause conflict with freedom of expression. Because if someone calls you a communist, and you brand him a fascist, where would we stand?]
Human Rights Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit disagreed with the senators' concern.
"It is not against freedom of expression because free speech is not absolute," Gomez-Dumpit said. "It cannot be exercised to the detriment of others."
Sotto said the red-tagging issue can be covered by libel laws. But former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, who said he was a victim of red-tagging himself, argued that it is not that simple.
Military officials accused of falsely tagging personalities of conspiring with communists have repeatedly maintained that they are merely "truth-tagging" and that these can be proven with available evidence. However, the documents and witness testimonies that have been presented are still up for verification.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129696 |
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) on Thursday said several supporters of communist terrorist groups (CTGs) have infiltrated different government agencies, working as state employees across various offices.
In an interview over DZAR on Thursday, NICA Director-General Alex Paul Monteagudo said they know about the individuals who were able to infiltrate government agencies.
“We know who they are, that they are even party members, supporters of the CPP [Communist Party of the Philippines]. But pinapaalam din natin sa kanila na alam natin. Alam nila na alam namin, alam ng security forces, alam ng gobyerno kung sino sila at binabantayan natin sila (We have informed them that we know. They know that we know, the security forces know, the government knows them, and we are watching them),” Monteagudo said.
As per NICA’s latest estimate, there are about 300,000 to 400,000 who are allies of different CPP-NPA-NDF front organizations.
The funny thing about all this is that the NICA director did not create an original post on Facebook and offer any factual evidence. No, he shared a post from Just Philippines. Let's take a look at that page.
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| https://www.facebook.com/JUST-Philippines-105630324580719 |
In a joint statement Friday, the League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP), Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI), Melchora Women's Partylist, Youth Power against Destabilization and Terrorism (YPADT), and Duterte Youth Partylist debunked the hounding claims of some militant organizations and individuals that they have been "red-tagged."
"We reiterate that there is no one to blame or accuse of red-tagging, other than Joma Sison because it is the tactless mouth of the CPP chairman and National Democratic (NDF) Chief consultant who tagged them, not Director Monteagudo and not even us," they said, referring to National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director-General Alex Paul Monteagudo.
The groups cited the transcript of Sison's media interview with "Pinoy Weekly" published on December 4, 2006, urging government employees to join labor group Confederation for Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE).
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1136368 |
A multi-sectoral organization Peace for Development (P4D) said the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) is the "primary watchdog" of the government to identify threats involving national security.
"To serve as the focal point for the government’s counterintelligence activities and operation. Its mission is to take the lead in directing, coordinating, and integrating all government activities involving national intelligence," said Denpaul Toledo, P4D secretary-general, citing NICA's six-fold mandate.
In exposing the truth behind the labor group Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE)'s connection with communist terrorist groups, Toledo said NICA Director-General Alex Paul Monteagudo is just compliant with his mandate and mission to protect national security.
"The COURAGE as a legal front of the CPP-NPA-NDF whose primary goal is to infiltrate and radicalize the views of government employees to discredit and destroy our democratic institutions from within the bureaucracy," he said in a statement Saturday.
Toledo lauded NICA for remaining firm in its mandate to secure the countries versus national threats
"Despite the protestations of COURAGE, the Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon (SENADO) and some Senators, NICA has gathered credible information of individuals who were able to infiltrate the government agencies," he said.
Toledo said Communist Party of Philippines (CPP) founding chair Jose Maria "Joma" Sison himself has publicly admitted that BAYAN and COURAGE are legal fronts and allied organizations of the CPP and its armed wing, New People's Army (NPA).
Government troops recently thwarted a possible attack of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) after seizing 53 anti-personnel mines in Barangay Del Carmen, Lagonoy, Camarines Sur.Capt. John Paul Belleza, 9th Infantry Division spokesperson, said residents reported the presence of a CTG, prompting the 96th Infantry Battalion to conduct a security operation where they encountered an undetermined number of New People’s Army members on Monday.
“After a 20-minute firefight, the enemies withdrew, leaving behind a stockpile of anti-personnel mines, 33 pieces of which weighed 7 to 10 kilograms each while the other 20 weighed 4 to 5 kilograms each,” Belleza said in an interview on Friday.
Bomb components were also seized.
The recent armed encounter between government forces and former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) now engaged in illegal drugs proves the link between the communist terrorist group and criminal activities, a Philippine Army official said Friday.
Brig. Gen. Zosimo Oliveros, commander of the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, said the NPA has engaged in illegal activities to finance its armed struggle.
"This is one indication that the NPA has lost their supporters, prompting them to tie up with criminal groups to sustain their efforts to destroy the government," Oliveros said in a statement sent to reporters.
On April 8, Nicolas Ibañez, a former rebel leading a gun-for-hire group and a band of illegal drug users and traders, was killed in a shootout with joint operatives from the military, police, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency during an operation in Anislagan village, Calubian, Leyte.
Government forces were serving a warrant of arrest early morning against Marlon Mendoza, also a former rebel, for frustrated murder cases.
Oliveros said Ibañez and Mendoza have close ties with Juanito Silleza Jr., one of the NPA commanders in Leyte Island.
If ex-NPA fighters have turned to selling drugs to support the NPA that just goes to show why the government should abandon it's bribery programs and toss those who surrender into prison.
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