MANILA, Philippines — Progressive groups have filed another administrative complaint against NTF-ELCAC Spokesperson and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy before the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday over her public posts red-tagging Vice President Leni Robredo.
To recall, Badoy alleged that Vice President Robredo is a supporter of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army, without offering any evidence besides Robredo's support of groups belonging to the left side of the political spectrum and her willingness to resume peace talks with rebel groups.
Progressive groups Pambansang Lakas ng mga Mamalakaya, Amihan Peasant Women Federation, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan, and labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno said in the complaint that the Facebook posts were "presented as official statements of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict."
Badoy in her Facebook posts calls the Vice President a “virtual mouthpiece of the terrorist group” and claims that the Vice President “has betrayed us all.”
"We were appalled and deeply disturbed on how Undersecretary Badoy-Partosa uses the resources of the government not only to wantonly red-tag, maliciously attack and malign progressive individuals and groups but how she brazenly and publicly associates and links the presidential campaign of [Robredo] with the Communist Party," the groups said.
"This is unprofessional and unbecoming of a public official...Without any evidence, her post serves no other purpose than to tarnish the reputation of Vice President and Presidential candidate Robredo."
Complainants called the post a prima facie case of violation of Section 3, paragraph (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and an evident violation of RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The complaint also tagged her post as "a clear partisan political activity" prohibited in:
- Section 261, Paragraph (i) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, or the Omnibus Election Code;
- Book V, Title I(A), Chapter 8, Section 55 of the Administrative Code of 1987
- Joint Circular No. 001 (s. 2016) of the Commission on Elections and the Civil Service Commission entitled Joint COMELEC-CSC Advisory on Electioneering and Partisan Political Activities.
"Social media, specifically Facebook, has been used to spread hate and disinformation, targeting people who opposed those in power," the groups also said in their joint statement.
"The continued refusal of Facebook to act on disinformation, and libelous and hateful remarks, as in this case, compelled the complainants to seek redress in the Office of the Ombudsman. Usec. Badoy-Partosa’s actions, if left unchecked, will serve to encourage similar actions on other government officials and employees and will contribute to the erosion of public trust in our institutions."
Exactly one week ago, 26 activists, religious groups, teachers, and student leaders filed a similar complaint against the NTF-ELCAC spokesperson accusing her of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Lawyer Tony La Viña, the spokesperson for the petitioners who hurled the first set of administrative complaints against Badoy, said that the raps were "only the first in a series of complaints and legal action" that the group is preparing in the coming weeks.
The Commission on Human Rights has warned that the practice of red-tagging, which has increased in 2020, "violates the constitutional guarantee of presumption of innocence and may have serious implications on the security and movement of individuals and groups involved."
Badoy has denied that her task force practices red-tagging, preferring to call its conflating activists with armed combatants "truth-tagging." The NTF-ELCAC has often been caught spreading false information on more than one occasion to justify its red-tagging.