Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the removal of the controversial Philippine Human Rights Situationer, which allegedly “red-tagged” several militant party-list organizations, from the website of the Department of Justice.
“I have given instructions for the removal of the Human Rights Situationer from the DOJ website a few weeks ago. If it’s still up there, we’ll take it down immediately,” Guevarra told reporters.
He made his statement even as Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said law enforcement agents should undergo training for the effective implementation of Republic Act 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
Sugay said the Anti-Terrorism Council, the executive body tasked to implement the anti-terrorism law and its IRR, had a “very clear concept of what a terrorist is” that needed to be disseminated to its enforcers.
Meanwhile, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Gilbert Gapay has ordered troops to ensure the proper implementation of the recently passed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, or Republic Act 11479, at all times.
“We know how this law would greatly help us in building our confidence and poise in our operations. I am confident, and I know for a fact that every man and woman of the AFP is responsible, accountable, and objective enough to enforce this law,” Gapay said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Philippine Human Rights Situationer dated May 2020 remains accessible through the DOJ website. The report has labelled Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers as “CPP-created party-lists.”
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, who had confronted DOJ officials about the report during a budget hearing last month, denied their organizations were created by the Communist Party of the Philippines.
While Guevarra insisted that the DOJ had no policy of red-tagging, Zarate said the presence of the report on the agency’s website was a “tacit endorsement” of its contents.
The report was consolidated by the Department of Foreign Affairs based on inpust from different government agencies. It includes a section on the National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict, a body created by President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 70.
In particular, Zarate complained about this sentence: “In Congress, three resolutions were filed by known CPP-created party-lists, namely, Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers calling for the abolition of E.O. 70.”
According to the lawmaker, their party-list groups were legally registered organizations.
Militant groups have objected to the so-called “red-tagging” or being labeled as communist rebels or fronts, saying such claims had led to harassment and violence, some deadly, against their members.