KARAPATAN slammed a recent video by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) that not only red-tagged but spewed homophobic slurs against KARAPATAN National Council member and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel. Issued five days before the start of the national campaign period for the 2025 mid-term elections, the video contained the usual false accusations that Manuel and his organization are “NPA recruiters”.
“This vilification campaign is obviously aimed at misleading and terrorizing the electorate against voting for Kabataan Partylist,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay. “Unfortunately, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), which promised to issue guidelines on red-tagging, has not kept up with the spate of red-tagging videos, tarpaulins and the like that have already been sprouting in many places,” Palabay added.
“Red-tagging, with its scare tactics and mind-numbing attacks against progressive candidates and parties like Kabataan Partylist, deflects attention from the candidates’ platforms and the burning issues that they should be addressing,” stressed Palabay. “Red-tagging combined with homophobic rants also foment irrational fear, hatred and bigotry and can be a prelude to hate crimes and fascist attacks against the targets.”
“We urge the COMELEC to issue its guidelines against red-tagging forthwith, and act on the many incidents of red-tagging already reported in order to thwart malicious attempts by entities like the NTF-ELCAC to sabotage the right of the electorate to hear from progressive and pro-people candidates and exercise discernment,” concluded Palabay.