Rep. Castro Denounces Red-Tagging Flyers in Schools, Calls for Immediate Ban

MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Representative France Castro has condemned the alleged distribution of pamphlets that portray students and rallyists as terrorists for opposing certain government policies.

The pamphlets, which were circulated to the media, included logos and social media pages of the Department of Education (DepEd) office in Rizal and the Army’s 80th Infantry Battalion. They aimed to inform students on how to identify recruiters from the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and warned of the consequences of being recruited.

Rep. Castro expressed grave concerns over the dangers of red-tagging, highlighting it as a threat to both the youth and the country’s democracy. “This is a clear case of harassment and intimidation of our youth, and a blatant disregard of the Supreme Court’s ruling that red-tagging is a dangerous practice that puts lives in peril,” she stated.

She criticized the use of taxpayer money by the military and DepEd, in coordination with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), to disseminate what she termed as disinformation and terrorize students. “It is unacceptable that the military, and DepEd in coordination with the NTF-ELCAC, is using taxpayers’ money to spread disinformation and terrorize our students,” Castro added.

Rep. Castro called for Congress to expedite measures banning red-tagging and to impose penalties on those who engage in such activities. “The government should focus on providing quality education and protecting our youth, not spreading fear and misinformation,” she emphasized.

The condemnation by Rep. Castro underscores the ongoing debate and controversy surrounding red-tagging practices in the Philippines, particularly its impact on the youth and educational institutions.