CASTRO SA BJMP:  BAWIIN ANG RED-TAGGING MEMO, MAG-PUBLIC APOLOGY

📷 Unang pahina ng BJMP memorandum na may petsang Enero 10, 2025. (Supplied to Kodao Productions)

HINDI mangingimi si House Deputy Minority Leader at ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro na sampahan ng kasong administratibo at humiling ng danyos sa Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) kapag hindi binawi ang inilabas na memorandum na nag-uutos ng surveillance sa kanya at sa mga bilanggong pulitikal batay sa walang basehang red-tagging at mga alegasyon ni dating Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. post sa Facebook.

“This is a dangerous and malicious act of red-tagging by the BJMP. They are using an unverified social media post from a discredited source to justify surveillance and monitoring of a sitting member of Congress and political prisoners,” sabi ni Castro.

“If the BJMP fails to retract this memo and issue a public apology, we will not hesitate to file appropriate charges, including administrative cases and claims for damages,” babala ni Castro.

Binigyang-diin ni dating ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio ang legal na implikasyon ng mga aksyon ng BJMP.

“Red-tagging is not only illegal but also grounds for damages. BJMP officials can be held criminally, administratively, and civilly liable for relying on allegations from Parlade, who, along with Lorraine Badoy, was found guilty by the Ombudsman in March 2023 for conduct prejudicial to public service due to red-tagging,” paliwanag ni Tinio.

Para sa National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), parehong “katawa-tawa at lubhang nakababahala” na ang isang ahensya ng gobyerno na inatasang mangasiwa sa pamamahala ng bilangguan ay gagamitin ang isang “unverified Facebook post from an unreformed red-tagger as sufficient basis for policy.”

“The NUPL denounces the reported directive as a glaring example of McCarthyism. Like the ideological witch hunts of the past, these measures target individuals based solely on suspicion and ideological profiling, and unverified allegations,” anang NUPL sa isang kalatas.

Giit ng lawyers group, nilabag ng BJMP ang mga international at domestic human rights laws dahil ang mga hakbang nito ay nagpapahina sa presumption of innocence pati na rin ang International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) sa pamamagitan ng pagpapataw ng mga hakbang sa pagpaparusa nang walang paglilitis.

“They also violate the right to privacy and human dignity, as affirmed in the ICCPR (Article 17), by subjecting detainees to invasive surveillance and severely restricting essential correspondence and visitor interactions,” sabi ng NUPL.

Iginiit din ng mga abugado ng karapatan na ang akusasyon ni Parlade laban kay Castro ay hindi lamang “walang basehan at katawa-tawa” kundi isang “kinakalkulang pagtatangka na siraan ang isang lehitimong at progresibong party-list na patuloy na kumakatawan sa interes ng mga guro at manggagawa sa edukasyon.”

Nanawagan ang NUPL sa BJMP na bawiin ang mga direktiba na magpapasimula ng harassment o panunupil laban sa mga bilanggong pulitikal.

“We further urge the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to launch a comprehensive investigation into the reported measures, their legality, and their impact on the conditions of detainees, including cases of denied visitation rights, and reports of NTF-ELCAC operatives pressuring detainees to make extrajudicial confessions or surrenders without the presence of counsel,” anang NUPL. (ROSE NOVENARIO)