Leticia “Letty” Castillo, one of the group’s spokespersons, said that the NTF-ELCAC has been relentless in red-tagging activists, human rights defenders, and individuals and groups perceived to be critical of the government.
In its press conference on July 20, Defend NCR presented testimonies from activists who experienced red-tagging online and from soldiers deployed in poor communities in Metro Manila.
Executive Order (EO) 70, signed by Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, ordered the creation of the NTF-ELCAC. The sitting president heads the NTF-ELCAC.
However, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected calls to abolish the NTF-ELCAC.
Marcos Jr. said on May 16 that the anti-insurgency body had lessened the risks posed by communist rebels and provided assistance to those who abandoned the armed struggle.
“The people who used to clash with the government, instead of fighting with them, are helping them, and it had a huge effect on reducing internal security threat[s]. That is because of the NTF-ELCAC,” Marcos Jr. said.
EO 70 and the creation of the NTF-ELCAC were in adherence to the ASEAN Joint Communique in 2017 on countering violent extremism, radicalization, and terrorism. It prescribed the whole-of-nation approach as more effective than the purely military option. This entailed focusing a part of the military’s work on civilians.
The whole-of-nation approach also engages all civilian government agencies in the government’s anti-insurgency drive. This, in turn, adheres to the US Counterinsurgency Guide of 2009’s whole-of-government approach.
Since its inception, the NTF-ELCAC has been panned for its chronic red-tagging of activists, journalists, even politicians and celebrities.
“Who is the target of Duterte’s EO 70 and the NTF ELCAC? Among their targets are women, especially members of Gabriela. Civilian, unarmed women. Marcos is still using the NTF-ELCAC to repress people’s basic rights,” stressed Letty.
Letty is also a known leader of the Gabriela NCR chapter.
Condemnation of red-tagging gained more support from local and international institutions this year.
In concluding her visit to the Philippines on February 2 this year, UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan appealed to the Philippine government to end the practice of red-tagging, saying vilification has often been followed by threats, unlawful surveillance, attacks, or even unlawful killing. She also called on the government to disband the NTF-ELCAC.
Three months later, on May 8, the Supreme Court (SC) declared that red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security, which may justify the issuance of a writ of amparo.
The Anti-Red Tagging Monitoring Project of the Ateneo Human Rights Center recorded 456 incidents of red-tagging from January to July 2024. The government perpetrated over 61% of these incidents. Metro Manila tallied 444 red-tagging incidents. Only six were committed offline, while 450 were online. The monitoring also showed that red-tagging in the country targets women more than men. A Rappler article cited data from the dashboard showing that 16.1% of the targets were female and only 5.7% were male.
Letty has had her fair share of red-tagging ever since the NTF-ELCAC’s counterpart in Metro Manila, the Joint Task Force-ELCAC NCR (JTF-ELCAC NCR), was formed in 2019.
In 2021, posters against the New People’s Army (NPA) appeared all over her hometown, Valenzuela City. The posters included Letty’s photo. This incident prompted her to relocate for several months.
“Why do they target women? Because you are an organizer. You are a member of Gabriela. The military and the government think you are an obstacle to them. If you fight for what’s right and when you fight against their anti-people policies, they see you as their enemy. That is the reason why women were red-tagged,” said Letty.
In the September 2019 meeting that formed the JTF-ELCAC NCR or JTF-NCR, then-NCR Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in Filipino, “NCR is the center of their front organizations. So we will focus our effort on countering that, showing the people the reality and convincing them that communism is not the solution for the improvement and development of our country.”
A military official, Brigadier General Jimmy Larida, is the current commanding officer of the JTF-NCR.
Soldiers were deployed in Metro Manila as early as 2019, following the creation of JTF-NCR. They pushed residents to give up their homes in disputed communities in Catmon village in the city of Malabon, according to Karapatan NCR.
In March 2023, soldiers of the 11th Infantry Battalion (IB) arrived in Happyland, GK, and Aroma communities in Tondo, Manila. They profiled groups and individuals who joined the International Women’s Day protest rally. The 11th IB came from Negros Island.
In April 2023, the 11th Civil Military Operations (CMO) “Kaugnayan” Battalion started their operations in Manila. Last year, their operations extended to Caloocan, Malabon, and Valenzuela. This year, they have also started “community support programs” in San Juan, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasay, and Parañaque.
The Philippine Army website describes the 11th CMO as the “pioneering battalion that specializes in Community Support Program (CSP)-White Area Operations.” Its mandate is “to deradicalize and address the insurgency problem in the NCR and Luzon in general.”
In an article from the Philippine News Agency, an army official explained that the army’s white area operations are “carried out in urban areas where [communist terrorist groups] are doing deceptive propaganda activities through their front organizations.”
Meanwhile, the 12th CMO “Kapatiran” Battalion was stationed in Marawi City before being deployed in Manila in late 2023. Around 90 soldiers from its four platoons were stationed in Sta. Mesa, Ermita, and Sta. Cruz, and Tondo. The soldiers had set up their barracks in the offices of Brgy. 666 in Ermita and in Brgy. 98 and Brgy. 101 in Tondo.
Letty said the presence of soldiers in urban poor communities has affected organizing work among women and the urban poor.
“Military deployment in Metro Manila, whether in 1999, 2007 or now, targets activist groups and human rights defenders. The government has time and again turned to waging war on civilians,” said Letty.
But she and her group intend to continue their work.
“The people should know there is nothing wrong with organizing or joining groups. There is nothing wrong with forming an organization to defend our rights. There is nothing wrong with joining rallies. These are our rights,” stressed Letty.
