LFS-Bacolod condemns Army’s red-tagging

The League of Filipino Students (LFS)-Bacolod condemned the red-tagging committed by the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army in Negros.

LFS-Bacolod chair RJ Ledesma said in a statement over the weekend that they are reacting to the Brigade’s Facebook posts featuring a collage of photos taken during their SONAgKAISA rally last July 27 at the Bacolod Public Plaza.

The activity was attended by various progressive groups, calling for the junking of the Anti-Terrorism Law and a more comprehensive government approach to the Covid-19 pandemic among other concerns

The photos, which bear the League of Filipino Students logo, were originally published by LFSBacolod on their Facebook page. In the photos, 12 people are clearly visible, nine of whom are members of LFS-Bacolod and three are members of Bacolod Youth Alliance, a local coalition of youth activists.

LFS-Bacolod’s statement added, “[Duterte and the AFP-PNP] are clearly threatened and afraid of the growing youth and student movement that can be seen in the various successful mobilizations conducted nationwide, more predominantly the recent SONAgkakaisa mobilization.”

It also stressed the dangers of the Brigade’s Facebook posts, saying, “Red-tagging puts the safety and security of the members under threat, and this has long been used by the mercenary state forces to rationalize further harassment and even outright killings. This is a chilling precedent to what is yet to come when the Anti-Terrorism Law is fully implemented.”