The Duterte administration’s persistent red-baiting of IBON and other
groups instead of addressing the issues raised is an affront to the public. The
public deserves the truth and to be informed about the issues that matter to
them the most. Instead, the government is red-baiting critical voices to
silence opposition and to hide the real situation of the country.
IBON Research Head Rosario Guzman and Presidential Communications
Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy were recently guests on
One News’ ‘The Chiefs’ to discuss the administration’s Duterte Legacy campaign.
IBON presented data questioning the accomplishments claimed by the PCOO.
Instead of addressing the PCOO’s apparent disinformation, Usec. Badoy responded
by linking IBON to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s
Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP). She pressed
the point and only relented when the hosts reminded her to stay on topic.
Usec. Badoy’s behavior is symptomatic of the administration’s wholesale
attacks on independent groups. It is being done to hide the worsening economic
situation, prevent the radical reforms needed to develop the country, and
promote its self-serving agenda. Under the pretext of ending the armed
Communist rebellion, the Duterte administration cast its net wide and is
attacking every group that is critical of its anti-people economic policies and
authoritarianism.
The Duterte administration has been most systematic and vicious in
attacking those it sees as the greatest threats to its oppressive rule. The
government vilifies, harasses, fabricates charges against, and illegally
arrests critics and opposition. Human rights defenders have already been
violently attacked and even killed under this administration. Usec. Badoy
mentioned on the show that she is part of the National Task Force to End Local
Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Since its creation in 2018, the NTF-ELCAC
and its security apparatus has been implicated in the surge in human rights
violations in the country.
The PCOO is at the forefront of the government’s disinformation campaign
to deceive and manipulate the public. For this, its budget has been increased
substantially to Php1.7 billion in 2020 from an average of Php1.1 billion under
the previous Aquino administration. The 55% larger budget of the PCOO is only
going to promote falsehoods on an even wider scale.
IBON has been explaining economic issues to the public for 41 years. The
Duterte administration is attacking IBON because we advocate an economy that
upholds the people’s interests most of all. As with activists and other groups,
we are undeterred and will continue to support the efforts of the people’s
movement to reclaim the economy from the elites that have taken it over.
We will also be taking measures to show that we do not condone the
people’s money being used for a self-serving political agenda. The PCOO,
including USec. Badoy, is just among many who need to be put in their place.
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