Another military officer sacked over red-tagging

MANILA, Philippines — Another ranking official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has been relieved from his post over the gaffe involving the erroneous list published on military social media pages, identifying University of the Philippines alumni as members of the New People’s Army.

Relieved from his position was Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, AFP deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations (J7).

Arevalo’s relief was made official before the weekend, as decided by the Board of Generals, after his request to go on a “leave of absence” so as not to influence the ongoing investigation.

He said that he takes responsibility for the actions of their J7 office, which posted the erroneous list on their Facebook account.

“I would like to reiterate that, indeed, an erroneous list was a mistake committed by J7 staff, and as the chief of office for Civil Military Operations, J7, I personally take responsibility for their actions,” he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier this week sacked Maj. Gen. Alex Luna as head of the office of the AFP J2 Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence.

The deputies of the two offices will be designated as acting chiefs, according to AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo.

The AFP is currently probing the issue to determine the extent of responsibility and accountability of those involved with the post.

The military spokesman added that they are keen on improving their process of vetting and releasing information, including their social media policy, to ensure that the incident will not happen again.

Lorenzana said that the publication of the erroneous list was an unforgivable lapse and had resulted in confusion and damage to the reputation of those named on it.

The publication of the list came amid controversies surrounding the abrogation of the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense Accord.

Still, Lorenzana said that the case does not warrant a formal inquiry as he considers it an open and shut one.

He noted that the morale of the AFP has not been adversely affected by Luna’s relief, as military personnel know the principle of command responsibility.

Not enough

Activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) maintained that the AFP practice of tagging certain individuals as members of communist groups must stop altogether.

In a press statement issued yesterday, Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said that while their group welcomes the sacking of Luna, the move was not enough as the lives of innocent civilians remain in danger with the military’s continued practice of “out-of-control red-tagging.”

“The problem is red-tagging itself. As a concept, red-tagging violates the presumption of innocence and the right to due process of an individual the moment one is labelled a communist or terrorist,” Reyes said.

“The AFP makes a determination of guilt, often guilt by association, and leaves the target vulnerable to attacks. That is why the named UP alumni were outraged because they knew the dire implications of such labeling,” he added.

Reyes said the AFP must no longer be allowed to engage in any red-tagging as much as the PNP must no longer be allowed to release any list of individuals supposedly involved in the illegal drug trade.

“They (AFP and PNP) are not courts. They are not mandated or even competent to determine the guilt of individuals. How many more people have been unjustly labeled or included in so-called ‘Red’ lists? How many have been subjected to extrajudicial killings, surveillance and harassment?” Reyes said.

“Red-tagging erodes the rule of law, corrupts institutions and terrorizes the people. In the context of the Anti-Terror Law, it becomes even more dangerous. The practice should stop. The abuses have been too many to ignore or sweep under the rug,” he added. –  Elizabeth Marcelo