‘I’m not red-tagging anyone’: Lacson

MANILA – Partido Reporma standard bearer Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson denied allegations that he had purposely red-tagged anyone, saying he was merely warning against groups planning to create a coalition group with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

“I never red-tagged anybody. I was simply warning those concerned to be wary of a possible coalition government with a movement whose sole objective is to seize power,” he said in a Twitter post on Monday.

Lacson made it clear that his warning is not aimed at anyone in particular, even as he belied accusations that he was red-tagging the supporters of other presidential candidates.

In order for the country to prosper and develop, he added that insurgency like corruption must be ended decisively.

“Insurgency, like corruption, must end if we want peace and prosperity,” he said in his post.

In another Twitter post on Sunday, Lacson said a coalition government with the CPP-NPA-NDF will set back government gains to end the more than 50-year-old insurgency problem.

His post was accompanied by a link to an article quoting Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla who claimed that some participants of a campaign rally of a presidential candidate in Cavite over the weekend were paid to attend the event.

According to the article, Remulla said some students who attended the campaign rally looked like activists and were purportedly trained by the NDF.

“This is worrisome. A coalition government will the CPP-NPA-NDF will set back the gains of the government’s efforts to end the country’s decades-old insurgency problem,” he added.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

While the Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973.

“With all the bashing I’m getting for the ‘coalition with the CPP-NPA-NDF’ tweet I posted earlier, there must be the basis for the age-old quote ‘truth hurts’. I care for my country which continues to suffer from the longest-running insurgency in the world. I just want it to end,” Lacson said.