ADVERTISEMENTKarapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay claimed that no new evidence to prove activists’ links, especially that of Makabayan bloc’s supposed ties to the CPP-NPA-NDFP, was presented during the hearing. “This hearing has become a big echo chamber of sorts for these bloodthirsty militarists and their rabid lies,” she added. The top defense officials in the hearing are supposedly the heads of frontline agencies, yet they are busy engaging in rumor-mongering, red-tagging and terrorist-labeling,” Reyes explained. The Makabayan bloc and Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares — Locsin’s cousin mentioned by Parlade himself — skipped the hearing. ’ Red-tagging has been a common complaint from activists who insisted that they are not members of CPP-NPA-NDF, as the government heightens its anti-insurgency drive.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 03, 2020 09:33 UTC