Top cop General Camilo Cascolan says the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group will lead the investigation
The Philippine National Police will investigate police stations that have been tagging activists as terrorists, PNP chief General Camilo Cascolan said on Thursday, September 10.
Cascolan said this as he defended the PNP budget at the House of Representatives, where ACT Teachers Representative France Castro confronted him about the practice of some police stations in the country tag activists and leftist lawmakers as terrorists on social media.
Castro flashed a slide showing a composite image of activists and Makabayan bloc representatives, collectively described as "having links to terrorists" in one social media post made by police.
In response, Cascolan said he will order the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group to probe the erring police stations.
"We will investigate.... We assure you that the PNP always follows the rule of law," Cascolan said.
Castro asked Cascolan, who is set to retire in two months, when he could send her the results of the probe. The PNP chief said he would send the report in two weeks.
A Rappler report illustrated how dozens of police stations have been red-tagging and terror-tagging activists and spreading false information on social media, violating the PNP's own policy of responsible use of social media.
Red-tagging has endangered the lives of targeted activists and human rights defenders, as seen in the case of activist Zara Alvarez, who was gunned down in August.
Lives in danger as red-tagging campaign intensifies
Cascolan said this as he defended the PNP budget at the House of Representatives, where ACT Teachers Representative France Castro confronted him about the practice of some police stations in the country tag activists and leftist lawmakers as terrorists on social media.
Castro flashed a slide showing a composite image of activists and Makabayan bloc representatives, collectively described as "having links to terrorists" in one social media post made by police.
In response, Cascolan said he will order the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group to probe the erring police stations.
"We will investigate.... We assure you that the PNP always follows the rule of law," Cascolan said.
Castro asked Cascolan, who is set to retire in two months, when he could send her the results of the probe. The PNP chief said he would send the report in two weeks.
A Rappler report illustrated how dozens of police stations have been red-tagging and terror-tagging activists and spreading false information on social media, violating the PNP's own policy of responsible use of social media.
Red-tagging has endangered the lives of targeted activists and human rights defenders, as seen in the case of activist Zara Alvarez, who was gunned down in August.
Lives in danger as red-tagging campaign intensifies
Alvarez and others had been subjects of a "vilification campaign" as the Duterte administration continues to crack down on activists by labeling them as either communists or terrorists, and then using laws to have them detained and jailed.
In July 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the controversial anti-terror law, which allows warrantless detention for up to 24 days on the basis of the government's suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
https://rappler.com/nation/pnp-probe-police-stations-terror-tagging-activists
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