Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

Raphael Bosano, ABS-CBN News

Raphael Bosano

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA —  The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) on Friday, filed a letter with the Supreme Court to express concern over incidents of red-tagging against their members and other progressive organizations and to seek mechanisms to protect them.</p><p>Speaking to reporters, lawyer Josalee Deinla, NUPL secretary general, said that in an ongoing case, a witness submitted before the court a document from the National Task Force to End  Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) identifying the NUPL and other organizations as “underground mass organizations and front organizations.”</p><p>She did not give further details of that case.</p><p>“Kung makikita niyo meron itong seal ng NTF-ELCAC, isa siyang opisyal na dokumento,&quot; she said.</p><p>(You can see that this has the NTF-ELCAC seal. It is an official document)</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:514px;height:579px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1996785562674766006&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fpersonal%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-12-05T06%3A09%3A18.740693%3A5eca6715-35cf-4899-8116-8a66c1d3edd0%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=9076f7d6d7be9870a1cc1e9b32b426c3efd56c86&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1996785562674766006"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/20/de-lima-bats-for-passage-of-human-rights-bills-in-20th-congress-1438"><strong>De Lima bats for passage of human rights bills in 20th Congress<br/></strong></a></div><p>She said NUPL condemns the practice of labeling progressive and activist groups as communist fronts, which has been done on social media and mass media and now in court.</p><p>According to the NTF-ELCAC document the lawyers&#x27; group cited, Katipunan ng mga Samahang Manggagawa, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Makabayang Kilusan ng mga Bagong Kababaihan, GABRIELA, League of Filipino Students, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Health Alliance for Democracy and Alliance of Health Workers were also listed as “underground mass organizations and front organizations.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/18/un-rapporteur-urges-reforms-in-philippines-flags-red-tagging-media-attacks-in-final-report-0705"><strong>UN rapporteur urges reforms in Philippines, flags red-tagging, media attacks in final report</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;A PATTERN OF RED-TAGGING&#x27;</strong></div><p>In their letter to Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, NUPL said the “incident must not be viewed in isolation.”</p><p>“It reflects a broader and escalating pattern of red-tagging by state actors and their agents, including repeated vilification of NUPL lawyers as &#x27;communist terrorists&#x27;,&quot; it read.</p><p>Among the threats lawyers receive, according to Deinla, are threats to life received in their personal messaging applications while others have their names posted in public places.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/8/sc-recognizes-danger-of-red-tagging-says-may-justify-writ-of-amparo-1127"><strong>SC recognizes danger of &#x27;red-tagging,&#x27; says may justify writ of amparo<br/></strong></a></div><p>Some have also been victims of surveillance saying that red-tagging inevitably puts a target on their backs. </p><p>The NUPL is requesting the SC to protect its lawyers and consider “adopting complete protection mechanisms for lawyers under threat.”</p><p>“Convene a dialogue between the Bench and Bar, with civil society organizations such as NUPL, to formulate institutional safeguards that preserve the independence, security, and dignity of the legal profession,” Deinla said.</p>

<p>The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) on Friday, filed a letter with the Supreme Court to express concern over incidents of red-tagging against their members and other progressive organizations and to seek mechanisms to protect them.</p>

The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) on Friday, filed a letter with the Supreme Court to express concern over incidents of red-tagging against their members and other progressive organizations and to seek mechanisms to protect them.

NUPL seeks Supreme Court help on red-tagging of lawyers, civil society

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NUPL seeks Supreme Court help on red-tagging of lawyers, civil society

Raphael Bosano,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 05, 2025 02:44 PM PHT

Read More:

National Union of Peoples' Lawyers

National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict

Supreme Court

red-tagging

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