Disinformation, red-tagging of opposition lawmakers in PH ‘increased alarmingly” ahead of 2022 elections — APHR

Disinformation and red-tagging of Filipino opposition lawmakers had “increased alarmingly” ahead of the May 2022 polls, according to the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). Based on the report, former Vice President Leni Robredo, the main rival of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the 2022 presidential election, was the “prime target of intensified disinformation and red-tagging in social media leading up to election day.”

According to its report, the APHR is a regional network of current and former parliamentarians who use their unique positions to advance human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia. The APHR said Robredo was repeatedly “red-tagged” by government officials, including Lorraine Badoy, the former spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Citing the Philippine court, the APHR defined “red-tagging” as “the act of labeling, branding, naming, and accusing individuals and organizations of being left-leaning, subversives, communists, or terrorists (used as) a strategy… by state agents….against those perceived to be ‘threats’ or ‘enemies’ of the state.” The report said that elected representatives, members, and supporters of the Makabayan bloc, a coalition of progressive left-wing party lists in the House of Representatives, were also red-tagged by the government as a legal front for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). In 2017, the government classified the CPP and the New People’s Army (NPA) as “terrorist organizations,” according to the report.

“Despite the fact that the Makabayan bloc repeatedly rejected the government’s accusations, such red-tagging statements were posted on social media, especially Facebook pages of government agencies and public officials,” the APHR said.

“They were shared widely by netizens, resulting in threats, violence, and sometimes deaths of members and supporters of the Makabayan bloc,” it added. The APHR also said that a number of attacks were recorded in 2022 against Senator Risa Hontiveros and House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro. It also highlighted a “disturbing trend that emerged: misogynist harassment and attacks” against women lawmakers and candidates, saying that the “viciousness of misogynistic attacks intensified” during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Meanwhile, the APHR said the landslide victory of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte in the elections was “due in great part to a successful campaign of disinformation and red-tagging against opposition parties and political dissenters, including lawmakers.”

“It is also concerning that online misogynist attacks seem to have taken root and have been strategically deployed to target and undermine the credibility of women lawmakers and candidates who have been known to express dissent and hold those in power accountable,” it said. “The new administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may continue such a campaign to silence criticism and consolidate power and deploy the same tactics in future elections. This undoubtedly will pose a greater risk to opposition lawmakers in the next six years,” it added.

GMA News Online reached out to Reynold Munsayac, spokesperson for the Office of the Vice President, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, a longtime aide to former President Duterte, and Badoy for comments, but none had been received as of this posting. In October 2022, a study launched at Harvard University showed how “influence operations” and disinformation innovations had impacted the 2022 Philippine elections. The study, titled “Parallel Public Spheres: Influence Operations in the 2022 Philippine Elections,” stated that influence operations ushered in their “most harmful” effect on healthy political deliberation during the elections, which “stoked political fandoms’ biases and aggravated tendencies for affective polarization.” In May 2022, fact-checking group Tsek.ph said Robredo and Marcos remained the primary targets of disinformation in the presidential race, with false or misleading information about Marcos being favorable to him while the disinformation targeting Robredo was negative. — VBL, GMA Integrated News