Human rights groups decried the continuous red-tagging of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the public consultation conducted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Baguio. 
 
Councilor Jose Molintas said the consultation was organized in order to propose recommendations to the city council to stop red-tagging. However, the forum escalated into heated exchange when the AFP presented a video from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), April 19. 

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In the said video, slain student leaders from the Kabataan Partylist (KPL), Gabriela Youth, Anakbayan, the League of Filipino Students (LFS) and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) were featured, linking them as part of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA). 

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Jeanette Cawiding, a human rights defender, expressed dismay over the material shown by the AFP. "You are in this forum of dialogue, you keep red-tagging us. The red-tagging is continuing even in this forum," Cawiding said.

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In addition, Molintas refuted the suggested idea that the mentioned organizations are part of the CPP-NPA. According to him, the mentioned groups maintain their legitimacy unless declared illegal by a body with jurisdiction. 

 

"Advertising them, especially names and faces of people, in a propaganda material, is actually a violation of civil and political rights,” Molintas said.
 
Moreover, Cawiding said that persecuting activists will not resolve insurgency.

 

Meanwhile, a day after the opening of the Cordillera day celebration, flyers were distributed along Sunshine Park with contents seemingly red-tagging the commemoration.

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— Geronne Abad