TARPAULIN TACTIC | Judge gets red-tagged after freeing journalist and trade unionist

March 17, 2021 , 03:01 PM

(March 17, 2021) – Attacks on legal professionals continue to mount after a Mandaluyong judge, who dismissed criminal charges against two activists, was baselessly linked to communist forces, prompting serious concerns from lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Tarpaulins seen at Shaw Boulevard corner EDSA showed a photo of Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio with a message of gratitude purportedly from communist groups, maliciously red-tagging her. Logos of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front were included at the bottom portion of the tarpaulins.

It read: “Maraming salamat, Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio, RTC Branch 209, Mandaluyong City sa mabilis na paglaya ng kasamahan nating (sina) Lady Ann Salem at Rodrigo Esparago. Tuloy ang laban! Mabuhay!”

The Courts are under attack! After PNP’s attempt to profile HR lawyers, now we’re seeing harassment vs. judges who expose their flawed searches! It can be recalled that Judge Quisumbing-Ignacio dismissed the trumped-up charges vs Salem, Esparago after irregularities… pic.twitter.com/2YKH8llPe4

— Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite (@FerdinandGaite) March 16, 2021

Last February, Quisumbing-Ignacio voided the search warrant used against Manila Today editor Lady Ann Salem and trade unionist Rodrigo Esparago who were both arrested on December 10 on alleged charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

(READ: RED-TAGGING | Mandaluyong court junks raps against journalist and trade unionist arrested last month)

Quisumbing-Ignacio stressed the search warrant issued by Quezon City Executive Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert was vague, while law enforcers had inconsistencies and committed flaws in the operation.

It took one month before Salem and Esparago were freed from detention after prosecutors attempted to block their release.

(READ: RED-TAGGING | Police free from detention a journalist after court dismisses case)

Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite, who was the first to inform the public about the tarpaulins through a Twitter post, sounded the alarm over another apparent attack against legal professionals, calling for a thorough investigation into the matter. Gaite also sought copies of CCTV footages around the area to identify the people behind the assault on Quisumbing-Ignacio.

“The posting of this (tarpaulin) is highly condemnable and a blatant form of red-tagging not just against activists like us, but also against all those members of the legal system and other who are supposed to provide a mechanism for due process of the ‘accused,'” said Gaite in a statement.

Advocacy groups have urged the public to be more vigilant in countering the growing attacks on legal professionals since similar tactics have been previously used against slain activists. Murdered lawyer Ben Ramos was also included in a tarpaulin in Negros Occidental in what activist groups described as a “poster hitlist.”

Upholding the law

Professors from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law wrote a letter to the Supreme Court on Tuesday expressing serious concern over the rampant red-tagging of lawyers, prosecutors, and judges.

Lawyers appeal to the Supreme Court—Protect lawyers, stop impunity, and uphold the rule of law

A group of lawyers is…

Posted by University of the Philippines College of Law on Tuesday, March 16, 2021

“It should not be left to stand,” read a portion of the letter. “Never in the history of our country has there ever been such an open and flagrant attempt to cow the legal community into shirking their sworn duties as lawyers and officers of the court through an act of discrimination and inquisition clearly targeting lawyers for representing a particular client.”

The group also cited the letter of now-sacked Calbayog Police intelligence chief Lt. Fernando Calabria Jr. demanding the local court to provide him a list of lawyers representing alleged communists. Law professors said this act should not go unchecked as Calabria’s action demonstrated an act of impunity.

UP College of Law Dean Edgardo Carlo Vistan II called on the Supreme Court to create a “special committee to protect lawyers” to combat the recent attacks.

(Beatrice Puente/PM)

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