Lorraine Badoy and retired Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokespersons, were reprimanded by the Office of the Ombudsman for making allegations tying a human rights lawyers’ group to communist insurgents.

In a 17-page decision released on Thursday and signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, it stated, “WHEREFORE, this Office finds respondents Antonio Parlade, Jr. and Lorraine Marie T. Badoy GUILTY of Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service and imposes upon them the penalty of REPRIMAND pursuant to Rule III, Section 10 of Administrative Order No. 7, as amended by Administrative Order No. 17.”

“The above-mentioned respondents are sternly warned that a repetition of a similar offense would be dealt with more severely,” it added.

According to the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, a first-time offense for “Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service” results in a suspension of six months to one year. Individuals are required to pay this sum while on suspension, which is equivalent to their prior salary. However, Badoy and Parlade have been given a warning instead of a suspension.

In a complaint filed against them on March 23, 2023, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) accused Badoy and Parlade of participating in the government’s practice of designating progressive groups and their members as “communist terrorists” or “fronts” of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

However, the Ombudsman claims that there is no justification to pursue serious misconduct charges against the two former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) officials because red-tagging or red-baiting does not constitute “intentional wrongdoing or a deliberate violation of the law or standard behavior.”

Although the words used by Parlade and Badoy to criticize the NUPL do not represent activities that “amount to what a reasonable person would conceive as communist propaganda,” the Ombudsman still held them accountable for behavior detrimental to the best interests of the service.

“These matters (NUPL’s statements) are not communist propaganda as dissent and upholding of individual rights are vital in a vibrant democracy. As such, the importance of raising awareness or highlighting these issues to the public cannot gainsaid,” the decision read.

“Consequently, the aforementioned statements duly [tarnish] the image of NTF-ELCAC as it perpetuates the notion that it is being used as a government tool to silence dissent or opposition instead of legitimately pursuing its ultimate goal of lasting peace and ending the armed conflict with the communist rebels,” it added.

Particularly due to red-tagging or connecting individuals to communist armed activity, Parlade and Badoy have been facing numerous cases before the Ombudsman.

However, the two former officials and other individuals connected to the NTF-ELCAC assert that they were not engaged in red-tagging because they were simply speaking the truth.

Photo: Lorraine Badoy, Antonio Parlade FB