2 MIN READ

By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net

VIGAN CITY — Former senator Panfilo Lacson has called out serial red-taggers Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz for their “bullying tactics” against Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong.

“(T)hese bullying tactics of Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz, as in the case of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, will likely not stop if not checked now,” said the retired police general in a January 18 statement.

“Not only that – such antics will threaten to undo the credible gains made against the insurgency. After Mayor Magalong, who’s next?” he added.

The mayor became the subject of vilification by Badoy, Celiz, and Apollo Quiboloy in their SMNI programs following his appointment to the panel that would review the track record of police officials.

Magalong and Lacson, who ran for president, supported each other’s candidacy during the May 2022 polls.

Lacson recalled that he also became the target of Badoy and Celiz after he raised issues of misuse of resources for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

“When I called out the concerned NTF-ELCAC officials about such misuse while performing my legislative duty, then Undersecretary Badoy and Jeffrey Celis, aka Ka Eric, openly used their media platforms to discredit me – albeit unsuccessfully – by making attacks on my person,” he said.

Badoy was a former undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office and served as one of the NTF-ELCAC spokespersons during the Duterte administration. Meanwhile, Celiz, who claims to be an NPA surrenderee, was x-Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog’s former spokesperson and on the Duterte administration’s drug list in 2016.

“While I share with them the same advocacy and passion in ending the insurgency problem, I enjoin them to focus on the enemy without harassing those of us who put our lives on the line while serving in the AFP and PNP,” Lacson said.

Progressives rally behind Magalong

Several progressive groups and individuals have rallied behind Magalong, welcoming his stand against the unjust persecution of youth activists.

“We welcome Mayor Magalong’s statement that youth activists should be protected from persecution and harassment,” said Kabataan Party-list Cordillera in a statement,

The group also called on the mayor to probe the continuing red-tagging of incidents in the city and institutionalize measures to curb the practice.

Doctor and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chairperson Carol Araullo pointed out Magalong’s “laudable track record.”

“Gen. Magalong has a more laudable track record in terms of integrity and principled stand (eg, his stand and actions on Mamasapano debacle under PNoy administration) than these paid talking heads of the NTF ELCAC pretending to be legitimate media practitioners in the Quiboloy-AFP program on SMNI,” she said on a Facebook post.

Meanwhile, book author and cultural activist Luchie Maranan urged the mayor to file charges, citing the steps taken by other groups and individuals victimized by Badoy.

“I hope the Mayor realizes that the very agency that he fiercely defends is itself out to demolish him and the constructive dialogue he has encouraged with Baguio City’s activist community,” she said on her social media account.

Several Baguio netizens have also asked local officials to declare Badoy and other SMNI personalities unwelcome in the city. Aside from vilifying the mayor, the former PCOO official also received widespread condemnation for calling the Benguet Electric Cooperative the “milking cow” of communist rebels. # nordis.net