ONE OF the most abused and favorite phrases of the usual suspects — pseudo-communists and useful idiots — is “red tagging.” It has become an all-purpose expression, a convenient “victim card” pulled out whenever authorities identify, describe, or expose an individual, group, or organization for what it actually is.
Almost always, the ulterior motive of these individuals, groups, or organizations — including the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and its party-lists — is to overthrow the legitimate government, usually through armed or violent means, and replace it with an obsolete and irrelevant ideology: communism or socialism.
As Karl Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto, the ultimate goal was “the withering away of the state.” Of course, that never happened. Instead, communism itself withered away — becoming irrelevant and obsolete.
Take note: the setting of Marx’s Communist Manifesto was England during the Industrial Revolution in the early 20th century. Today, that ideology has morphed into “socialism” — the latest “fashion accessory” among Frappuccino- and Salted Caramel Macchiato-sipping “wokes” and social climbers.
Moving on, it was the late Joma Sison, founder of the CPP-NPA-NDF, who openly revealed the CPP’s dual tactic: armed struggle paired with legal electoral participation — shielded by the myth of “red tagging.”
Joma Sison, in one of his final major essays before his death, laid bare the Communist Party of the Philippines’ political playbook — one that turns democracy itself into a weapon.
In his ideological commentary, On Three Viewpoints Concerning the 2022 Elections, Sison exposed the CPP-NPA-NDF’s dual political strategy: engaging in armed struggle while simultaneously participating in elections through its so-called “patriotic and democratic” legal organizations. His own words reveal how the Party sustains this two-pronged approach and protects it by weaponizing the narrative of “red tagging.”
He said that groups such as the Makabayan Bloc and Kabataan Party-list join elections as part of the broader revolutionary framework — not as independent reformist bodies.
Sison distinguishes between the revolutionary underground movement led by the CPP-NPA-NDF and the legal forces that operate openly within the 1987 Constitution. He plainly admits that these “legal forces” engage in “electoral and political exercises of the ruling system” to “advance the just cause of full national independence, democracy, and social justice.”
This is not a renunciation of the CPP-NPA-NDF’s revolutionary objectives. It is a tactical adaptation — a necessary maneuver where elections remain a powerful medium to reach and mobilize the masses.
But why hide under the skirt of “red tagging”? Simply because the CPP-NPA-NDF fears exposure. Their underground networks, recruitment operations, and manipulation of social grievances rely heavily on secrecy.
In essence, “red tagging” is not about “red bananas”; it is a weaponized tactic designed to shield their dual strategy of armed struggle and legal electoral participation.
Criticizing the government does not make one an insurgent or a communist — perhaps a “useful idiot,” yes, but not an insurgent. Thousands of Filipinos protested the flood control corruption scandal, demanding accountability and transparency. They exercised their constitutional rights to free speech, peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government for redress. Speaking the truth is not a crime, and holding leaders accountable is not rebellion — it is democracy in action.
So far, the government has upheld and respected that right. That does not, however, grant permission for hooligans — particularly those sponsored by the Makabayan Bloc — to violently disrupt peaceful assemblies, as seen during the September 21 Trillion Peso March.
Meanwhile, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict fully supports the Commission on Elections in the disqualification case against Kabataan Party-list, stressing that this is not an attack on free expression but a safeguard meant to protect Filipino youth from exploitation and violent radicalization.
The Party-List System Act clearly provides that organizations advocating or supporting armed rebellion may be disqualified.
And speaking of “useful idiots,” former Gabriela representative Sarah Elago recently blamed Vice President Sara Duterte’s so-called confidential funds for the disastrous floods in Cebu brought by Typhoon Tino.
Indeed, another cringe-worthy moment./PN
