MANILA, Philippines—The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) on Wednesday condemned the circulation of "wanted" posters tagging two individuals in counter-revolutionary activities in the Southern Tagalog region.
NTF-Elcac Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. issued the statement after the New People’s Army (NPA), in two separate posts on the Facebook page of "Villager's Point of View 2.0," accused Gerald Mangao, Erick Simogan, and Zena Punada Candelario Segui of colluding with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in red-tagging and placed a token bounty for information on their whereabouts.
“This is not harmless online rhetoric. This is organized psychological warfare,” Torres said in a statement. “When individuals are publicly branded as ‘spies’ or ‘traitors’ without evidence or due process, it places their lives in clear and present danger," he added.
Torres described the posters as blatant examples of "spy-tagging" — the deliberate labeling of civilians as informants or enemies of the movement, a practice that has historically preceded harassment, abduction and execution in areas where armed elements operate. “We have seen this deadly pattern before. Accuse without proof. Label without process. Eliminate without remorse," he said.
He pointed to the recent killing of Leonora "Leonor" Anguit, a 74-year-old grandmother from Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, who was executed after being accused of being a military informant.
“By the perpetrators’ own admission, she was killed on mere suspicion. No court. No proof. No defense. Just an accusation followed by a bullet,” he added.
Based on NTF-Elcac monitoring, 26 civilians were killed in 2025 alone following spy-tagging accusations. The task force said that many of the victims were ordinary citizens — farmers, forest guards, and community members — whose alleged “offense” was speaking against the communist terrorist group or refusing to support its violent agenda.
Torres underscored what he called the "bitter irony" behind the practice.
“The same group that loudly invokes human rights, press freedom, and freedom of expression weaponizes these principles to advance its cause, while silencing and eliminating those who dare to reject its ideology,” he said. “They preach rights publicly but impose death sentences privately. That is a dangerous double standard.”
The NTF-Elcac official also recalled the internal purges that scarred communities during campaigns such as Oplan Zombie, Kampanyang Ahos, and Kadena de Amor, which resulted in thousands of suspicion-driven executions.
“Today’s spy-tagging follows the same logic. History warns us what happens when propaganda becomes a trigger for violence,” he said. By posting "wanted" materials against Mangao, Simogan, and Segui, the NPA has placed targets on their backs, Torres said.
“This constitutes a direct threat to their lives. The State cannot ignore this,” he added.
The NTF-Elcac called on law enforcement and security authorities to immediately ensure the safety and protection of the individuals named, and urged civil society, media organizations, faith-based groups, and human rights advocates to denounce spy-tagging as a deadly practice. “Branding civilians as ‘spies’ because they reject violence is not revolutionary justice. It is not activism. It is not dissent,” Torres emphasized. “It is a death sentence imposed by propaganda.”