Editor red-tagged by SMNI propagandists

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – Ronalyn Olea, managing editor of Bulatlat, was red-tagged and called an “operatibong internet operator” for the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) in SMNI’s Laban Kasama ang Bayan. Olea is also the Secretary-General of the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP).

Bulatlat, one of the oldest alternative news websites, has long been under attack. This year, the National Telecommunications Commission, on the orders of former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon blocked its website along with other alternative news sources for alleged communist links. The Quezon City court has granted an injunction on the NTC’s block order and has rejected an appeal by the commission.

Olea has been in the forefront of this fight, along with other attacks and threats against the media in her nearly two decades in Bulatlat. As Bulatlat stated on October 14, “Len is highly visible in the trial courts, in various fora and in the parliament of the streets. She fought those who dare to stifle press freedom and to curtail the people’s right to know. She stands in solidarity with fellow journalists and media workers under attack.”

In an October 13 statement, NUJP added that the move shows “how hollow is the claim made by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla before the UN Human Rights Council that red-tagging is simple criticism and “part of a democracy.” During the Marcos presidency, there have been at least two other cases of red-tagging of journalists as recorded by NUJP, this being the third.

Quiboloy-owned SMNI has long perpetuated red-tagging and other false claims. Apart from Olea, the “news anchors” of the program also linked other journalists and media networks like NUJP, the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa to communist groups. 

More alarmingly, this red-tagging case came after the killing of hard-hitting commentator Percy Lapid, death threats against News5’s Ed Lingao and Lourd de Veyra, and the Court of Appeals’ affirmation of the cyberlibel conviction of Maria Ressa and Rey Santos.

As Bulatlat said, “In our newsroom, the coffee she (Olea) brews is as strong as her resolve to fight for a free press. Bulatlat therefore calls on SMNI to stop red-tagging because it is a disservice to journalism.”