Looks like someone’s forgetting they’re no longer in office anymore.
Former anti-communist task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy was issued a stern warning by the Supreme Court (SC) over alleged threats the ex-official made against a Manila judge in a now-deleted social media post. The court said that anyone who incites violence against judges or their families would be considered in contempt.
In a statement, the Supreme Court said that it had considered, on its own accord, acting on statements made by “a certain Lorraine Badoy” against Judge Marlo Malagar of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19.
“The Court STERNLY WARNS those who continue to incite violence through social media and other means which endanger the lives of judges and their families, and that this SHALL LIKEWISE BE CONSIDERED A CONTEMPT OF THIS COURT and will be dealt with accordingly,” the High Court wrote (emphasis all their own).
Badoy targeted Malagar after the judge dismissed a petition by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that sought to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) terrorists, a petition that was filed before the country’s controversial anti-terror law was passed in 2020.
The judge ruled that rebellion was not an act of terrorism. She added that the crime of rebellion was political in nature, while terrorism’s primary objective was “to sow and create a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand.”
After Malagar’s decision was released, Badoy red-tagged Malagar by accusing her of being a “friend and defender” of the communist rebels, and called it a judgment “straight from the bowels of communist hell.”
Badoy criticized Malagar for ascribing acts by the CPP-NPA-NDF to be “political crimes” which are “treated with leniency.”
Taking the criticism further, Badoy posted the following hypothetical statement that has since been deleted: “So if I kill this judge and I do so out of my political belief that all allies of the CPP NPA NDF must be killed because there is no difference in my mind between a member of the CPP NPA NDF and their friends, then please be lenient with me.”
Judicial organizations such as Hukom and the Philippine Judges Association had already condemned Badoy for her red-tagging statements before the latter denied making them.
Hukom said that it was breaking its silence as they viewed acts such as red-tagging to be “attacks on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.”
Reader Interactions