![Redtagged The extrajudicial killings of previously red-tagged activists lcreate a chilling effect among those targeted by the military’s vilification campaign, says former Bayan Muna party-list congressman Siegfred Deduro of Iloilo.](https://www.panaynews.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Redtagged-696x365.jpg)
ILOILO City – Former Bayan Muna party-list congressman Siegfred Deduro of this city sought protection from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) for his safety after being publicly alleged as a leading officer of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army (NPA) by the military.
Deduro filed a petition for a Writ of Amparo at the Iloilo RTC on Oct. 22 against Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) commanding officer Major General Eric Vinoya because of the latter’s accusation that the former congressman was an official of the CPP-NPA in Western Visayas.
The petition for a Writ of Amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.
The writ also covers extralegal killings and enforced disappearances or threats thereof.
On June 19, 2020 during the meeting of the Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council at Casa Real (old Iloilo provincial capitol building), the military alleged in their presentation of local terrorists that Deduro was a ranking member of the rebel movement.
The following day Deduro released a statement to the media denouncing the aforementioned accusations made by the 3ID and called for a halt to the military’s vilification of him and fellow activists.
He wrote to Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., the chairperson of the Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council, requesting for, among others, information on:
* the identities of the military officers who gave the abovementioned presentation and discussion before the peace council
* the directory of the members of the peace council
* status reports of the peace council prepared and/or submitted in relation to the June 19, 2020 meeting of the said body.
Deduro is a founding member and the vice president for Visayas of the Bayan Muna party-list and also of the Makabayan Coalition until today.
He was a representative of Bayan Muna in the 12th Congress.
Deduro also worked as manager and later on as management consultant for the Panay Fair Trade Center and its predecessor, the Panay Fruits & Trading Corp.
He was also the first secretary-general of the Madia-as Ecological Movement.
Deduro also served as a consultant for the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, under then secretary Rafael Mariano.
According to Deduro, the accusation of the military was false and malicious, making him a target of government military or para-military units.
“The extrajudicial killings of previously red-tagged activists like Jory Porquia, Zara Alvarez, Escalante City councilor Toto Patigas, and Negros Occidental human rights lawyer Ben Ramos, among others, create a chilling effect among those targeted by the military’s vilification campaign,” said Deduro./PN