Senate President Vicente Sotto III
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
National Intelligance Coordinating Agency (NICA) chief Alex Monteagudo claimed that the Senate of the Philippines is “manned” by members of a communist front organization just by the affiliation of its employees’ union a claim Sotto denied on Tuesday night.
The Senate chief, who has been a senator since 1992, said he would be the “first to sense” if the upper chamber’s employees are indeed engaged in such activities.
“Because of this, I am now inclined to support the criminalizing of red-tagging,” Sotto told reporters on Wednesday.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier filed Senate Bill No. 2121, which proposes to define and penalize the crime of red-tagging with a jail time of up to 10 years, and perpetual disqualication from holding public office.
Published April 6, 2021, 10:18 PM
No less than the highest official of the Senate of the Philippines belied the claim of National Intelligance Coordinating Agency (NICA) chief Alex Monteagudo that the upper chamber’s employees are associated with the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing New People’s Army, and political arm National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDF).
Senate President Vicente Sotto III (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“He must have been misinformed,” Senate President Vicente Sotto III told reporters in a message Tuesday night, April 6.
“I would be the first to sense of such if ever. I’ve been there since 1992,” said the four-term senator.