A labor NGO belittled the Davao police’s apology for making a Facebook post that claims 14 activists in the region are “active wanted persons,” implying a manhunt and arrest and imprisonment, saying the country’s human rights situation calls for accountability.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said the apology made by PMaj. Michael P. Celecio, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Cateel municipality of Davao Oriental, for Facebook posts made on May 27 is not enough, and accountability is needed to stop red-tagging.

“We know by now that red-tagging is dangerous and kills. Mere apology from the police is not enough. If the government really wants red-tagging to stop, it should hold its erring personnel accountable,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

The Facebook posts, made at 8:45 and 8:47 in the morning and taken down at 5:00 in the afternoon, contained photos of Grecian Asoy, deputy secretary general of human rights group Karapatan’s Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) chapter, Rauf Sissay, secretariat member of umbrella organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in the region, and several others.

“Apologies do little to assuage the mental and emotional distress caused by red-tagging to activists, their loved ones, and the communities that they serve. Apologies should mean a stop to the threat posed to the lives and safety of the activists who were red-tagged, but a stronger guarantee would be accountability,” added Deligente.

CTUHR said that the incident should serve as a litmus test to positive initiatives against red-tagging such as:
The May 2026 Commission on Human Rights report on its “National Inquiry on Red-tagging”:
https://ctuhr.org/…/chr-report-on-red-tagging-welcome…/
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s September 2025 order on workers’ right to freedom of association, which bans red-tagging in the labor sector:
https://ctuhr.org/…/marcos-order-on-union-rights-an…/
The December 2024 court decision on journalist Atom Araullo’s case against red-tagging:
https://ctuhr.org/…/atom-araullos-legal-win-yet…/
The May 2024 Supreme Court ruling on red-tagging:
https://ctuhr.org/…/sc-on-red-tagging-late-but-welcome…/

“There is much to be done to stop red-tagging, including abolishing the agency that popularized and tried to normalize it, the NTF-ELCAC. At the same time, there are already advances in fighting red-tagging that must be maximized to hold red-taggers accountable,” Deligente stated, referring to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

CTUHR also said that accountability will ensure that the Davao PNP will not be used by the Dutertes, the region’s most powerful political family, to quell dissent especially amidst the recent impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, which garnered the support of most congressmen in Mindanao.