Magalong slams Badoy, Quiboloy over 'red-tagging'

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday warned of legal actions against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, former anti-insurgency task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy and ex-rebel Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz after they accused him of supporting the communist armed struggle anew.

“In relation to the above-mentioned personalities who have acquired the habit of incessantly defaming people without an iota of evidence, be reminded that no one is above the law,” Magalong said in a press statement.

During a recent television broadcast, Quiboloy, Badoy and Celiz branded the mayor as a “traitor” and “a person of no principle” and accused him of “colluding” with the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People's Army (CPP-NPA).

Magalong, however, slammed the allegations as “unfounded and baseless,” saying it subjected him to “needless and undeserved condemnation.”

“To be accused that I have turned my back on my lifelong commitment against the CPP-NPA is a grave insult that sweeps aside my lengthy and loyal service to the Philippines,” he said.

A retired police officer, Magalong cited his experience in fighting members of the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People's Army (CPP-NPA) in Luzon and Mindanao in denying the accusations.

He likewise mentioned his tenure as chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council and as vice chairperson of the Cordillera Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) where he “fully supported, without any mental reservation” the programs of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

This is not the first time Magalong was criticized by Badoy. In 2022, the then NTF-ELCAC spokesperson blasted the local official over his order to take down tarpaulins and other materials put up in public areas that label Baguio City activists and others as supporters of the NPA. 

“I am safeguarding our young constituents from being subjected to unnecessary vilification by striving to ensure that our youth activists —not communists —in Baguio are safe from persecution and harassment. Youthful activism does not necessarily mean espousing a communist ideology,” the mayor said.

“If my actions as head of a local government are under question, let due process be sternly observed. By all means, take the necessary steps that I be sanctioned, in accordance with procedures in place, without having to be publicly scorned over a non-issue,” he added.

GMA News Online reached out to Badoy and Quiboloy through media firm SMNI but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.—LDF, GMA Integrated News