MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) suspended former anti-insurgency spokesperson Lorraine Badoy — a licensed doctor — due to her red-tagging remarks against fellow healthcare workers.

“Wherefore, in view of the foregoing, the board finds respondent Lorraine Marie T. Badoy guilty of violation of the Revised Code of Ethics of the Medical Profession, which constitutes unethical and unprofessional conduct and accordingly suspends her certificate of registration for a period of six months (6) from finality hereof,” read the May 8 resolution of the PRC Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine made public on Saturday, June 27.

“During the period of suspension, respondent is prohibited from engaging in the practice of the medicine,” it added.

The PRC has the mandate to administer, implement, and enforce regulatory laws of the country over professionals, including doctors and healthcare professionals. The board said Badoy can only resume practicing medicine after filing an affidavit showing that she had already served her suspension.

In the landmark case of Deduro, the Supreme Court (SC) finally defined red-tagging as a threat used to “discourage subversive activities.”

The High Court also mentioned that red-tagging is a likely “precursor to abduction or extrajudicial killing,” and being associated with communists makes a person a “target of vigilantes, paramilitary groups, or even state agents.” (READ: Not yet justice, but SC ruling gives activists fighting chance vs red-tagging)

Healthcare workers, including nurse Jocelyn Andamo, the lead nurse organizer of the Alliance of Health Workers, filed the complaint with the PRC against Badoy in 2022 for her defamation and red-tagging of health leaders, unionists, and activists.

Among the complaint’s bases was Badoy’s public statements against community physician Ma. Natividad “Naty” Castro, linking her to the Communist Party of the Philippines.

“The Board found that Dr. Badoy’s statements clearly referred to AHW and its members; that no official document proved AHW’s alleged CPP-NPA-NDF affiliation; and also found that Dr. Castro was branded a terrorist before any such designation. That is the core of the ruling: grave accusations cannot stand without evidence,” Movement Against Disinformation founding chairperson Rico Domingo said.

In the resolution, the board reiterated that Badoy “is bound by higher standards of propriety and decorum” as a physician. Although she is not engaged in “strict practice of medicine,” the board said Badoy is still bound by her responsibilities toward the profession and fellow health professionals.

“Taking into consideration the discussions above, and considering that this is the first offense of Respondent based on Commission records, it is deemed appropriate to impose the lesser penalty of suspension instead of the ultimate penalty of revocation of authority to practice medicine,” said the PRC.

“Patuloy ang ating laban para sa katotohanan at kampanya laban sa vilification ng mga unionists, human rights defenders, at health activists! Ipagtagumpay ang laban ng mamamayan! No to NTF ELCAC! (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict),” Andamo said.

(Our fight for the truth and campaign against the vilification of unionists, human rights defenders, and health activists continue. Let’s win the people’s fight. No to NTF-ELCAC.)

String of punishment for Badoy

This is the latest punishment against Badoy — one of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s former NTLF-ELCAC spokespersons — over her red-tagging of professionals.

In 2023, the Office of the Ombudsman found Badoy and fellow former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Antonio Parlade Jr. guilty in an administrative case and reprimanded them due to a complaint filed by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers.

The lawyers’ group filed the legal action due to the two’s false and dangerous claim that the NUPL is a front of the CPP.

A year later, in 2024, the SC found Badoy guilty of indirect contempt for her “vitriolic and outright threats” against Manila Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar. Badoy was also ordered to pay a P30,000 fine and “warned that a repetition of the same or similar acts in the future shall merit a more severe sanction.”

Malagar was the judge who dismissed in September 2022 the years-old petition of the Philippine government seeking to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army as terrorists. – Rappler.com