Sponsorship Speech for Committee Report 186 Red-Tagging and Red-Baiting by Senator Panfilo M. Lacson
How the government sets a balance between promoting civil liberties and protecting the security of the state defines the foundations of our democracy. Mr. President, distinguished colleagues of this venerable chamber, I have the honor to report the result of the public hearings, in aid of legislation, conducted by the Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, on the issue on "red-tagging or red-baiting" as embodied in Committee Report No. 186. Without any exaggeration, I must say that this has been one of the most complex Senate inquiries that this representation has presided. For it involved parties from the opposite poles that defy the law of magnetism in that not only would never attract each other, but in fact ready to cut each other's throat. Nonetheless, the profuse bashing and criticisms from both political spheres - trolls included — that your committee and its Chairman endured during and after the conduct of the three-day-long public hearings may probably be a testament that we did our best to objectively hear both sides, to ensure that we extract the best available information for the Senate and the public to digest and come up with well-informed decisions.