Gabriela-Southern Tagalog (ST) condemned National Task Force (NTF)-Elcac staff for surveilling and harassing secretary general Krizia Cirujano during the Christmas season.

The group reported that two men who refused to identify themselves visited the Cirujano family’s house in Dasmariñas City, Cavite on December 19. The two agents showed videos of Cirujano speaking at a rally and inquired about her personal information and that of her family.

The two men prevented family members from taking photos. “These red-tagging obsessed NTF-Elcac elements are desperately associating Cirujano and Gabriela as members of the revolutionary group New People’s Army,” according to Gabriela-ST.

The group shared that this is not the first intrusion by NTF-Elcac staff into the Cirujano’s family home to conduct surveillance and subject them to intimidation. In June, state agents, using barangay officials, twice attempted to “talk” to Cirujano and her family.

Gabriela-ST emphasized that Cirujano is a women’s rights advocate and former Gabriela Youth-Cavite coordinator. “She is a full time activist in the women’s sector,” the group added. She also serves as a paralegal for political prisoner Fatima Banjawan, a female leader who was arrested by the 85th IB in Camarines Norte in 2023.

The group expressed extreme fear and concern for Cirujano’s safety and life, as there have been numerous similar cases of intimidation that have led to more severe human rights violations. “Activists who only aim to fight for the people’s rights are being killed, charged with trumped-up cases, abducted, and red-tagged,” the group said.