The Politics of Red-Tagging in Philippine Media

Framing the “Red October” Ouster Plot Controversy

Abstract

The “Red October” ouster plot was the name of an alleged scheme to oust former President Rodrigo Duterte that allegedly involved leftist organizations, opposition groups, and university students. However, the existence of this plot was denied by those allegedly involved, claiming the Red October ouster plot was simply a conspiracy and a massive red-tagging campaign. Red-tagging is the practice of blacklisting individuals who are involved in activism or dissent by linking them to communist-terrorist rebellion. This paper focuses on the reporting of the Red October controversy by two media outlets: the government-sponsored press outlet Philippine News Agency (PNA) and the privately owned news company Philippine Daily Inquirer through their online news website, Inquirer.net. Using McCombs and Shaw’s second-level of agenda setting, which looks into the ways various attributes of an issue are presented by the media, the framing of the Red October controversy by these two media outlets was determined through qualitative thematic analysis. In the frames identified, PNA highlighted the grave danger that would befall the nation if this communist-terrorist plot was not defeated. On the other hand, Inquirer.net framed the ouster plot by questioning its legitimacy and criticizing the undue focus placed on it by the government. This paper contributes to a discussion of the misalignment in press framing given the context of the Philippines’ embattled media landscape. It also takes a critical look at the Philippine government’s agenda framing of its critics and continuous efforts to tamp down expressions of dissent.