Ang Gabriela ay samahan ng mga kababaihan na tumutulong mga inaapi o hindi patas na pagtrato sa mga babae.
Si Liza ay kasalukuyang nasa Amerika para alagaan ang maternal grandmother at nakatakdang bumalik sa Pilipinas sa susunod na buwan.
Nag-post si Ogie ng kanyang saloobin sa kanyang Facebook page ilang minuto ang nakalipas habang sinusulat namin ang balitang ito.
“Nag-guest lang po sa webinar ng Gabriela Youth si Liza Soberano. Hindi po siya miyembro ng Gabriela o ng kahit anong partido o partylist.
“Nagsasalita lang po siya bilang babae at kabataan, dahil kilala siya sa kanyang advocacy. Wala naman pong masamang sinabi si Liza patungkol sa mga karapatan ng kababaihan at ng kabataan sa webinar na ‘yon.
“Saan pong organisasyon dapat magsalita si Liza na bagay pag-usapan ang tungkol sa women’s and children’s rights na kikilalanin at paiigtingin ang karapatan ng mga babae at mga bata na hindi po siya mare-redtag?”
Naglabas din ng official statement ang legal counsel ni Liza na si Atty. Jun Lim ng Lim & Yutatco – Sze law firm tungkol sa red-tagging issue sa aktres.
“We denounce in the strongest terms the ‘red-tagging’ of our client, Ms Liza Soberano, in some social media platforms. Expressing her love and respect for women and children is her personal advocacy.
“Ms. Soberano remains to be apolitical. She does not support nor antagonize any person’s political views. The important poit here is respect for others, a virtue she has conscientinously practiced all her life.
“We, thus, call on everyone concerned to be circumspect in associating our client with their respective political beliefs, whatever it may be.”
Samantala, nagsalita na rin si dating Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista tungkol sa advocacy ng aktres. Nakasama ng una si Liza sa teleseryeng “Make It With You” na ipinalabas sa ABS-CBN.
“My take on Liza’s advocacies:
“There are a lot of instances nagkaka-kwentuhan kami ni Liza sa set ng Make It With You. Mabait ang ‘anak’ ko na yan. Maganda ang prinsipyo at disiplina sa buhay.
“I believe in Liza’s advocacies (VAWC, environment, animal rights, etc.). She is aware of her rights and responsibilities in our country and as a global citizen,” mensahe ni Bistek.
Naglabas na rin ng statement ang opisyal ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) na siya ngang nagbigay ng warning kay Liza na putulin na nito ang pagkakaroon ng komunikasyon sa grupo kung saan isa siya sa nagsalita sa ginanap na online talk sa Gabriela Youth.
Ayon kay Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. sa FB page ng NTF-ELCAC, “Soberano is not an NPA because she is merely advocating for women’s rights.
“Let us not red-tag Liza Soberano. It’s not fair to her. She is merely supporting advocacy for women’s rights. She has to be protected in the exercise of her rights.
“Is she an NPA? No, of course not. Not yet. So let’s help educate her and the other celebrity targets of Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA), the Underground Mass Organization hiding under Gabriela Women’s Party.”
“Liza Soberano, there’s still a chance to abdicate that group. If you don’t, you will suffer the same fate as Josephine Anne Lapira @ELLA, former Deputy Secretary General of Gabriela Youth of UP, Manila and defender of women’s rights, even against sexual predators amongst her comrades in the NPA unit she joined which is clearly stated in her handwritten letter addressed to a certain @EMIL.”
Nabanggit din ni Lt. Gen. Parlade si 2018 Miss Universe Catriona Gray, “The choice is yours Liza. And so with you Catriona. Don’t follow the path Ka Ella Colmenares (Locsin) took in the underground and NPA Quezon. I am sure Angel Locsin and Neri Colmenares will not tell you this,” pahayag ng opisyal.
Nag-react naman si Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, “Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade’s appeal to stop red-tagging Liza Soberano is starkly ironic because he actually red-tagged Soberano in his same statement.
“By saying that Soberano is ‘not yet an NPA,’ he is maliciously associating the actress with the armed movement when what she did in the youth forum was to only speak up for all the victims of gender-based violence and abuse.
“It is clear that Parlade, the NTF-ELCAC and the paid trolls are the ones who are rabidly red-tagging Liza Soberano and other female celebrities and influencers who are taking a stand and speaking out against the macho-fascism under the Duterte regime.
“How come these macho-fascists have the audacity to mansplain strong women and lecture them on what to do? And why do they seem so afraid of women using their platform to defend other women?
“Hindi terorismo ang paglaban sa abuso (Fighting abuse is not terrorism). Be a Liza Soberano in this country being led by macho-fascist officials. We call on more public personalities to use their platforms to promote human rights, something that is badly needed today amidst the many forms of violence being promoted by the highest officials of the land.”