The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Thursday said it filed a complaint before the International Labor Organization (ILO) against Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte over her "red-tagging" remarks against the group.

In a press release, ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said they cited in the complaint the two statements of Duterte released on March 4 and March 27 through Department of Education's (DePEd) official Facebook page.

In one statement, the Vice President slammed ACT for supporting what she called a “communist-inspired” strike of public utility vehicles (PUVs).

Meanwhile, in the other statement, she regarded the group's demand of 30,000 public teachers and ₱100 budget for classrooms as its way to divert the public's attention from the damage that the New People's Army (NPA) caused in the schools in Masbate province.

“The intensified red-tagging of no less than the vice president and secretary of DepEd against our teachers’ unions only indicates that the Philippines government is not upholding the recommendations made by the High-Level Tripartite Mission of the International Labor Organization (ILO-HLTM) when the body investigated the cases of violations against freedom of association last January 23 to 26, 2023,” Basilio said.

According to the ACT Secretary General, the complaint had already been received by ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Chihoko Asada Miyakawa.

“There is no other way to protect our right to the free association but to push back and make accountable those who dare trample on it. We cannot give up our unions as it is our only recourse to assert our economic and political rights, especially in this time of grave economic crisis and state repression. We are set to bring our case to other responsible bodies in the coming days,” he emphasized.