MANILA — The Angat Buhay Foundation on Friday said it was studying potential legal action over former Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy's alleged statement linking it to the communist movement.

The organization led by former Vice President Leni Robredo condemned the "utterly baseless and completely false" claims that Badoy made in a television program, which supposedly "encourage the harassment of our staff members, volunteers, and partners."

"As soon as our attention was called to the matter, we referred the same to our lawyers who are now in the process of preparing possible legal actions to protect the integrity of our organization and our work and, more so, to protect our volunteers and partners," said Angat Pilipinas Executive Director Raphael Martin Magno.

"To our friends and supporters, rest assured that we are not taking this sitting down. We will not allow these efforts to sabotage our work to prosper," he said in a statement. "The time to stand up to fake news and hold its purveyors to account is now."

The group did not give further details on Badoy's accusation. But various posts on social media showed her recently saying, "The people behind Angat Buhay is CPP-NPA-NDF.”

"BRING IT ON. My lawyers await you," she said on Facebook in reaction to Magno's statement.

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As Angat Buhay addresses red-tagging efforts, its work as a non-government organization will continue aiming "to empower marginalized communities and sectors," said Magno.

"Our work is beyond personalities and politics. Our work is about fundamental values. Our work is about leaving no one behind,” he said.

Robredo on July 1 launched Angat Buhay, which aims to be the largest volunteer network in the Philippines.

— With a report from Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

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