The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on Thursday, March 25, welcomed the proposal by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon to criminalize red-tagging.
Under Senate Bill (SB) No. 2121 or the proposed "Act Defining and Penalizing Red-tagging" that Drilon filed on Wednesday, anyone found guilty of red-tagging shall be penalized with 10-year imprisonment and will also be disqualified from holding any public office.
SB 2121 defines the crime of red-tagging as the "act of labeling, vilifying, branding, naming, accusing, harassing, persecuting, stereotyping, or caricaturing individuals, groups, or organizations as state enemies, left-leaning, subversives, communists, or terrorists as part of a counter-insurgency or anti-terrorism strategy or program by any state actor, such as law enforcement agent, paramilitary, or military personnel."
In a statement, NUJP said red-tagging has often led to harassment and violence against its targets.
Although the 1987 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, NUJP said it "does not give state offices and agents free license to label activists, rights workers, labor organizers, and journalists as enemies of the state."
"The government is the primary duty bearer in upholding human rights. These dangerous accusations, when done by state agents as part of a so-called counter-insurgency program, are no longer private opinions and conspiracy theories but official actions and policy," the group said, citing the red-tagging and arrest of one of its directors and Manila Today editor Lady Ann Salem.
"There have been no immediate consequences to erring parties and the judge who ordered her release has herself been linked to communist rebels," it added.
On March 16, a tarpaulin sign along Shaw Boulevard in EDSA bared the photo and name of Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio, linking her to the Communist Party of the Philippines, National People's Army, and National Democratic Front of the Philippines after dismissing the case filed against Salem and trade unionist Rodrigo Espargo.
NUJP also reiterated its opposition to the Anti-Terrorism Act which "makes terror tagging even more dangerous" and "has dire implications" on the performance of journalists' duty.
"While a law penalizing red-tagging is welcome, the draconian Anti-Terrorism Act violates our basic human rights, including the right to a free press."