Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a bill seeking to criminalize the practice of red-tagging which has long been linked to harassment of ordinary citizens, activists, civic leaders, and journalists across the country.

Calling it a dangerous exercise, Estrada pointed out red-tagging “is a threat” and not just a mere label.

“When someone is publicly named a communist symphatizer, their life is immediately placed in danger,” Estrada said.

The senator filed Senate Bill No. 1071, or the proposed “Anti-Red-Tagging Act,” which finds legal standing on the Supreme Court ruling in Deduro v. Maj. Gen. Vinoya.

The SC ruling recognized that red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, and security, and often precede abduction, harassment, or even extrajudicial killings.

SBN 1071 primarily seeks to codify red-tagging as an offense under the country’s legal framework to protect citizens from unwarranted harassment, intimidation, or persecution.

Under the bill, red-tagging is defined as the act of publicly labeling or accusing individuals or groups as communists, terrorists, or enemies of the State, often without evidence.

Under the measure, it may be committed through public statements, social media posts, tarpaulins, placards, declarations, public events, and other platforms used to label or vilify individuals or groups as enemies of the State.

The bill seeks to impose a 10-year imprisonment term and a lifetime ban from holding public office for those who would be found guilty of committing the offense.

“Red-tagging has long threatened the lives of human rights defenders and activists, created a chilling effect on legitimate dissenters and community leaders — including journalists — and created a climate of fear in the country. It has no place in a democracy,” Estrada said.

The lawmaker noted that In recent years, the deadly consequences of red-tagging have been documented such as in the cases of Jose Reynaldo Porquia, Zara Alvarez, lawyer  Benjamin Ramos, and Councilor Bernardino Patigas.

These individuals were publicly branded as communists before they were brutally murdered, the senator lamented.

“Security forces must protect, not endanger. Advocacy is not a crime. Dissent is not terrorism,” Estrada stressed.

“This bill draws a clear line to ensure that no Filipino’s life is put at risk because of reckless and baseless accusations,” he further said.