No need for a law that penalizes red-tagging — Senate panel

The Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation on Wednesday said there is no need for a new law to penalize red-tagging as there were enough provisions under other judicial remedies for such cases.

“[T]here is no need to pass a law that penalizes red-tagging because recourse is already provided under the Revised Penal Code, Civil Code, special laws, and other judicial remedies,” the committee report read.

The committee said some of the existing remedies were already availed by progressive groups.

“Legal remedies, as exhaustively discussed in this Committee Report, are sufficient and available for personalities or groups that have been the subject of the so-called red-tagging and which some of them have already availed as evidenced by the cases filed in the Ombudsman,” the panel said.

The panel added that some of the laws that can be cited in complaints by individuals tagged as communists are the Revise Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

Meanwhile, the panel also urged the security sector to “give greater attention to the strengthening of its intelligence gathering and analysis capability to ensure that every information used is indeed verified and actionable.”

Last month, the military was in hot water after releasing an unverified list of students allegedly recruited by communist groups.

“The security sector should exercise caution in making public pronouncements as these carry with it a semblance of authority from the state,” the committee said.

Further, the committee also asked progressive groups to “come clean and ensure their organizations are not being used by the (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) in the recruitment of armed combatants as alleged by the witnesses presented by the security sector.”

In December 2020, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the Constitution would be the "ultimate guide" on whether red-tagging or accusing someone of being connected to the communist movement should be criminalized or not.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has also said that individuals wrongly accused of being communist rebels may file a libel case instead of seeking a new law.

The committee report was signed by 13 senators. These were Lacson, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Floor Leader Miguel Zubiri, and Senators Francis Tolentino, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Manny Pacquiao, Lito Lapid, Sonny Angara, Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Cynthia Villar, Koko Pimentel, Risa Hontiveros,  and Sherwin Gatchalian.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros said she signed “with dissent.”

“I dissent to the argument that red-tagging does not violate human rights just because there are existing laws that provide legal redress,” she said.

“I dissent because… the NTF-ELCAC/ Gen. Antonio Parlade should be held fully accountable for their continuous red-tagging of schools, indigenous people… groups and activists among others,” she added. -- BAP, GMA News