Drilon files bill criminalizing 'red-tagging'

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has filed a measure criminalizing acts of "red-tagging."

In Senate Bill 2121, Drilon proposed to define "red-tagging" and make it punishable by up to 10 years in prison as deterrence “in order to fix the legal gaps, address impunity, and institutionalize a system of accountability.”

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Persons found guilty of committing "red-tagging" will also be disqualified from holding public office.

Under the measure, the crime of "red-tagging" is defined 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.

“Any person found guilty of red-tagging shall be imprisoned for 10 years and shall suffer the accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office,” Drilon's bill read.

“The passage of this bill will reverse the ‘increasingly institutionalization and normalization of human rights violations’ and put a stop on the attacks against the members of the legal profession,” it added.

The Senate national defense panel earlier came out with a report on its inquiry into incidents of "red-tagging," which said that there is no need for a new law to penalize "red-tagging" as there were enough provisions under other judicial remedies for such cases.

Despite this, an amendment to the recommendations of the report was accepted allowing any other Senate panel to study and consider proposed measures criminalizing red-tagging.

According to Drilon, libel or grave threats is not appropriate where a state agent villifies a person as an enemy of the state, thus violating the rights of an individual.

“The measure will likewise serve as a reminder to the government of its primary duty under the Constitution to serve and protect the people,” he stressed.

Drilon has cited the cases of Zara Alvarez and Dr. Mary Rose Sancelan who were killed after being tagged as supposedly having links with communist rebels.

He said the continued branding of these individuals as connected to communist groups has "threatened" their lives, liberty, and security.

“It has resulted to serious human rights violations such as harassment, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and enforced disappearances,” he said. “In some instances, being red-tagged is a prelude to death.”

Apart from this bill, Drilon also led seven other senators in filing a resolution strongly condemning the killings and violence against lawyers and judges in the country.

The Senate adopted this resolution on Thursday.—AOL, GMA News