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Red Tagging
Red Tagging
Red-tagging, also known as red-baiting, is the practice of government officials, military personnel, and law enforcement agencies in the Philippines purposefully designating human rights attorneys, judges, civil organization leaders, union & student leaders, journalists, political leaders, publishers, and activists as "terrorists" or "communists." The security and welfare of the targeted individuals are seriously threatened by this deliberate act by those in positions of authority and power. After being identified, these people are condemned as possible targets and are often killed or wounded by unidentified actors. This is followed by misinformation about the victims and the events leading up to their deaths.
According to the United Nations Rapporteur the military units or paramilitary units are targeting the stereotyped or associated with communists victims because of the declaration of “red-tagging”. The Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said that “the phenomenon of implicating progressive civil group leaders to heinous crime”. Any person suspected of terrorist acts is a danger, making them to be a subject to human rights violation causing the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to be deeply concerned with “red-tagging” under Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (What Is ‘Red-tagging?’ What to Do When ‘Red-tagged, 2021).
Activists are faced by fabricated offenses and charges for defamation to harass them using the justice system. Appropriate action for the responsible people and stopping the red-tagging is issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Administration. In addition, many indigenous leaders are falsely accused which makes their lives and work difficult and it's happening because they are red-tagged by the authorities (“Philippines: Officials ‘Red-Tagging’ Indigenous Leaders, Activists,” 2023).
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In the Zarate vs. Aquino III case, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen of the Philippine Supreme Court provided a dissenting opinion, defining red-tagging as "the act of labeling, branding, naming, and accusing individuals and/or organizations of being left-leaning, subversives, communists, or terrorists."[pg. 22, Siegfred D. Deduro] Justice Leonon explained that this practice is initiated by “estate agents, especially law enforcement agencies and military forces, against those believed to be ‘threats’ or ‘rivals of the State’.” Red-tagging has contributed to the shrinking of civic space, as it enforces a chilling effect on civil society. Journalists and media organisations have also been associated with the communist movement for reporting on the military conflict.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap), and members of the Altermidya-People's Media Network have all been red-tagged by NTF-Elcac and its previous executives on television network SMNI. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) claimed that red-baiting has only heightened the threats that Filipino journalists undergo. As stated by CMFR "red-baiting has had a deleterious effect on the exercise of press freedom vital to truth telling and democratic discourse."
Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
He describes this behavior as “labelling, or guilt by association [including] the classification of most groups on the left of the political spectrum as ‘front organizations’ for armed groups whose aim is to destroy democracy” in a 2007 Preliminary note on the visit to the Philippines.
He noted that the outcome is that a broad array of organizations – such as human rights activists, labor union leaders, reporters, teacher associations, women’s organizations, indigenous groups, faith-based organizations, student associations, agrarian reform supporters, and more – are labeled as 'fronts' and subsequently as 'enemies of the State', making them seen as legitimate targets.”
[para. 8, pg. 8, UN Special Rapporteur] This categorization subsequently results in these groups being labeled as ‘enemies of the State,’ a label that, in return, makes them susceptible to being perceived as acceptable targets for different types of harassment, intimidation, or even violence.
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