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In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, red-tagging is the labeling of individuals or organizations as
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
s,
subversive Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to sabotage the established social order and its structures of power, authority, tradition, hierarchy, and socia ...
s, or
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
s, regardless of their actual political beliefs or affiliations. It is a type of harassment and has pernicious effects on its targets. Red-tagging has been practiced by
security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several countries, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of irregular military and paramilitar ...
, government officials and
shill A shill, also called a plant or a stooge, is a person who publicly helps or gives credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with said person or organization, or have been paid to do so. Shills c ...
s. The practice is a relic of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
and has had a long history in the former American colony. Cause-oriented groups including the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, and
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
warn that its use as a political tactic undermines Philippine democracy by stifling dissent, producing a
chilling effect In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, th ...
on general discourse and, more insidiously, encouraging
assassinations Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
and
retaliation Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more form ...
s.


Definitions

Commonly defined as the harassment or persecution of a person because of "known or suspected communist sympathies," the extensive history of red-tagging in the Philippines has led to the recognition of several formal definitions by the Philippine government. The
Commission on Human Rights A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
follows the definition laid down by the
International Peace Observers Network The International Peace Observers Network (IPON) is an independent, non-violent human rights, non-profit organization based in Hamburg, Germany. It monitors the human rights situation in the Philippines and works to protect human rights defenders. ...
(IPON), which defines it as:
An act of State actors, particularly law enforcement agencies, to publicly brand individuals, groups, or institutions as… affiliated to communist or leftist terrorists.
Additionally, the term has been defined in Philippine jurisprudence through the dissenting opinion of
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Associate Justice
Marvic Leonen Mario Victor "Marvic" Famorca Leonen (born December 29, 1962) is a Filipino jurist who has served as an associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines since 2012. President Benigno Aquino III appointed Leonen to the position at the ...
in the 2015 court case Zarate vs. Aquino III (G.R. No. 220028 J. Leonen Dissenting Opinion, November 10, 2015), in which Leonen adopted a 2011 journals' definition of red-tagging:
the act of labelling, branding, naming and accusing individuals and/ or organizations of being left-leaning, subversives, communists or terrorists (used as) a strategy… by State agents, particularly law enforcement agencies and the military, against those perceived to be 'threats' or 'enemies of the State.'


Effects


Human rights violations

Red-tagging impinges on the right to free expression and dissent according to media and rights groups. The Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also noted that red-tagging threatens the lives or safety of individuals. The act of red-tagging human-rights defenders constitutes a grave threat to their lives, liberty, and security. It creates a distortion to the nature of their work and makes them susceptible to attacks and a number of violations as emphasized by the CHR. The killing of four activists in June 2015 in
Sorsogon City Sorsogon City, officially the City of Sorsogon (Southern Sorsogon language, Waray Sorsogon: ''Syudad san Sorsogon''; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, pro ...
may have been the result of the activists's membership in groups that were red-tagged by the Philippine government, according to Amnesty International. Security forces have raided the offices of these red-tagged organizations and arrested members of these organizations. The raids have been described as a crackdown on dissent. The Philippine independent news organization Vera Files notes that since President
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
declared the
Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP; ) is a far-left, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. The CPP has been fighting a gue ...
and the
New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...
terrorist organizations under the
Human Security Act The Human Security Act of 2007, officially designated as Republic Act No. 9372, was a Philippine law that took effect on July 20, 2007. The law, which was watered-down after opposition from some politicians and rights groups feared the legislati ...
of 2007, individuals and organizations who have been red-tagged are vulnerable to interception and recording of communication, detention without charges, restricted travel and personal liberties, examination of bank records, and the seizure and sequestration of their assets.
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
notes that red-tagged individuals are vulnerable to death threats and violence. In some instances, targets of red-tagging are also harassed by accusations of terrorism. According to CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia, this kind of labeling may have serious consequences on the security of the groups or individuals that are being tagged. Additionally, Karapatan states that this jeopardizes the initiatives of human rights organizations and defenders to inform the public about the violation of rights in the Philippines. Karapatan Deputy Secretary General Roneo Clamor said that human rights defenders who are red-tagged are not only illegally arrested, some are also killed. According to him, the National Task Force (NTF) was made to hinder the human rights defenders to get justice for the victims.


Extrajudicial killings

The CHR stated that red-tagging needs to be seen in the context of the increasing
extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, ...
s in rural Philippines and the government's counterinsurgency program. From July 2016 to November 2019, Karapatan documented 293 victims of extrajudicial killings perpetrated in line with the counterinsurgency program, with 167 defenders killed or an average of one to two HRDs killed every week. At least 429 were victims of frustrated killings. They also documented at least 14 massacres and hundreds of victims of extrajudicial killings (including 28 children) under President Aquino's term. After redtagging of various personalities by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade in October 2020,
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Panfilo Lacson Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He is also a former police general who served as director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2 ...
ordered the general summoned to senate hearing.
Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosu ...
Delfin Lorenzana Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana, OLH, KGOR (born October 28, 1948) is a retired Philippine Army general who served as Chairman of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority from 2022 until September 2024. He previously served as Secretary of N ...
had also warned against making baseless accusations, indirectly referring to Parlade's statements and double-downs.


During elections

Red-tagging has been used as a "weapon" against opposition candidates during election campaigns, according to media watchdogs and members of the political opposition. Red-tagging has also been used to divert public attention from economic hardships and extrajudicial killings attributed to incumbent candidates. During the
2022 Philippine presidential election Presidential elections in the Philippines were held on May 9, 2022, as part of the 2022 Philippine general election, 2022 general election. This was the 17th direct presidential election and 15th vice presidential election in the country since 19 ...
, the red-tagging of presidential candidate
Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She is the mayor-elect of Naga, Camarines Sur, having won the ...
by incumbent officials were frequently featured on the ''
Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...
'' and the '' Daily Tribune'', according to media observers. A report by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights said that Robredo was the "prime target of intensified disinformation and red-tagging in social media leading up to election day." The report also said that candidates and elected representatives of the Makabayan bloc were also red-tagged. Former Congress representative and senatorial candidate
Neri Colmenares Neri Javier Colmenares (, born December 4, 1959) is a Filipino legislator, human rights lawyer and activist. He was an associate of the Asian Law Centre at Melbourne Law School when he was completing his Ph.D. in law on "The Writ of Amparo and ...
said that red-tagging increased during elections and targeted opposition candidates who protested the Philippine government's poor COVID pandemic response, the Anti-Terrorism Law, and the extrajudicial killing of activists. Colmenares said that candidates of the
Otso Diretso Otso Diretso ( ), initially called the Oposisyon Koalisyon () was an electoral alliance formed to field candidates for the 2019 Philippine general election, in opposition to President Rodrigo Duterte. Otso Diretso fielded eight candidates (''ots ...
senatorial slate were also red-tagged during the 2019 election campaign, and that the red-tagging died down after the election. In February 2025, the Philippine
Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
(COMELEC) issued Resolution No. 11116, which made red-tagging and discrimination during election campaigns offenses punishable with imprisonment of one to six years and disqualification from public office. COMELEC Chair George Erwin Garcia said that the policy is based on the Supreme Court ruling that defined red-tagging as an act that threatens individuals. In March 2025, during the campaign for the
2025 Philippine general election The 2025 Philippine general election was held on May 12, 2025. During this midterm election, where the winners take office mid-way through the Presidency of Bongbong Marcos, term of President Bongbong Marcos, all 317 seats in the House of Repres ...
, Bayan Muna party-list nominee Neri Colmenares filed a complaint urging COMELEC to investigate allegations of red-tagging and vilification constituting "massive and widespread black propaganda" and the destruction of campaign materials. The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines stated that red-tagging was the most common election violation as of April 30, 2025, making up 78.7% of the election violations it had recorded. "This level of systematic red-tagging is not only a violation of human rights, it's a coordinated effort to intimidate and discredit democratic actors," the group said in a statement.


Affected groups

Organizations frequently subject to red-tagging in the Philippines include civil-rights groups, religious institutions, health worker unions, academia, and the mainstream and alternative media. Workers' and farmers' groups and land and environmental defenders are also frequently red-tagged. Some of these organizations and institutions are branded as fronts, supporters or mere sympathizers of the
New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...
.


Human rights organizations and advocates

Human rights advocates and human rights organizations in the Philippines, whether civil society, intergovernment, and even governmental in nature, have often been the subject of "defamatory and intimidating public statements" as a result of their human rights monitoring work.


Karapatan

Karapatan Karapatan Alliance Philippines (commonly shortened to Karapatan, which translates to ''rights'' in Filipino) is a left-wing non-governmental organization and human rights alliance that conducts research and advocacy of human rights campaigns as ...
is one of the progressive organizations that is continuously targeted by anonymous people, military and police, and the
Duterte administration Rodrigo Duterte's six-year tenure as the 16th President of the Philippines began on June 30, 2016, succeeding Benigno Aquino III. He was the first president from Mindanao, the first president to have worked in all three branches of governme ...
. In March 2019, the group filed complaints concerning the alleged practice of branding and labeling organizations as terrorists by the Duterte administration. The attacks were in different forms, such as a direct tagging from President Duterte in his previous speech as well as tarpaulins and flyers that label them as such. Thus, in June 2019, Amnesty International called on the Philippine government to stop branding similar organizations like Karapatan as "communist fronts." According to the organization, two of its staff were gunned down by unidentified people last June 15. Similarly, on the next day, Nonoy Palma, a farmer activist, was also gunned down by an unidentified person in Naga City, Camarines Sur. Amnesty International called for the fulfillment of the protection of human rights by human rights defenders and activists. However, in December 2019, Cristina Palabay, Karapatan's Secretary General of Human Rights, received death and
rape threats A rape threat is a threat of rape or sexual assault made against another person. Rape threats are often made against prominent celebrities such as high-profile writers, actors, comedians, journalists, businessperson and politicians, and may often ...
from anonymous texters. Another anonymous sender texted her various slurs and defended the Duterte administration. In August 2020, two Karapatan officers, as well as other activists, received death threats. This came a week after
Zara Alvarez Zara Alvarez (25 March 1981 – 17 August 2020) was a Filipina human rights advocate, educator, paralegal, and prominent social activist who predominantly campaigned against human rights violations during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. S ...
was gunned down by an unidentified man in Bacolod City on August 17. In criminal and administrative suits filed before the Office of the Ombudsman on December 4, 2020, Karapatan asserted that red-tagging "can be considered a violation of the principle of distinction" under international humanitarian law."


Gabriela Women's Party

The
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
group
Gabriela Women's Party The Gabriela Women's Party (General Assembly Binding Women for Reform, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action), or simply GABRIELA, is a progressive Filipino political party that advocates for women's issues and represents Filipino women in ...
and its supporters have also been red-tagged.


Ethnic-rights activists

In 2018 a
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...
report counted "at least 80 recognized human rights defenders, indigenous peoples' representatives, and representatives of community-based organizations," which the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte had labeled as terrorists in connection with their work, some of which was part of their "cooperation with the United Nations." This included UN Special Rapporteur
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is a Filipino development consultant and an international indigenous activist of Kankana-ey Igorot ethnicity.Lumad The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous peoples in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially ado ...
leaders Datu Jomorito Guaynon and Ireneo Udarbe were arrested after being accused by police and state elements of being communist rebel recruiters. Both have frequently organized protests against ancestral land encroachment and mining. In August 2019, Brandon Lee, an American ancestral-domain paralegal and Cordillera Human Rights Alliance volunteer, was shot four times outside his home in Ifugao province, putting him in a coma. Since 2015, posters claiming Lee and other IPM members as "enemies of the state" and members of the NPA had been circulating in the province. The
Negrense The Negrenses (; ) are the native Cultural identity, cultural group of the Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. Overview Negrense (English language in the Philippines, English: '' ...
ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
has also been subject to a disproportionate amount of red-tagging in the decades since Philippine independence,Steeled by Decades of Struggle, the Negrenses Keep the Revolutionary Fire Ablaze – Liberation
/ref> from the usual ''sacadas'' ''dumaan''s to
legal professionals Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first pass a bar examination after obtaining a law degree or some other form of lega ...
,
celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
and even call-center labor-rights advocates. The persistent attacks have led to the steady growth of the #DefendNegros movement among a broad section of Negrenses resident both in Negros and the
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
. Lumad school volunteer teacher
Chad Booc Chad Errol Ramirez Booc (April 17, 1994 — February 24, 2022) was a Filipino volunteer Lumad teacher. He was known as an activist vocal on-ground and in social media. According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), he was one of those ...
has been continuously red-tagged by state forces even after he was killed during the
New Bataan massacre The New Bataan massacre occurred when five Lumad teachers and community workers and their two drivers were killed in Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Davao de Oro, Philippines, on February 24, 2022. The ones who were killed were Chad Booc, Gelejurain ...
.


Labor unions

The Commission on Human Rights stated that the administration's red-tagging has endangered the lives of a lot of members of Philippine labor unions, that "branding any group as a communist front without proper trial violates their constitutional guarantee of presumption of innocence." In 2018, Victor Ageas, labor union leader of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farm (NAMAFUSA-NAFLU-KMU), who stood against the Japanese giant Sumitomo Fruit Corp. (Sumifru) in Compostela Valley province survived an assassination attempt by motorcycle-riding gunmen who ambushed him while on his way to work. Labor union leader, Melodina Gumanoy, secretary of Namafusa-Naflu-KMU, was also targeted when motorcycle-riding gunmen attempted to kill her while she was on her way for work in Packing Plant 250 owned by Sumifru at Osmeña village, Compostela town. Moreover, labor organizations were also labelled as legal fronts of an underground armed struggle movement and arrested activists were routinely accused of possessing firearms and ammunition. The National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), established by
Negrense The Negrenses (; ) are the native Cultural identity, cultural group of the Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. Overview Negrense (English language in the Philippines, English: '' ...
sugarcane workers in
La Carlota, Negros Occidental La Carlota, officially the City of La Carlota, (; ; ), is a component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,664 people. making it the least populous city in the province ...
in 1971,Gonzaga, V. L. (1988)
Agrarian reform in Negros Oriental
''Philippine Studies, 36''(4), 443–457.
had been denounced as a front for the
Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP; ) is a far-left, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. The CPP has been fighting a gue ...
as well as accused of
profiteering Profiteering is a pejorative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered unethical. Overview Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they raise prices during an emergency ( especially a war). The term is also applied to ...
on privately owned land. This then became the ''ex post facto'' justification for the Sagay massacre in which nine NFSW members were killed. Violent socioeconomic conflict has been a plague on a heavily
stratified Stratification may refer to: Mathematics * Stratification (mathematics), any consistent assignment of numbers to predicate symbols * Data stratification in statistics Earth sciences * Stable and unstable stratification * Stratification, or st ...
Negrense society since the 1850s.Gonzaga, V. L. (1990)
Negros in transition: 1899–1905
''Philippine Studies, 38''(1), 103–114.
Billig, M. S. (1992)
The rationality of growing sugar on Negros
''Philippine Studies, 40''(2), 153–182.
In the same month of October 2018, the government released a matrix of names involved in what it alleged to be a "Red October" plot. The list included names of activists from the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, the Catholic Church, universities, and various human rights and labor groups. Transportation strikes organized against the rapid modernization of jeepneys were swept up by the Department of Transportation as a communist plot. José "Jerry" Catálogo of the NFSW had also reportedly been placed under taxpayer-paid
surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...
before his subsequent assassination in Escalante by unidentified gunmen. In October 2019, the management of the Coca-Cola plant in Bacolod City revealed that a man called Ka Tom Mateo, who was allegedly a former armed insurgent now reporting directly to the president, denounced the recognized union of the plant as a subversive organization and attacked the union's collective agreement and dues structure, which urged their members to terminate their membership and disaffiliate from the labor union. The Coca-Cola Company has distinguished itself in recent years for an incapacity to document labor-rights violations at its own operations and those of its bottlers in Haiti, Indonesia, Ireland and the USA. At the start of 2020, the Defend Jobs Philippines stated that the Philippine National police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) used black propaganda against union leaders and labor unions by holding such a forum and orientation through the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC), which was organized through President Duterte's Executive Order 70, and organizing it at the National Housing Authority Office in Quezon City, Philippines. The Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson Thadeus Ifurung explained that such moves to deal with the dissent of the workforce present red-tagging and maliciously identifying union leaders and members among the public sector as 'communists' and endangers their safety and
right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
to
self-organization Self-organization, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order and disorder, order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spont ...
as workers. The Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (Pamantik-KMU), a labor federation, was accused by the police and military in February 2020 of being the "front organizations of the CPP-NPA" after a July surrender ceremony where the officials claimed that 131 "surrenderees" came from the labor sector in various parts of Laguna, where allegedly 94 were members of the Pamantik-KMU. Along with presenting the 131 "surrenderees," the police also presented what they claimed as surrendered arms and propaganda materials used by the so-called surrenderees, which included books, pamphlets, Mao caps, and election materials for national-democratic party
Bayan Muna Bayan Muna () is a party-list in the Philippines, a member of the leftist political coalition Makabayan. The motto of the party is ''"New Politics, the Politics of Change"'', against "traditional, elitist, pro-imperialist politics". Its platf ...
. Devout
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
and anticommunists, such as labor organizer
Johnny Tan Juan Cañizares Tan (October 10, 1922–September 8, 2005), known as Johnny Tan, was a Filipino trade union leader. Tan grew up in Manila, and attended the Ateneo de Manila High School. He began working closely with the Catholic priest Walter ...
and his colleagues in the
Federation of Free Workers The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) is a national trade union center in the Philippines. It was founded 19 June 1950, and has a dues-paying membership of around 40,000. The FFW is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. Re ...
, were themselves not spared from being "tagged as communists" as early as the 1950s. The red-tagging of labor unions as subversive organizations is believed to be an attempt to legitimize and incite
violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
and repression in order to undermine union organization, spread fear among workers, and discourage them from forming independent unions.


Lawyers and judges

Lawyers and judges have also been red-tagged. In January 2021, the AFP falsely accused human rights lawyers Roan Libarios, Alexander Padilla, and Rafael Aquino of having been armed rebels who have been captured or killed. The
Integrated Bar of the Philippines The Integrated Bar of the Philippines ( abbreviated as IBP) is the national organization of lawyers in the Philippines. It is the mandatory bar association for Filipino lawyers. History The IBP was established as an official organization for ...
called the allegations "ridiculous" and pointed out that red-tagging endangers not just the wrongfully accused but also their families and friends. The IBP also said that "red-tagging is unfair, illegal and disregards due process and the rule of law." The AFP Information Exchange later apologized and said it was conducting an internal investigation regarding the Facebook post where the accusations were published. The red-tagging of a Mandaluyong regional trial court judge was condemned by human rights' groups, law professors, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in a statement condemned "in the strongest sense every instance where a lawyer is threatened or killed and where a judge is threatened and unfairly labelled." The red-tagging of the judge was condemned in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. The
Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...
in a 51-page
judgment Judgement (or judgment) is the evaluation of given circumstances to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. In an informal context, a judgement is opinion expressed as fact. In the context of a legal trial ...
by
Marvic Leonen Mario Victor "Marvic" Famorca Leonen (born December 29, 1962) is a Filipino jurist who has served as an associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines since 2012. President Benigno Aquino III appointed Leonen to the position at the ...
promulgated on February 29, 2024, fined Lorraine Badoy PHP30,000 for indirect
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...
per publication of vitriolic statements and outright threats. She was found guilty of online red-tagging Manila RTC, Branch 19 Judge Judge Marlo A. Magdoza-Malagar calling him an "idiot judge" who lawyered for the CPP-NPA (A.M. No. 22-09-16-SC and G.R. No. 263384, Re: Statements made by Lorraine Marie T. Badoy allegedly threatening Judge Marlo A. Magdoza-Malagar and Atty. Rico V. Domingo, et al. v. Lorraine Marie T. Badoy-Partosa, August 15, 2023).


Journalists

The Facebook page of
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is a task force organized by the government of the Philippines in 2018 as part of its " Whole-of-Nation approach" to respond to and raise awareness about ongoing communist ...
(NTF-ELCAC) posted a series of infographics that incorrectly said media giant ABS-CBN's franchise was not renewed because "they have issues with the law." Verified pages of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and Radio Television Malacañang (RVTM) shared NTF-ELCAC posts pertaining to ABS-CBN's franchise. This act of NTF-ELCAC and the involved government pages were condemned by journalists, academics and media groups as "black propaganda offensive" and an abuse of authority of NTF-ELCAC that endangers ABS-CBN's workforce and Maria Ressa. Journalists have raised concerns over worsening attacks against the press after the red-tagging of veteran journalist Froilan Gallardo and a former
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) is a Filipino non-governmental trade association that represents the interests of Filipino journalists. Among its leadership are representatives from ABS-CBN, DZMM, RPN, GMA, the ''Phi ...
(NUJP) director Leonardo Vicente "Cong" Corrales who received a death threat. Journalists and artists are tagged as supporters of "communist terrorists" and active members of the Communist Party of the Philippines or the New People's Army. Pampanga TV manager Sonia Soto, who is also the president of the media arm of the LausGroup of Companies, was red tagged by National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) regional director, Rolando Asuncion, during a forum at Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor town. The director identified her as among the 31 radio broadcasters in the country who had links to communist and terrorist groups. After "Ang Iskul kong Bakwit," a documentary by
Atom Araullo Alfonso Tomas "Atom" Pagaduan Araullo (; born October 19, 1982) is a Filipino broadcast journalist and television presenter. He currently hosts documentary programs such as '' The Atom Araullo Specials'' and ''I-Witness'', and is serving as th ...
, aired on GMA News TV's i-Witness, alleged Indigenous people leaders described the documentary as "blatantly propagandistic" and accused Araullo of being "biased." Said IP leaders went as far as linking journalist Araullo to the communist insurgency through his mother, Carol Araullo, chairperson of Bayan. NUJP condemned the NTF-ELCAC for using the same "incredulous tactic" used by the government to vilify critics by linking them to the communist insurgency. In December 2024, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court ordered
SMNI Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), also known by its legal name Swara Sug Media Corporation (SSMC), is a Tagalog broadcast media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) led by the Tagalog televangelist Apollo Quiboloy. Based in Davao ...
TV hosts Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz to pay damages of PHP2.08 million for red-tagging Atom Araullo, to compensate for the effect of "red-tagging and its effects on his personal life and career as a journalist". The court order was the first application of the May 2024 Supreme Court ruling that defined red-tagging as a threat to a person's right to life, liberty, and security.


Teachers and students

According to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), there have been 37 incidents of red-tagging and terrorist-tagging of teachers from 2018 to January 2023. In April 2023, ACT filed a complaint before the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
against Vice President Sara Duterte and the NTF-ELCAC for allegedly red-tagging teachers. The Philippine Commission on Human Rights advised Sara Duterte and other government officials to refrain from red-tagging teachers, students, and activists. The commission also launched an investigation into allegations of red-tagging of teachers committed by the Philippine National Police and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency. In October 2018, Commission on Human Rights stated that the AFP "endangers students" through its "blanket act of red-tagging" when the AFP released an unverified list of schools it alleged were part of the supposed "Red October" plot to oust President Duterte.


Writers and authors

On August 11, 2020, private Filipino citizen Jefferson Lodia Badong accused novelist and Duterte-critic
Lualhati Bautista Lualhati Torres Bautista (December 2, 1945 – February 12, 2023) was a Filipina writer, liberal activist, and political critic. Her most popular novels are '' Dekada '70'' (1983), '' Bata, Bata... Pa'no Ka Ginawa?'', and '' 'GAPÔ'' (both 198 ...
of being a member of the
New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...
(NPA), an allegation that endangered Bautista's personal safety. Bautista posted a screenshot of the comment on her Facebook wall. The post trended and commenters admonished Badong for harassing Bautista and red-tagging, an act that endangers its target and is used to curtail free speech. Badong wrote a public apology and made his account private. Badong later deleted the apology minutes after posting it. In another post, Bautista threatened to sue Badong for cyberlibel along with a screenshot of his profile. Bautista later said that she will not be proceeding with the case as Badong has sent her a private apology, which Bautista posted. In the aftermath, Badong deactivated his account after he was continually shamed by supporters and friends of Bautista.


Religious organizations

The
National Council of Churches in the Philippines The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP; ) is a fellowship of ten Protestant and non Roman Catholic Churches in the Philippines denominations, and ten service-oriented organizations in the Philippines. A member of the World Counc ...
, the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...
and the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
have also been red-tagged. The
University of San Carlos The University of San Carlos (USC or colloquially San Carlos) is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province of the Society of the Divine Word missionarie ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
has been tagged as an active CPP supporter as well as being affiliated with a "satanic cult", referencing the
cultural Marxism conspiracy theory "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory that misrepresents Western Marxism (especially the Frankfurt School) as being responsible for modern progressive movements, identity politics, and political correctness. ...
and
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
's family's alleged "satanic"
Sabbateanism The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) are a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), an Ottoman Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast ...
.


Humanitarian activity

Humanitarian organization
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...
has been accused by the Philippine
Department of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
of being a communist and terror front. Security forces raided the offices of other red-tagged organizations and arrested 57 individuals. Practical bottom–up efforts rooted in the traditional and precolonial spirit of ''
bayanihan Communal work is a gathering for mutually accomplishing a task or for communal fundraising. Communal work provided manual labour to others, especially for major projects such as barn raising, "bees" of various kinds (see below), log rolling, and ...
'' have been threatened with glib accusations of sympathizing with causes condemned by the NTF-ELCAC.Del Mundo, R. (April 21, 2021). ''
Mutual aid Mutual aid is an organizational model where voluntary, collaborative exchanges of resources and services for common benefit take place amongst community members to overcome social, economic, and political barriers to meeting common needs. This ...
, community pantries bring out the best in
Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...
and the worst in Duterte's inhumane regime''. Philippine Revolution Web Central. https://cpp.ph/statements/mutual-aid-community-pantries-bring-out-the-best-in-filipinos-and-the-worst-in-dutertes-inhumane-regime/
Community pantries,Sadongdong, M. (April 20, 2021). Parlade: Community pantry could be used to urge public to revolt vs gov't. ''
Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' () (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...
''. https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/20/parlade-community-pantry-could-be-used-to-urge-public-to-revolt-vs-govt
Chúa, A. (April 21, 2021). "
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
" tag halts community pantry for a day. ''
Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines which, as of 2017, is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner ...
''. https://www.manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/352408/-communist-tag-halts-community-pantry-for-a-day.html
set up in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, had been denounced by state officials as being fronts for the
Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP; ) is a far-left, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. The CPP has been fighting a gue ...
.Yuvallos, A. (April 20, 2021). The gov't's response to the community pantry movement? Policing and
bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
. ''
Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded broad ...
''. https://nolisoli.ph/96642/opinion-maginhawa-community-pantry-ayuvallos-20210420/
Antonio Parlade disapproved of the widely circulating narrative that the state had been inadequate in responding to the effects of its own measures in containing COVID-19.Cayabyab, M. J., Mateo, J., Tupas, E., Hallare, K., Macaíran, E., & Romero, A. (April 21, 2021). ''Palace, DILG, PNP, DOJ, mayors say community pantries should continue as NTF–ELCAC red-tags, profiles organizers''. One News. https://www.onenews.ph/palace-dilg-pnp-doj-mayors-say-community-pantries-should-continue-as-ntf-elcac-red-tags-profiles-organizers
Lorraine Badoy-Partosa Lorraine Marie Tablang Badoy-Partosa, better known as Lorraine Badoy and sometimes also called Lorraine Partosa, is a Filipino physician, government official, and political figure best known for having been one of the spokespersons of the Natio ...
also slammed the
National Democratic Front of the Philippines The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP; , PDPP) is a coalition of revolutionary social and economic justice organizations, agricultural unions, trade unions, indigenous rights groups, leftist political parties, and other relat ...
for allegedly setting up community pantries for
seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establis ...
purposes.
Karapatan Karapatan Alliance Philippines (commonly shortened to Karapatan, which translates to ''rights'' in Filipino) is a left-wing non-governmental organization and human rights alliance that conducts research and advocacy of human rights campaigns as ...
, in an official statement, hit back, stressing, "Having already been the cause of hardship in the first place, they now have the
gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...
to intimidate?"
Karapatan Karapatan Alliance Philippines (commonly shortened to Karapatan, which translates to ''rights'' in Filipino) is a left-wing non-governmental organization and human rights alliance that conducts research and advocacy of human rights campaigns as ...
. (April 20, 2021). ''Karapatan hits red-tagging of community pantries''. https://www.karapatan.org/karapatan+hits+red+tagging+of+community+pantries
Panfilo Lacson Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He is also a former police general who served as director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2 ...
has also praised the mutual-aid efforts of pantry organizers.Torregoza, H. (April 18, 2021). Community pantries a sign of people's desperation amid COVID-19 pandemic —Lacson. ''
Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' () (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...
''. https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/18/community-pantries-a-sign-of-peoples-desperation-amid-covid-19-pandemic-lacson/
In 2021, Leyte Center for Development (LCDE), which provides humanitarian aid to the Leyte's poorest communities, was subject to intimidation, death threats, and red-tagging. A rally, allegedly organized by the Philippine Army, brought 20 people carrying placards red-tagging the LCDE. The groups was charged with terrorism financing, though the cases were eventually dismissed by the prosecutor. In spite of the dismissal, LCDE's bank accounts were frozen and the group were forced to stop operations.


Entertainers

In 2020, actress
Angel Locsin Angelica Locsin Colmenares (born April 23, 1985) is a Filipino actress and humanitarian. She is known for her dramatic roles and portrayals of heroines and mythological characters in film and television. She is a recipient of various accolad ...
was allegedly accused by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade of being a member of the NPA. Foreign Secretary
Teodoro Locsin Jr. Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Lopez Locsin Jr. (born November 15, 1948) is a Filipino politician, diplomat, lawyer, and former journalist who is currently serving as the Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom since August 30, 2022. He previously ...
retaliated by slamming the actress' slanderers,
tweeting A tweet (officially known as a post since 2023) is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter (officially known as X since 2023) which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around 8 ...
"Anyone homesses with her will get it. I am not allowed to threaten on Twitter." In October 2020, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. of the
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is a task force organized by the government of the Philippines in 2018 as part of its " Whole-of-Nation approach" to respond to and raise awareness about ongoing communist ...
(NTF-ELCAC) urged supporters of the government to refrain from "red tagging" actress
Liza Soberano Hope Elizabeth Soberano (born January 4, 1998) is an American and Filipino actress. Known for playing supporting characters in comedies and dramas as a teenager, she has since expanded her repertoire to leading roles in film and television. She ...
after she appeared on a webinar of
GABRIELA Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name) Gabriela is the Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Czech language, Czech, Slovak language, Slovak, Romanian language, Romanian, Latvian language, Latvian, Polish language, Po ...
, but appeared to have done it himself anyhow. Parlade warned her that engaging with activist groups like GABRIELA would make her end up like activist Josephine Lapira, who allegedly joined the NPA and was killed in an armed encounter with government troops. He also mentioned several other celebrities who are vocal against the government such as beauty queen
Catriona Gray Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray ( ; ; born January 6, 1994) is a Filipino beauty queen and media personality best known for winning the title of Miss Universe 2018. The fourth Filipina to win Miss Universe, Gray was previously crowned Miss Worl ...
and actress Angel Locsin. Soberano's camp denounced the "red tagging" of the actress. GABRIELA, with senators
Risa Hontiveros Ana Theresia "Risa" Navarro Hontiveros Baraquel (; born February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician who has served as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. A member of the progressive Akbayan party, she previously served as its party-list ...
and
Francis Pangilinan Francis Pancratius "Kiko" Nepomuceno Pangilinan (; born August 24, 1963) is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and farm owner who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He previously served as senator from 2001 to 2013 a ...
defended Soberano and criticized Parlade's "red tagging," while the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) urged the general to retract his statement and apologize to the actress.


State institutions and public servants

One of the most prominent targets of red-tagging by what had then been the Committee on Un-Filipino Activities (CUFA), modeled after the
Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...
, had been Claro M. Recto. A fervent
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
, he dared to oppose US
national interests The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni del ...
in the Philippines, as when he campaigned against its military bases in his country. During the 1957 presidential campaign, the US
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) conducted black-propaganda operations to ensure his defeat, including the distribution of condoms with holes in them and marked with "Courtesy of Claro M. Recto" on the labels.The Worst Book of 2002
Review of ''The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power''
, by Max Boot. 2003 Retrieved March 17, 2009
Simbulan, Roland

August 18, 2000. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
Other luminaries such as
Arsenio Lacson Arsenio Hilario Sison Lacson Sr. (December 26, 1912 – April 15, 1962) was a Filipino lawyer, journalist and politician who gained widespread attention as 1st to be elected and 15th Mayor of Manila from 1952 to 1962. An active executive liken ...
,
José P. Laurel José Paciano Laurel y García (March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the President of the Second Philippine Republic from 1943 to 1945, which was a Japanese ally during World War II. ...
and
Lorenzo M. Tañada Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...
had also been made targets. The Philippine Commission on Human Rights, a constitutional agency independent of the three branches of government, mandated to monitor human rights abuses by state actors, has also received various threats from the government. On
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
of 2021,
COMELEC COMELEC or Comelec may refer to any of the following: * Commission on Elections (Philippines) The Commission on Elections (), abbreviated as , is one of the three Constitutional Commission#Philippines, constitutional commissions of the Phili ...
was similarly tagged as "infiltrated", as well as likened to
Marcus Junius Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...
. In October 2020, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade accused
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
Mayor
Isko Moreno Francisco "Isko" Moreno Domagoso (; born October 24, 1974) is a Filipino politician, actor, host and entrepreneur who is the mayor-elect of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, having been 2025 Manila local elections, elected in 202 ...
of "fear ng and "welcoming … terrorist to the city. Moreno had earlier ordered the taking down of unauthorized tarpaulins that declared CPP members, NPA fighters and national democrats as '' personae non gratae'' in the city.
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
Governor
Jonvic Remulla Juanito Victor "Jonvic" Catibayan Remulla Jr. (; born October 23, 1967) is a Filipino politician who had served as the 42nd secretary of the Interior and Local Government, secretary of the interior and local government since 2024. He previously ...
backed the Manila mayor on the issue, saying that the general "should be ashamed of himself," adding, "Are you out of your mind, Parlade?" Meanwhile, Pamalakaya, which represents fisherfolk and coastal communities in Cavite, have retaliated against Parlade in defense of Remulla, urging the governor to instead declare the general as ''persona non grata'' in their province. Some commentators have
satirized Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or ...
the banality and meaninglessness that has come to characterize, on the one hand, red-tagging and, on the other, false accusations leading to ; for instance, by pointing out the absurdity in tagging the likes of
Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...
and economic liberal and declared NTF-ELCAC supporter
Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She is the mayor-elect of Naga, Camarines Sur, having won the ...
red.


Government response to the concept


Duterte administration

Government officials and former press secretary
Rigoberto Tiglao Rigoberto "Bobi" Dikit Tiglao (born August 27, 1952) is a Filipino activist and opinion columnist. He was previously editor-in-chief of Inq7.net, a website jointly owned by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and GMA Network before resigning his po ...
said that it was Sison himself who had unwittingly "tagged" specific groups red, including by identifying them online. Sison disputed this by stating that, "I differentiated the legal forces of the National Democratic movement from the armed revolutionary movement." On October 27, 2020, Parladé clarified that, "Communism ''per se'' … if it's just belief in communism and that belief isn't paired with
violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
, I think everyone would get along. … In fact, in Europe … there are
still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...
many communist parties, but that's okay since they don't maintain armed wings. Their societies have come to accept them. But over here, it's different: CPP-1968">Communist Party of the Philippines">CPP-1968has an armed wing. And that's why we're having this problem." Likewise, on March 16, 2021, he said that, "It's the same with the
right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
: if you're
far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
, and you ross the lineby taking up arms and trying to overthrow the overnment that's a whole other story." Human rights organizations denounced the government for red-tagging, profiling, and surveillance. In 2019, United Nations rapporteurs said that the "criminalizing discourse used by Philippine public officials undermines the value of the vital work of human rights defenders, denigrates them in the eyes of the public and may put them at risk of threats, violence or other forms of harassment", adding that threats and harassment hinder the groups from doing their work. In a 2020 report, the Commission on Human Rights called on members of the executive branch of government to desist from red-tagging and labelling defenders as terrorists or enemies of the state and to prohibit the practice.


Marcos administration

In an interview on June 9, 2022, incoming National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos expressed a strong disapproval of red-tagging, stating that under the incoming
presidency of Bongbong Marcos Bongbong Marcos began his presidency at noon on June 30, 2022, following his inauguration as the 17th president of the Philippines, succeeding Rodrigo Duterte. His term is expected to expire six years later, on June 30, 2028. Marcos initial ...
, the administration will focus on the lack of opportunities and injustices that are not being addressed that are at "the roots of insurgency". This was echoed by outgoing
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
(DOJ) secretary and incoming
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
Menardo Guevarra, who stated at a forum on June 15 that the DOJ does not condone labeling individuals and groups as those with links to armed insurgency groups, saying that if there is concrete evidence, it should be filed according to the legal process. Guevarra also discouraged tagging individuals solely for being vocal about their political views as doing so would put them in danger. In response to some NTF-ELCAC officials that have publicly red-tagged individuals and groups, Guevarra also stated that the DOJ has expressed its position to the NTF-ELCAC, but is unaware if his advice has been followed. Furthermore, Guevara reminds that the NTF-ELCAC must follow its main mandate of a "whole of nation approach" to the communist insurgency problem, which must attract insurgents to return to the "folds of the law" and not to openly engage them in combat. In July 2023, the
Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...
ruled in ''Siegfred D. Deduro Vs. Maj. Gen. Eric C. Vinoya, in his capacity as Commanding Officer of the 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army'' that a writ of amparo may be issued against acts of red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association, declaring that the aforementioned acts threatens a person's right to life, liberty, and security. In February 2024,
United Nations Special Rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...
for freedom of expression and opinion
Irene Khan Irene Zubaida Khan (; born 24 December 1956) is a Bangladeshi British lawyer and human rights activist. She is serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion. She previously served as the seventh Secreta ...
appealed to the Philippine government to end red-tagging, saying that the vilification is often "followed by threats, unlawful surveillance, attacks or even unlawful killing." After the Supreme Court ruled in May 2024 that red-tagging threatens a person's right to life, liberty, or security,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
and
Karapatan Karapatan Alliance Philippines (commonly shortened to Karapatan, which translates to ''rights'' in Filipino) is a left-wing non-governmental organization and human rights alliance that conducts research and advocacy of human rights campaigns as ...
called on President
Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...
to abolish the NTF-ELCAC. Marcos rejected the calls for abolition, saying the task force was instrumental in reducing the country's internal security threat.


Media coverage

While there is some coverage of red-tagging as a practice in Filipino mainstream news coverage, media watchgroups such as the
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) is a private, non-stock, non-profit foundation in the Philippines that has focused its endeavor on press freedom protection along with the establishment of a framework of responsibility fo ...
have noted that this is typically limited to reportage regarding the statements of the groups involved, and few news outlets add "the necessary explanation why the profiling of the two organizations is dangerous". In a January 2019 statement, they said:
Dissent is essential to a working democracy. The independent press has to remind its audience of that fact as attempts to discredit various groups critical of the current regime continue, rather than just report statements of public officials condemning the politics of the Left and publicly naming those they see as "Red".
On March 3, 2022,
Clarita Carlos Clarita Reyes Carlos (born June 24, 1946) is a Filipino political scientist and commentator, academic, and educator who last served as the National Security Adviser under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos from 2022 to 2023. As Na ...
urged precision when using the term 'communist' in political discourse, in which it is often conflated with the CPP-1968 and affiliated groups. She strongly insisted on dropping the term 'communist insurgency' in favor of 'insurgency', the latter which would underscore its illegality rather than its ideological thrust, which itself is not prohibited under law.


Laws related to red-tagging


Human Security Act of 2007

The Human Security Act of 2007, passed by the Philippine Congress in February and signed by President Gloria Arroyo in March, took effect on July 15. It was amended with the Anti-terrorism Act of 2020. This act has been heavily criticized by Human Rights Watch due to its "vague and overbroad"
definition of terrorism There is no legal or scientific consensus on the definition of terrorism. Various legal systems and government agencies use different definitions of terrorism, and governments have been reluctant to formulate an agreed-upon legally-binding defin ...
. The definition, according to Human Rights Watch,
...could allow the government to transform less serious offenses, such as vandalism, or legitimate acts of protest, into crimes punishable by a mandatory 40-year sentence. Under this definition, for example, a political protestor demanding that the president resign, who sets fire to an effigy (committing arson or destruction of property), could conceivably be charged with terrorism and, if convicted, sent to prison for 40 years.


The Anti-terrorism Act of 2020

On June 11, 2020, Malacañang, through Presidential Spokesperson
Harry Roque Herminio Harry Lopez Roque Jr. (; born October 21, 1966) is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and former law professor. He served as the presidential spokesperson of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2017 to 2018 and from 2020 to 2021. He was the pa ...
, dismissed claims that the government is out to red-tag opposition groups as a matter of policy, contradicting observations made by the United Nations Human Rights Office. Roque said that safeguards are in place to prevent such abuses in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act. In contrast, the UN took note of "serious human rights violations" in the country, noting that the filing of charges against political opponents and labeling persons who appear to have communist sympathies as suspected criminals are among the lapses. Additionally, under the law, a suspect could be detained for 14 days without charge – a period that can be extended to 24 days. Human rights attorneys say that violates a constitutional provision that a person must be charged within three days of detention. The law also allows wiretaps and lengthy surveillance, which raises privacy concerns, according to rights activists. The new law also includes a possible punishment of life imprisonment without parole, which rights advocates say leaves no chance for rehabilitation. Defenders of the law say that the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act puts the Philippines at par with other countries in the world in legal action against terrorism. The government has also reassured that "activism is not terrorism" and that the law contains language protecting advocacy, protest, dissent, industrial action, and strikes that do not create "a serious risk to public safety." National Security Adviser
Hermogenes Esperon Hermogenes Cendaña Esperon Jr. (; born February 9, 1952) is a retired Philippine Army general who served as the National Security Adviser in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022. He was the Chief of Staff of the Armed F ...
defended the maximum of 24-day detention by saying that criminal cases against arrested suspected terrorists need more than three days of case build-up, which was the limit previously set in the Human Security Act of 2007. This new limit on the detention period is one of the most limited in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Esperon.


Investigations

The Senate committee on national defense concluded its probe on red-tagging in February 2021. While the committee report concluded that a law criminalizing red-tagging was not needed, it said that Antonio Parlade's actions were "undue public propaganda" that were damaging to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the Armed Forces of the Philippine. Representatives
France Castro Francisca "France" Lustina Castro (born May 24, 1966) is a Filipino educator, trade union activist, and politician who serves as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for the 19th Congress for the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (AC ...
, Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, Eufemia Cullamat,
Arlene Brosas Arlene Duran Brosas (born October 30, 1975) is a Filipina educator, child rights activist, and politician. She is a member of the 19th Congress of the Philippines, Philippine House of Representatives for the 19th Congress and was part of the 18th ...
, and Sarah Elago of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives stated that "Current legal remedies are insufficient, defective and lacking. Human rights violators have largely escaped accountability. Experience has shown that even with the protective writs (
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
, amparo, data), victims remain vulnerable to harassment and fail to deter attacks". At a House of Representatives hearing in September 2020, Philippine National Police announced that it would investigate the alleged red-tagging done by Abra, Romblon, Leyte, and Surigao del Sur police stations against progressive organizations. In September 2022, the Philippine National Police announced that it would probe a police station that red-tagged Ninoy Aquino on
Ninoy Aquino Day Ninoy Aquino Day is a national non-working holiday in the Philippines observed annually on August 21 commemorating the assassination of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., the husband of Corazon Aquino, who later became the eleventh ...
. Representative
Raoul Manuel Raoul Danniel Abellar Manuel (born August 30, 1994) is a Filipino youth activist and politician serving as the representative for Kabataan partylist, of which was its previous national president. He previously served as the president of the ...
said at a House hearing that the post amounted to both
disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...
and
historical distortion Historical negationism, also called historical denialism, is falsification or distortion of the historical record. This is not the same as ''historical revisionism'', a broader term that extends to newly evidenced, fairly reasoned academic reint ...
. The Commission on Human Rights in July 2024 began a public inquiry on the red-tagging of rights defenders in the Philippines. Speakers at the probe included United Nations special rapporteur on freedom and opinion Irene Khan, United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor, United Nations senior human rights adviser Signe Poulsen, George Andreopoulos of the
John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...
, Aua Baldé, chair of the working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, Mel Sta. Maria, dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law,
Theodore Te Theodore O. "Ted" Te is a Filipino human rights lawyer, professor, and former Spokesperson of the Supreme Court of the Philippines during the tenure of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. He resigned on the position after Sereno was ousted. A l ...
, former Supreme Court spokesperson and
Free Legal Assistance Group The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Senate of the Philippines, Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada, J.B.L. Reyes, and Joker Arroyo during th ...
regional coordinator, Christianne Grace Salonga, executive director of the Movement Against Disinformation, and Ephraim Cortez, president of the National Union of People's Lawyers.


See also

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McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
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Red-baiting Red-baiting, also known as ''reductio ad Stalinum'' () and red-tagging ( in the Philippines), is an intention to discredit the validity of a political opponent and the opponent's logical argument by accusing, denouncing, attacking, or persecuting ...
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Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...
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Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines are illegal executionsunlawful or felonious killingsand forced disappearances in the Philippines. These are forms of extrajudicial punishment, and include extrajudicial execu ...
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Security sector governance and reform in the Philippines The process of security sector governance and reform in the Philippines – which involves professionalizing, civilianizing, and modernizing/capacitating the Philippine government's security institutionshttps://www.bworldonline.com/security-sector ...
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Terrorism in the Philippines Terrorism is a major social issue in the Philippines linked to the Moro conflict and the Communist rebellion in the Philippines, communist rebellion. The country ranks in 18th place on the Global Terrorism Index's 2023 list of countries most affec ...
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Far-right politics Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...


References

{{Rodrigo Duterte Anti-communist terrorism Right-wing terrorism Far-right politics in the Philippines Political repression in the Philippines Extrajudicial killings in the Philippines Anti-communism in the Philippines Inchoate offenses