Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 1841

Introduced by Representative LEILA M. DE LIMA

AN ACT
DEFINING AND PENALIZING THE CRIME OF RED-TAGGING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Red-tagging is the act of labeling individuals, groups, or organizations as state
enemies, subversives, communists, or terrorists, without basis.

In the Philippines, red-tagging has long been used as an instrument to silence
and quash dissent among critics, activists, journalists, human rights advocates, civil
society organizations (CSOs), community and labor union leaders, lawyers, and
political opponents. Since victims of red-tagging are often subjected to harassment,
surveillance, death threats, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, the
Supreme Court, in Deduro v. Vinoya (G.R. No. 254753, 4 July 2023), declared that
“red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association threaten a person's right to
life, liberty, or security”! Moreover, as the usual targets of red-tagging are activists,
journalists, labor leaders, and human.rights defenders, red-tagging results in the
stifling of fundamental freedoms and civil liberties, which are enshrined in the Bill of
Rights.

Due to the reprehensible and chilling effects of red-tagging on an individual's
life, livelihood, rights, and freedoms, this bill seeks to define and criminalize red-
tagging, proposing appropriate penalties for it.

Several bills seeking to criminalize red-tagging have been filed in past
Congresses. In the 19" Congress, Kabataan Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel
filed a House bill defining red-tagging, its forms, and its offenses, proposing prision
correccional and perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office as initial

+ Supreme Court. (8 May 2024). SC: Red-Tagging Threatens Right to Life, Liberty, and Security
Retrieved from https://sc judiciary. gov. phisc-red-tagging-threatens-right-to-lfe-liberty-and-security/.

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penalties, adopting the penalties cited in Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC)
if the red-tagging results in murder and in R.A. 10353 if it results in involuntary
disappearance, and adopting penalties a degree higher than those cited in Articles
262 to 265 of the RPC if the red-tagging results in physical injuries. A similar bill was
filed in the 18 Congress by Representatives of the party-lists Bayan Muna, Kabataan,
Gabriela, and ACT Teachers, and Representatives Edcel Lagman, Jose Christopher
Belmonte, and Pablo Ortega. This bill adopts the aforementioned House bill's
definition of the forms of red-tagging and its cited offenses, except prision correccional.

In the Senate under the 18 Congress, former Senate President Frank Drilon
filed a bill criminalizing red-tagging and proposing imprisonment for ten (10) years and
perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office as penalties. Similar bills were
filed in the House of Representatives by former Deputy Speaker Michael Romero in
the 18" Congress and by Representative Gus Tambunting in the 19" Congress. From
the aforementioned bills, this bill adopts the penalty of imprisonment for ten (10) years.

This bill explicitly defines red-tagging as a criminal act and provides a more
expansive definition of red-tagging. In particular, this bill declares that the use of
government resources, in addition to public position and/or public funds, also makes
the act of red-tagging criminal. Furthermore, this bill also expands the definition of
public official or employee for purposes of this measure by adopting the definition of
the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.?

Red-tagging undermines the work and role of human rights defenders and
political dissenters, which eventually erodes democracy and the rule of law. This bill
seeks to correct this situation by proposing to define and criminalize such nefarious
act.

The passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

ey ¢- DE hee

2 United Nations. 31 October 2003. United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Retrieved from
https://www.unodc.org/documents/brussels/UN_Convention_Against_Corruption. pdf.

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1841

HOUSE BILL NO. ~9"?*

Introduced by Representative LEILA M. DE LIMA

AN ACT
DEFINING AND CRIMINALIZING RED-TAGGING

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION. 1. Short title. — This Act shall be known as the “Act Defining and
Criminalizing Red-Tagging,” or simply, the “Anti-Red-Tagging Act of 2025.”

SEC. 2. Definition. - Red-tagging is hereby punished as a criminal act. Red-
tagging is the act of publicly labeling, vilifying, branding, naming, accusing, or
caricaturing individuals, groups, or organizations of being state enemies, subversives,
armed rebels, communists, or terrorists, or fronts thereof, thereby implying or
insinuating involvement or engagement in armed rebellion, acts of terrorism, violent
uprising, or any other similar wrongdoing or criminal act. Provided, that, such act is
committed with the use, directly or indirectly, of public position, government resources,
and/or of public funds. Provided, further, that, if a public official or employee commits
red-tagging, a disputable presumption that it was committed with the use. of public
position, government resources, and/or of public funds attaches.

For purpose of this Act, “public official or employee” shall mean: (i) any person
holding a legislative, executive, administrative or judicial office or employment,
whether appointed or elected, whether permanent or temporary, whether paid or
unpaid, irrespective of that person's seniority; and (ii) any other person who performs
a public function, including for a public agency or public enterprise, or provides a public
service.

SEC. 3. Forms of Red-Tagging. - Red-tagging is committed through
statements, social media posts, announcements, declarations, signages, streamers,
placards, public fora, and other similar venues or media where individuals, entities,

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groups, andlor organizations are publicly labeled, vilified, branded, named, accused,
or caricatured as described in Section 2 of this Act.

SEC. 4. Offenses.

a.

‘Any public official or employee, or his/her agent, who commits red-
tagging, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment for ten (10) years.

. Ifthe individual red-tagged was injured by reason or by any cause arising

from the red-tagging by the public official, employee, and/or his/her
agents, the public official, employee, and his/her agents, shall be
punished by a degree higher than those in accordance with Art. 262 to
Art. 265 (Physical Injuries) of the Revised Penal Code and a fine not
exceeding Six Thousand Pesos (P 6,000.00) plus damages.

_ Ifthe individual red-tagged was killed by reason or by any cause arising

from the red-tagging by the accountable public official, employee, and/or
histher agents, the public official, employee, and his/her agents, shall be
punished in accordance with Art. 248 (Murder) of the Revised Penal
Code.

| If the individual red-tagged was involuntarily disappeared by reason or

by any cause arising from the red-tagging by the accountable public
official, employee, and/or his/her agents, the public official, employee,
and his/her agents, shall be punished under R.A. 10353, or An Act
Defining And Penalizing Enforced Or Involuntary Disappearance.

Any public officer, employee, and/or their agents who are found guilty of

any of the aforementioned offenses shall also be imposed a penalty of
perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office or employment.

The penalties for violation of this Act and their consequences shall be
without prejudice to the filing of administrative and civil cases against the
offender/s.

SEC. 5. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force

and effect.

SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees,
presidential proclamations, letters of instruction, rules and regulations, or parts thereof
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended

accordingly.


1 SEC. 7. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
2 publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the
3. Philippines.

Approved,