Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL No.______ 
Introduced by 
BAYAN MUNA Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE, Rep. EDCEL C. LAGMAN, 
Rep. JOSE CHRISTOPHER Y. BELMONTE, Rep. PABLO C. ORTEGA,  
 BAYAN MUNA Reps. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT and FERDINAND R. GAITE, 
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,  
ACT TEACHERS Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,  
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR  
THE CRIMINALIZATION OF RED-TAGGING 
Explanatory Note 
Red-tagging has become a very dangerous action or conduct by public officials and their 
agents. It brings about a chilling effect and poses a great danger to the people’s Constitutional 
right to freedom of expression and the right to political belief without fear of prosecution.  
When an individual, group, or organization is red-tagged by the State and their agents, the 
victims become subject to harassments, surveillance, death threats, enforced disappearance, 
and extrajudicial killings. It has been identified by interest groups as acts that are a prelude to 
extrajudicial disappearances and killings. It is generally directed at the opposition but most of 
the victims who suffer the worst are activists and political dissenters.  
Red-tagging should be criminalized for two simple reasons: it is committed through the use of 
public funds, and it has an injurious and irreversible impact on the victims. 
Red-tagging is funded by public funds. Under this administration, the National Task Force to 
End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has become the chief implementor of 
the policy of red-tagging since its creation by Executive Order No. 70.  This Task Force has 
been conducting red-tagging activities against political dissenters in fora among agencies and 
offices of the government, schools, and other institutions; in publications, posters and other 
materials disseminated and posted along the main thoroughfares in different centers in the 
country; in social media campaigns of fake news discrediting and vilifying individuals and 
interest groups that they view as “enemies of the state”; and in public statements done through 
media broadcasts and publications. All these activities were and are being funded by public 
funds.  
Red-tagging has an injurious and irreversible impact on the victims since once an individual 
or group or organization is red-tagged, the stigma attaches. These victims are now subject to 
harassments, surveillance, death threats, and worse enforced disappearances and killings. The 
victims live in constant fear for their lives, liberty, and security.  Adding insult to injury, even 
their families suffer the same. They are deliberately singled out as the public is conditioned 
that they must have done something wrong to justify an extrajudicial punishment. 
May 24, 2021
5:27 pm
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There have been numerous victims of red-tagging, some of whom are publicly known to be 
political activists and had been staunch dissenters of anti-people government policies like 
Randy Echanis, Randy Malayao, Jory Porquia, Zara Alvarez, and Atty. Ben Ramos who have 
all been killed after being red-tagged. 
Ultimately, the message is clearly to stifle dissent. 
To put an end to this vicious act of red-tagging, the immediate enactment of this bill is 
earnestly sought. 
Approved, 
REP. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE 
Bayan Muna Partylist  
REP. EDCEL C. LAGMAN 
1st District, Albay 
REP. JOSE CHRISTOPHER Y. BELMONTE 
6th District, Quezon City 
REP. PABLO C. ORTEGA 
1st District, La Union 
REP. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT 
Bayan Muna Partylist 
REP. FERDINAND R. GAITE 
Bayan Muna Partylist 
REP. ARLENE D. BROSAS 
GABRIELA Women’s Party  
REP. FRANCE L. CASTRO 
ACT Teachers Partylist  
REP. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO 
Kabataan Partylist 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL No.______ 
Introduced by 
BAYAN MUNA Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE, Rep. EDCEL C. LAGMAN, 
Rep. JOSE CHRISTOPHER Y. BELMONTE, Rep. PABLO C. ORTEGA,  
 BAYAN MUNA Reps. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT and FERDINAND R. GAITE, 
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,  
ACT TEACHERS Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,  
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR  
THE CRIMINALIZATION OF RED-TAGGING 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the “Act Providing for the Criminalization of Red-
Tagging”, or simply, the “Anti-Red-Tagging Act of 2021”. 
SECTION 2. Definition. 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 or any wrong 
doing or criminal acts; Provided, That such act is committed with the use, directly or indirectly, 
of public position 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 and/or of public funds attaches. 
SECTION 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, groups and/or organizations are publicly 
labeled, vilified, branded, named, accused or caricatured as described in Section 2 of this Act. 
SECTION 4. Offenses. 
a.
Any public official, employee, and/or their agents who red-tags any individual in
accordance to Section 2 and 3 of this Act shall be punished by prisión correccional for violation
of this Act.
b. If the individual red-tagged was injured 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 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
6,000 plus damages.
c. If the individual red-tagged was killed 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 in accordance with Art. 248 (Murder) of the
Revised Penal Code.
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d.     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.  
 
e. 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.  
 
f. The penalties for violation of this act and their probable consequences shall be without 
prejudice to the filing of administrative and civil cases against the offender/s.     
 
SECTION 5.  Amendatory and Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, 
resolutions, revenue regulations, ordinances or circulars inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly or declared null and void and inoperative.  
 
SECTION 6. Separability Clause. – Should any provision of this Act be subsequently 
declared unconstitutional, other provisions insofar as they may be separable from the invalid 
ones shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
SECTION 7.  Effectivity. This Act shall take effect immediately upon its publication in the 
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.  
 
Approved,