Ilonggo Senator Franklin Drilon has repeated his call for the passage of a bill seeking to criminalize red-tagging activities.
“I have filed an anti-red tagging bill, criminalizing and punishing this practice. I urge the Senate leadership to hear this bill as soon as possible,” said Drilon.
Senate Bill 2121 or the proposed “Act Defining and Penalizing Red-Tagging” was already submitted to the Committee on Justice chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon.
“The recent events make the menacing effect of red-tagging more pronounced. We must put a stop to this immediately,” said Drilon referring to recent red-tagging of various government organizations and even individuals who organized community pantries.
The absence of a law that defines and punishes red-tagging, according to the senator, “makes it easier for individuals like [National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson] Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. to make not only unfounded but dangerous and deadly accusations.”
The proposed measure penalizes anyone who is guilty of red-tagging with 10-year imprisonment and be perpetually banned from public office.
The crime of red-tagging is defined as the act of labeling, vilifying, branding, naming, accusing, harassing, persecuting, stereotyping, or caricaturing individuals, groups, or organizations as state enemies, left-leaning, subversives, communists, or terrorists as part of a counter-insurgency or anti-terrorism strategy or program, by any state actor, such as law enforcement agent, paramilitary, or military personnel.
Drilon also pushed to defund NTF-ELCAC and realign its P19.1-billion budget to fund the most critical “ayuda” to the poor.
“I am glad that my colleagues joined me in that call. But we do not have to wait for the 2022 budget debates to defund NTF-ELCAC. The President should realign the NTF-ELCAC under the 2021 GAA now,” he said.IMT
