CHR renews call to end red-tagging, citing ‘real and well-founded risk’

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) renewed its call to end red-tagging, stressing that it is never a “harmless label” and that “it creates a real and well-founded risk.”

The CHR said the call was drawn from the National Inquiry on the Current Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines with a Focus on Incidents of Red-Tagging, which it conducted in 2025.

The 2025 inquiry followed the 2019 National Inquiry on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, which established that red-tagging “constitutes a serious threat to the life, liberty, and security of affected individuals,” the commission said.

Despite findings and recommendations nearly six years ago, the CHR said the practice has persisted, continues to affect civic space and human rights protection, and prompted the commission to initiate last year’s inquiry.

“The CHR has noted an increase in reported cases involving the vilification and labeling of human rights defenders — particularly those perceived to be associated with progressive or left-leaning movements — as being anti-democratic or linked to armed insurgency.”

Based on the inquiry, the CHR said: “Red-tagging persists as a pattern of labeling individuals and groups as ‘communists,’ ‘terrorists,’ or enemies of the state,’ often without due process and through public and online platforms.”

“Those affected include journalists, lawyers, students, labor leaders, indigenous peoples, and community organizers engaged in advocacy and civic work, as well as those voicing legitimate dissent on government policies,” it said.

For the commission, red-tagging “exposes individuals to threats, harassment, and violence, and may serve as a precursor to grave human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.”

“[It] undermines the rights to life, liberty, security, expression, and association,” it added.

Red-tagging “creates a chilling effect on dissent and weakens democratic participation,” the CHR said. “Despite existing legal remedies, the absence of a specific law penalizing red-tagging results in fragmented protection and limited accountability.”

The inquiry highlighted the need to ensure comprehensive protection against red-tagging through statutes and regulations. In crafting these policies, the commission proposed these elements as guidelines in defining and addressing red-tagging:

• That, without due process of law, a person, group of persons, or organization is implicated in or accused of being involved in acts of terrorism, armed rebellion, violent uprising, or other criminal acts or wrongdoing and is labeled, branded, named, or vilified as subversive, insurgent, enemy of the state, supporter of a non-state armed group, communist, or affiliated with or connected to such individuals or organizations.
• That the person, group, or organization was targeted because of their advocacy, opinion, or exercise of their right to defend rights.
• That the act was carried out by a public officer, or with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state.
• That the act was published, communicated, distributed, or disseminated through traditional and nontraditional means, including but not limited to newspapers, radio, television, posters, flyers, streamers, and social media posts.
• That the act engenders a well-founded belief that harm may come to the person or group being labeled, branded, named, or vilified.

The CHR said the harm may be reputational, physical, psychological, social, economic, structural, or institutional, as well as those “not covered by any” of those mentioned.

Coordinated action

The CHR called for immediate and coordinated action across all branches of government, saying the elimination of red-tagging is essential to the full enjoyment of human rights and the protection of civic space in the Philippines.

It said the executive branch should adopt a comprehensive policy prohibiting red-tagging and strengthen mechanisms that ensure prompt and impartial investigation of violations.

The legislative branch, it said, should enact a law that clearly defines and penalizes red-tagging, review existing counterterrorism laws, and pass the CHR Charter to strengthen institutional protection.

The CHR also encouraged the courts to revisit and strengthen protective writs, such as amparo and habeas data, and to ensure timely access to justice for victims.

The commission stressed that efforts to address security threats must remain anchored in human rights. Counterinsurgency and counterterrorism measures must not come at the expense of fundamental freedoms.

“Addressing red-tagging requires sustained, coordinated, and rights-based action across all branches of government, as well as meaningful participation from civil society and other stakeholders,” it said.

“Ultimately, upholding the dignity, safety, and freedom of human rights defenders is integral to strengthening democratic space and the rule of law,” the CHR added. /dm /atm