NTF-Elcac Raises Alarm Over Anti-Red-Tagging Bill
MANILA, Philippines – The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) has voiced strong concerns about the proposed Anti-Red-Tagging Bill. They argue the bill is not a true safeguard for democracy but a dangerous shield potentially exploited to protect terrorism under legal cover.
The task force emphasized that while the bill is framed as a defense against malicious labeling, it could criminalize legitimate national security disclosures. This threatens to silence former rebels and victims of insurgency and embolden the communist underground networks of the CPP-NPA-NDF, which thrive on deception and infiltration.
Bill Seeks to Penalize Red-Tagging but Sparks Controversy
On Tuesday, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co introduced House Bill 213, targeting the punishment of red-tagging incidents. The measure proposes imprisonment of up to six years for public officials or employees found guilty of red-tagging.
Moreover, if red-tagging leads to injury, death, or enforced disappearance, the bill enforces harsher penalties under the Revised Penal Code, including charges like physical injury or murder.
NTF-Elcac Criticizes Bill for Endangering National Security
“Let us be clear – this bill does not protect the innocent. It protects those who exploit our freedoms to destroy them. It risks turning truth-tellers into criminals, while shielding the enablers of insurgency under the cloak of victimhood,” said NTF-Elcac executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr.
Torres warned that the bill could criminalize genuine disclosures based on intelligence, sworn testimonies of former rebels, and accounts from communities previously under communist terrorist influence. Silencing those who expose front organizations and their links to the CPP-NPA-NDF allows deception to flourish and impunity to persist.
“There is nothing democratic about protecting organizations that radicalize children, extort farmers, and infiltrate legal institutions,” he added. “If passed, this bill will gag our security forces, silence our communities, and embolden the architects of subversion.”
NTF-Elcac Highlights Their Peace-Building Achievements
Torres stressed that the NTF-Elcac is not a repressive entity but a nationwide peace-builder. The task force has helped bring peace and development to over 9,300 barangays formerly affected by conflict. It has facilitated the surrender and reintegration of thousands of former rebels.
Through the Barangay Development Program, the task force has invested PHP36.82 billion in community projects, with plans to extend benefits to 4,506 more barangays between 2026 and 2028.
“These gains were not won through censorship or propaganda, but through painful truths, bold governance, and unyielding resolve. To now suggest that exposing terrorist support networks is a criminal act is to betray everything we have fought for,” Torres said.
Questioning Selective Outrage of Bill Proponents
The NTF-Elcac criticized the selective outrage of the bill’s supporters, pointing to their silence when children were recruited into armed conflict, rural communities suffered from revolutionary taxation, and women endured abuse within underground groups.
“Where were the so-called defenders of rights when innocent lives were shattered by the very groups they now protect? Who raised their voices when student activists were buried with NPA fighters in the hills?” Torres questioned.
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