Senator Jinggoy Estrada wants to penalize red tagging, as it endangers the lives of activists, community leaders, the media, and even ordinary citizens.

In a report by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas on Wednesday, Estrada expressed this belief after filing Senate Bill No. 1071 or the “Anti-Red-Tagging Act.”

The act of red-tagging entails accusing an individual or group of being communist, terrorist—essentially an enemy of state—oftentimes without evidence.

Under Estrada’s proposed bill, proven perpetrators will be jailed for 10 years and face lifetime disqualification from holding any government position.

Bill 1071 is based on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Deduro vs. Maj. Gen. Vinoya case, wherein the court recognized that red-tagging, slander, wrongful labelling, and assigning guilt by association imperils the life, freedom, and security of its victim, and often leads to kidnapping, intimidation, and even extra-judicial killings.

According to Estrada, many of the recorded red-tagging cases serve as proof that the practice is a deadly one.

It can be recalled that in the cases of Jose Reynaldo Porquia, Zara Alvarez, Atty. Benjamin Ramos, and Councilor Bernardino Patigas—individuals labelled by authorities as communists—were brutally murdered.