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Human rights activists are protesting to stop the red tagging in our country. It is a serious matter considering that many universities, media personnel, and even individuals are in danger due to falsely accusing them as a communist; therefore it should be stopped. 

Red-tagging is defined as the harassment or persecution of a person because of known or suspected communist sympathies. 

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In June 2015, in Sorsogon City, four activists were killed because they were members of a group red-tagged by the Philippine government, according to Amnesty International. 

This year, the red-tagging incident happened again as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has released a list of people they tagged as communists. They posted the list without rechecking if the people are communist or just an activist. 

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The careless move of AFP affects the lives and freedom of the listed people. Because of the increasing complaints from different human rights activists, the post from their social media accounts has already removed. 

According to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the AFP is set to apologize to the concerned people. The apology is not enough as the damage to a person’s reputation who has been red-tagged is already done. The one statement from the AFP cannot change the minds of those people who already believed it. 

The people whose name is listed on the alleged communist list can be targeted for an attack from the anti-communist group. At worst, they and their families can be affected by bullying and death threats. We’ve seen this before, and it may happen again. 

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Most of the people listed on it are students from high-rank universities. It led to speculation that the government is threatening potential opinion leaders, as they are considered threats to candidates for the upcoming election of 2022.

It is time for lawmakers to criminalize red-tagging. What is freedom of speech if the officials will stop activist from expressing themselves? Militaries and government officials should learn to distinguish the differences between an activist and a communist.  

 If someone violates the law, they should be punished. If it’s only speculation, lawmakers should not publicize the name of those alleged person, because it can also indicate a hidden agenda behind it.