A multi-sectoral alliance of clergy folk, studentry, indigenous people, workers, and transport groups hold a peaceful demonstration against Charter Change, PGH Oblation Plaza, along Taft Ave. in Manila on February 23, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File 

MANILA — "State-sponsored" online harassment against young activists, journalists, and human rights defenders have created a "climate of fear", Amnesty International said, adding this has prevented youth advocates from freely engaging in advocacies and causes.

The report said online harassment attributed to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict includes name-calling or tagging, cyberstalking, publication of personal data without consent, "trolling", impersonation, swatting, physical threats, and sexual harassment, among others.

Amnesty interviewed young activists aged 18 to 24 for the report, with some sharing experiences of red-tagging and having their personal information shared online without consent.

A student activist identified in the report as "Habagat" said he was publicly red-tagged on the Facebook page of NTF-ELCAC, a body created in 2018 by then President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I couldn’t sleep properly for three weeks after it happened,” he recalled. “I was constantly afraid for my safety.”

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The government has repeatedly denied that it engages in red-tagging, which it says is not government policy. The practice has, however, continued.

Alias Marisol, a young environmental defender, is quoted in the report as saying she just chose to "play it safe" and practice self-censorship to avoid the backlash of taking positions on controversial issues. 

But this disturbed her as well, saying, “[i]t’s like you’re not taking a stand on what needs to be done," she stressed.

Meanwhile, alias Sarita, a young advocate for peace in southern Philippines, said the online harassment “made [her] feel so weak, so inferior."

Mia Tonogbanua, Amnesty Philippines vice-chairperson, emphasized how the cyber-attacks can affect young advocates in terms of doing their social causes.

"The chilling effect of online harassment severely impairs the rights of these young human rights defenders. It not only threatens the individual, but also undermines their capacity to do their work to defend human rights," she said.

'NOT A STATE POLICY'

In an April 2 letter from the Presidential Human Rights Committee in response to Amnesty International for the report, it said that “alleged State-actor perpetrators cited in the incidents referenced in the report, which occurred prior to June 2022, are no longer connected with government as of date.”

It also claimed that “there is no indication that red-tagging is condoned nor maintained as a State-sponsored policy.“

In 2024, the Supreme Court acknowledged red-tagging as a "threat to a person's right to life, liberty, or security", saying in Deduro vs. Vinoya that labelling a person "red" often comes with surveillance, harassment, and in some instances, death.

The PHRC cited the ruling "as highlighting the availability of effective, accessible and independent State-sponsored remedies against all forms of intimidation and harassment, including red-tagging."

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said last year that he sees no reason to abolish NTF-ELCAC.

"Ang sinasabi meron daw red-tagging na ginagawa. Hindi naman gobyerno ang gumagawa noon eh," he said.

Amnesty International, in its report, said measures like the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and Executive Order No. 70 s. 2018 that led to creation of the NTF-ELCAC, have had "significant implications" on young human rights defenders.

Amnesty opposed passage of the ATA and said in its report that the law has "broad definitions and procedural mechanisms [that] could lead to potential violation of human rights."

CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

Young human rights defenders have found ways to continue their advocacies despite the threats, said Amnesty International.

"These include establishing internal well-being committees, enforcing safety protocols, and accessing mental health services," the release stressed.

“Being a young human rights defender in the Philippines is not safe, comfortable, or ideal. Yet…young activists continue to fight, spurred onwards by strategies for care and commitment to justice,”  Tonogbanua added.

Amnesty International urged the Marcos Jr. administration to end what it said was "state-sponsored red-tagging, intimidation, harassment, threats or attacks against activists, including young human rights defenders."

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