The
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 is a very contentious bill designed to replace the Human Security Act of 2007 and strengthen the government's hand in fighting terrorism. Opponents say the provisions are too broad and will ultimately violate the right to free speech and open the door to tyranny.
The draft law uses an overbroad definition of terrorism that can subject suspects, apprehended without a warrant, to weeks of detention prior to an appearance before a judge. A special body composed mainly of Cabinet officials appointed by the president would provide the authority to enforce the law.
“The Anti-Terrorism Act is a human rights disaster in the making,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The law will open the door to arbitrary arrests and long prison sentences for people or representatives of organizations that have displeased the president.”
The draft law also makes it a criminal offense to “incite others” to commit terrorism “by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, banners or other representations tending to the same end.” The law, which does not define incitement, poses a danger to freedom of the media and freedom of expression by providing an open-ended basis for prosecuting speech. The Anti-Terrorism Council would be the sole arbiter to determine whether a threat should be considered serious. Those convicted would face up to 12 years in prison.
Proponents say that is a wrong interpretation and simply misinformation.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday hit what he said were attempts at disinformation on the anti-terrorism bill that he stressed has enough safeguards against abuses and more tools to use against extremists.
Lacson, an author and sponsor of the bill, said if critics would read the measure carefully, they would find that its provisions remain protective of human rights as enshrined in the Constitution, and less draconian compared with those of other countries in the region.
“We followed the Bill of Rights, Article III, Section 4 of the Constitution, and not only that – we defined terrorism, qualified that its intent and purpose is clear. It also stated in the definition that advocacy, protest, dissent, stoppage of work, mass action or other similar exercises of civil and political rights are not included,” he told radio station dzBB.
It was Duterte who designated this bill as urgent so he will very likely sign it into law. Rappler has drawn up
point-by-point comparisons between the Human Security Act of 2007 and the Anti-Terror Act of 2020. The act is of course intended to keep the country safe from terrorists. One Solon claims that the Human Security Act of 2007 did not keep the country safe.
In her Facebook post on Thursday evening, Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez appealed to understand the bill and its right target.
She went on to share the double bombing of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Jolo, Mindanao on January 27, 2019, while devotees were gathered for a Sunday Mass. The blast, which was claimed by Abu Sayyaf and Islamic State (IS) groups, left 20 people dead and 120 injured.
The incident, she said, was not because there was no intelligence information on the arrival of Indonesian terrorists in Jolo. They were, in fact, red-flagged by the Immigration bureau.
“The sad truth is, that bombing could have been prevented if only the Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007 provided for the arrest of foreign nationals suspected of terrorism,” she lamented. “It would be wise to review the Human Security Act of 2007 to understand its significant shortcomings, such that a new law to repeal it was deemed necessary.”
She added that what is most glaring in the HSA is that it is not equipped to prevent a terrorist act from being undertaken.
In fact, she said, after 13 years since the HSA was enacted into law, only one person of the four arrested suspects in connection to the 2018 Marawi siege was convicted.
“Most cases involving terrorists were tried using the Revised Penal Code, a law that is predisposed to penalize acts already committed. Hence, we have no legal arsenal to stop terrorist plotters before they inflict widespread death and destruction.,” Torres-Gomez said.
The HSA, she added, has no provision intended for foreign terrorists.
She said the Philippines’ inability to arrest and prosecute suspected terrorists, keeps law enforcement’s hands tied until a terrorist event occurs.
“It’s like giving the terrorists a free pass, telling them that we are just going to watch their acts of terror unfold first, and then we get our cue to run after them. The terrorists are literally having “more fun in the Philippines,” because our laws allow it so.,” she said. “This makes us a very conducive venue to undertake, plan, and prepare for terrorist activities.”
“Contrary to popular belief, one cannot be easily called or “designated” a terrorist. This law is not meant to arrest regular protestors fighting for causes they believe in. This law is meant to prevent fatal and disastrous terrorist events from happening,” she said, adding that neither will it quell freedom of expression that is a basic human right.
The bill, she said, is intended to prevent another Marawi siege, the bombing of public venues, and the Mamasapano massacre.
“And lest we make this all about ourselves and our fears of how we may be held accountable for what we say or do as we exercise our civil rights, think of our soldiers who are dismembered by terrorists, remember, too, the SAF 44, that we were all so outraged about,” she added.
If the Indonesian terrorists were red-flagged by the Bureau
of Immigration and military intelligence knew where they were then they should have been arrested. An anti-terrorism bill is not needed to nab immigration offenders. Securing the porous southern border should also be a priority for the government since many sneak in from Indonesia and Malaysia. It is also not clear how this bill or any bill would prevent terrorist acts. Terrorists don't care about the law. It's funny she brings up the SAF 44 when the MILF, who killed those men, are now in charge of the BARMM and refuse to surrender those responsible for the massacre.
Like this lady Bato also believes the new anti-terror law will prevent another Marawi siege. According to him without this law terrorism will only increase!
(You want another Marawi siege? You want another Zamboanga siege? Go ahead. You want to have bombings left and right? Go ahead junk this bill, just don’t blame the government if terrorism worsens in the country.)
That is all ridiculous scare tactics. In the matter of the Marawi siege the government knew about the planned attack a month in advance, knew about but did not take the presence of ISIS seriously, and did not act on the intel they had gathered! The AFP and DND failed miserably. As of now NO ONE has been held accountable for those failures and the Senate refuses to investigate exactly what happened. But they are sure this new bill will prevent terrorist attacks like the Marawi siege!
The PNP also says this new bill will provide stronger legal measures to protect the people from terrorism.
Col. Leon Victor Rosete, provincial director, said the proposed measure will provide solid legal foundations to protect the community from extremism and terrorism.
"It will also protect the rights of accused of the crime to have the due process of law since the bill requires law enforcement agencies to notify in writing concerned court, Commission on Human Rights and Anti-Terrorism Council, whenever terror suspects are detained," Rosete said in a statement.
He said the proposed measure provides the police enough time to thoroughly probe and gather evidence against terror suspects with its 14-day reglementary period as compared to the 36 hours of detention under the present Human Security Act (HSA).
"It also reinforces police powers of surveillance, arrest, and detention but limits the chances of terrorists to escape due to the inability of (the) police to complete the required evidence in courts," he added.
Aren't there already solid legal foundations to protect the community from terrorism? It's not like terrorism is not a crime already.
"With this law, no one could do a crime to intimidate the general public, destroy the fundamental, political, economic or social structure of the country if this anti-terrorism bill will be a law," said Mayor Andres Dangeros of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro in a statement on Wednesday.
It is already illegal to commit terrorist acts, provide support to terrorists, and incite others to commit such acts. If one wants to do such things why would this new law stop them? Illegal drugs certainly contribute to destroying society's structures and one group claims the Anti-Terror Bill will help keep the youth away from them.
Leaders and members of the Kabataan Kontra Droga at Terorismo (KKDAT) in the province see the proposed anti-terrorism bill will protect them against illegal drugs and violent extremism.
“Now more than ever, there is an urgent need for the proposed measure to be passed so that they would fall victim to the menaces of illegal drugs and terrorism,” the group said.
“Ayaw namin sa terrorista. Labanan ang terrorista. Isulong ang Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Mabuhay ng payapa at walang takot(We do not want terrorists. Fight the terrorists. Promote the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. Live a peaceful and fearless life),” said the KKDAT members during their virtual summit held Friday, coinciding with the Independence Day celebration.
How
the bill will keep the youth from falling victim to illegal drugs is not said. It seems that this bill is being flouted as a cure-all for the nation's ills. Many local executives think the law will keep their communities safer.
Davao Oriental Governor and chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council 11 Nelson Dayanghirang expressed his strong support for the measure, saying this will boost the country’s campaign in the fight against terrorism.
“This is an urgent and essential concern. Ensuring the safety and well-being of the Filipino people is an agenda that cannot be ignored and postponed. This will allow for the consistent strides toward peace and development," he said in a statement Wednesday.
Dayanghirang added that only those who are indifferent and sympathize with the terrorists will oppose the bill.
Only those who sympathize with terrorists will oppose the bill. That is the kind of language that many are warning against. Groups opposed to the bill are being labelled as terrorist groups even as the government promised that would not happen.
Despite promises that the anti-terrorism bill would not target activists and critics, two of the national police's regional offices posted images accusing legal activist organizations of being communist fronts Sunday night, implying also that the bill pending President Duterte's signature would "put them out."
Butuan City-headquartered Police Regional Office 13, on its official Facebook page, listed a number of activist organizations as "communist terrorists," including militant groups Anakbayan and League of Filipino Students along with Bayan Muna and Kabataan Party-lists.
"The picture says it all," the caption reads in the post portraying the "Peace-loving Filipino" and the "Philippine government" putting out the "fire" of the "communist terrorist" by means of the anti-terrorism bill. Included in the supposed communist terrorist groups is the black flag used by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
An account called PNPBaguioStn4, which is followed by the Philippine National Police's official Twitter account, also published a post, singling out Kabataan party-list, which has one seat at the House of Representatives.
The same account, in a post before Labor Day also accused the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Gabriela Women's Party, Bayan Muna, League of Filipino Students, Kabataan Party-list, and Anakbayan of being terrorists.
If these groups are terrorist organizations why are they allowed to even exist and have members in the House? These groups always complain of red-tagging and being accused as fronts for the CPP-NPA. Under the new law they will certainly be targeted as the AFP says cutting off the source of funds for the CPP is one of the goals of the new law.
The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 will allow the government to cut sources of financial and logistical support for communist terrorist groups, Philippine Army (PA) commander, Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said Wednesday.
"It would enable us because you know they (communist terrorist groups) are still espousing armed violence to bring about change in our society, in our country. And of course, in doing so, they need support, they need finance and logistics support from other sectors so this bill would also enable us to cut that umbilical cord so that it could, and we could prevent and hopefully, finally end this communist insurgency," Gapay said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
Section 25 of the bill mandates that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Council "shall automatically adopt the United Nations Security Council Consolidated List of designated individuals, groups of persons, organizations, or associations designated and/or identified as a terrorist, one who finances terrorism, or a terrorist organization or group".
Gapay added that the New People's Army (NPA) is well within the definition of terrorism in the proposed measure as they have killed civilians and uniformed personnel using treachery, and violence.
He does not specify how the law would enable them "to cut that umbilical cord" of financial support to the CPP. It is already illegal to finance them yet when the government says they have a list of politicians who have paid NPA taxes they do nothing.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año today bared a watchlist containing 349 local and national government officials are allegedly providing support to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) by form of extortion money and permit to campaign fees.
Año says that based on intelligence reports received by the DILG, 349 local and national government officials ranging from congressmen, provincial governors down to the barangay councilors have been identified as source of financial aid and are tied to the communist rebels.
"We now have a watchlist, we know you. So if you are supporting communist rebels, in any way, you ascertain yourself as a supporter of terrorism and an enemy of the state, you establish yourself as an accomplice to their cause," he says.
“We cannot win the war against terrorism if these local officials continue funding the very source of terrorism in the first place," he adds.
How many of those people have been held accountable? I am guessing none. Columnist Rigoberto Tiglao continues to allege the the CPP-NPA receives billions from corporations and politicians.
THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has extracted P1.9 billion from private companies, the bulk of it from the country’s telecommunication (telco) firms, which explains to a large extent the survival of this armed insurgency.
The data was retrieved from memory flash drives found in the quarters of party Chairman Julius Giron — known in inner party circles as Ka Nars — who was killed last March 13 in a Baguio suburb, allegedly by a military intelligence unit supported by local police.
According to the data, “telecom” gave P1.4 billion to the CPP out of the P1.9 billion total from companies described as from the transport, manufacturing, tobacco and power industries, as well as from candidates for elective posts (“one-time deals”).
Tiglao claims all the proof is on flash drives recovered after the killing of CPP Chairman Julius Giron. This is not the first time he has made this accusation. What has the DOJ done about this claim? If the AFP recovered flash drives with the proof that the telco firms have given over a billion pesos in protection money why have they not made this information public and prosecuted these firms? If the AFP is serious about cutting the umbilical cord of financial support to the CPP-NPA then these corporations and politicians should be investigated and then prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Two of the most interesting provisions in the Anti-Terror Act of 2020 is the aforementioned section 25.
Sec. 25. Designation of Terrorist individual, Groups of Persons, Organizations or Associations. - Pursuant to our obligations united Nations Security Council (UNSCR) No. 1373, the ATC shall automatically adopt the United Nations Security Council Consolidated List of designated individuals, group of persons, organizations, or associations designated and/or identified as a terrorist, one who finances terrorism, or a terrorist organization or group.
In plain words it means that the CPP-NPA will finally be designated a terrorist group. Even though Duterte signed a resolution declaring them to be a terrorist group what is needed is a formal designation buy the DOJ. They have been dragging their feet on the matter for two and a half years now.
A Manila court has approved the revival of a Philippine government petition seeking to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA) a.k.a. Bagong Hukbong Bayan as a terrorist organization under Rep. Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007.
Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Judge Marlo A. Magdoza- Malagar, in an order dated February 7, 2020, granted a motion for reconsideration filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), citing "higher interest of justice".
The original petition was filed in February 2018.
On January 3, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the amended petition before the Manila RTC delisting 600 persons in the original petition.
The court dismissed the DOJ petition on January 20, 2020 for the DOJ's failure to prosecute with the court citing that "despite the lapse of a considerable length of time, the petitioner had not yet caused the service of summons by publication".
Right now it seems the only group officially designated as a terrorist group is Abu Sayyaf.
A Philippine court has declared Abu Sayyaf a terrorist organization in a ruling that provides the government with another legal weapon against bandits who have survived years of US-backed offensives, state prosecutors said Thursday.
The Abu Sayyaf is the first bandit organization to be officially outlawed in the Southeast Asian country under a rarely used anti-terrorism law. The brutal group, which has targeted Americans and other foreigners, has already been listed as a terrorist group by Washington.
Philippine prosecutors said the terror designation will help the government hunt down and prosecute the Abu Sayyaf and get court permission to place suspected bandits under surveillance.
Officials could impose sanctions against members and supporters and make it harder for the bandits to receive financial support because of their designation as outlaws, they said.
"This is one more way to turn our country into a hostile ground for terrorists," state prosecutor Aristotle Reyes said.
He said the court decision was crucial because a number of Abu Sayyaf commanders have expressed allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group, although there has been no evidence of any active collaboration or contacts.
Abu Sayyaf was given this designation back in 2015. Two years later the Marawi siege happened. Today the ASG is weakened but still active. Can it honestly be said that this court ruling changed anything? And will the new Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 change anything? Or will it be business as usual?
