Yesterday, June 5, Cebu police and security guards violently dispersed a peaceful protest staged by University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu students against the controversial Anti-Terrorism Bill. Despite the 1989 UP-Department of Defense accord, which prohibits military presence in UP campuses without express approval of the university administration, cops forcibly entered the campus grounds and arrested seven students and a bystander.
The Senate, on February 26, passed Senate Bill No. 1083, or the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which seeks to amend certain provisions of the Human Security Act of 2007 and “strengthen” the Philippines’ criminal justice response to terrorism. Last June 3, the House of Representatives adopted the measure and passed it on third and final reading after President Rodrigo Duterte certified it as “urgent.”
The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 penalizes any person who will propose, threaten, and incite others to commit terrorism, as well as those who will participate in the planning, training, preparation, and facilitation of a terrorist act. Moreover, persons who will provide material support to terrorists and recruit members in a terrorist organization will also be punished.
Any person found guilty of violating said provisions shall suffer life imprisonment of 12 years without parole. Meanwhile, suspects may be arrested and detained for as long as 24 days on the basis not of a judicial warrant, but of a mere authorization from the Anti-Terrorism Council, which is composed mainly of cabinet officials appointed by the president.
The vague language used in the bill, specifically the broad definition of terrorism which includes acts committed “regardless of the stage of execution,” could allow for abuse and be arbitrarily applied to any form of dissent. It could also aggravate the red-tagging of government critics, as shown in Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Deputy Administrator Mocha Uson’s now-deleted tweet where she referred to a group of protesters who peacefully assembled in UP Diliman as “mga terorista.”
Furthermore, the increasing number of human rights violations and the numerous cases of mistaken identity and unjust killings in the country only show we cannot trust our government and our law enforcers with the increased powers outlined in the bill.
Even amidst a public health crisis, the government has yet again proven that it will do anything within its powers to eliminate dissent and intimidate its opposition into silence. We are being led by individuals who have become increasingly intolerant of speech that challenges the state’s power, exposes its corruption, and encourages the people to fight against its many injustices.
The UP Journalism Club strongly denounces the railroading of the Anti-Terrorism Bill as it infringes on our fundamental and constitutional rights to organize and to free speech. In times like these, it is critical for us to let our voices be heard and hold into account the powers that be.
We call on the Duterte administration to focus on finding solutions to this pandemic instead of criminalizing dissent and opposition. We call on the government to uphold the rights of the citizens and junk the Anti-Terrorism Bill; for laws are created to protect the people, not the personal interests of those in power.
