SC to resolve petitions vs anti-terror law

SUPREME Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta on Friday gave his assurance that the petitions against the Anti-Terrorism Act would soon be resolved.

Peralta said the Supreme Court is currently in the process of collating common and uncommon petitions before subjecting these to an oral argument, with the common issues to be represented only by one lawyer.

He pointed out that the number of petitions, which now stands at 37, cannot be left as it is during the oral argument otherwise it would take the high court some time to render a ruling.

“One of our problems in the oral argument if there are 37 petitions and everybody would like to argue their respective petitions, where will we place them? And then the Office of the Solicitor General will bring all his assistants to assist him when we bring them to an oral argument,” he pointed out, thus the decision to determine first the common issues.

“We will lump the issues into common and then list down issues that are not con because there are now 37 petitions. We thought all the while it will only be five petitions, which is why we waited for them to be filed so that we can set for oral arguments,” he added, stressing that the oral argument would be orderly.

Furthermore, the chief magistrate said they already asked the justice-in-charge of the case to be ready with a list of common issues and the uncommon issues.

“I hope that by November 3 when we go back to session that will already be addressed by the member-in-charge, and I hope she will then be finished at that time,” said Peralta.

After that is resolved, he said, hoping that by the middle of November “we can already agree on the date of the oral argument.”

According to the chief justice, the Supreme Court is actually moving fast because of the number of petitions, without discounting the possibility that additional petitions would be filed.

“But we will resolve that problem in due time,” Peralta said.

The Anti-Terrorism Act was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last July 3 and took effect on July 19. The government has recently published the implementing rules and regulations for the law.