Security laws in effect

The new security law in Hong Kong is now in effect after months of protests that started before the lockdowns began. But Beijing did not back down. It even appointed a known Communist Party hardliner to oversee the security office in Hong Kong. As a result, Hong Kongers have started to scrub their social media accounts of anything that could be used against them by the government. A popular activist has left Hong Kong and has no plans to return but vowed to continue the fight from overseas. He will surely be targeted by the new law. UK has offered an easy path to citizenship to three million Hong Kongers as a response to the new law which UK claims are a breach of a joint declaration made in 1985 prior to the handover. China did not take that well and warns they will retaliate. There goes Hong Kong.

Back home, President Duterte has signed the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. The first order of business of the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) is to make a list of known terrorists from the United Nations Security Council list. But not all names and groups will come from the UN list. Known persons or groups locally will also be included. The implementing rules and regulations of the new law will now be studied. Members of the ATC include the secretaries of various branches of government such as the DND, DILG, DFA, DOJ, DICT, DOF, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) aside from the executive secretary and national security adviser who will serve as chairman and vice-chairman respectively. Obviously all the president's men.

Those against the law will now bring the fight to the Supreme Court. They will question the constitutionality of it. Many expressed concern that the ATC could easily accuse anyone of being a terrorist where security forces could make a warrantless arrest. Social media accounts will also be looked into. What is most worrisome is anyone can inform the ATC of persons or groups supposedly involved in the overthrow of the government. We have already seen that happen in the early months of this administration where opposition figures were accused of sedition. The administration has repeatedly assured that the law will not be abused, and will not prevent peaceful protests and valid criticism of the government. A senator has even said he will join protests if the law is abused. We'll have to wait and see.

Perhaps the difference between the new security laws of Hong Kong and the Philippines is people in Hong Kong believe democracy has diminished. Beijing enforced the law and apparently did not comply with a Sino-British declaration in 1985 not to intervene in established Hong Kong systems when it was handed over to China. Will we also be more cautious especially on social media just like Hong Kong? Can we relax on the assurances made by the government regarding abuses? Will the security forces particularly the PNP see to that? We'll have to wait and see.