Anti-terror bill up for final review – Palace

The controversial AntiTerrorism Bill is up for final review by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and will soon reach the desk of President Duterte, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said a memorandum recommending an action on the bill would be submitted for the President’s consideration.

“It is no longer on the table of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs. It has been submitted to the Office of the Executive Secretary for final review. That means there is a memorandum recommending a course of action to the President,” Roque said at a press briefing.

“It will be subject to final approval by the Executive Secretary and will be transmitted to the table of the President,” he added. The proposed AntiTerrorism Act will effectively repeal the Human Security Act of 2007 enacted during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Various groups are opposed to the bill, saying it can be used to target critics of the government and stifle free expression.

Some lawyers have also raised concerns over provisions allowing the detention of suspected terrorists for 14 to 24 days without judicially charging them and the supposed vague definition of “terrorism.”

Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the anti-terrorism bill should not be tied to the shooting incident in Jolo, Sulu that resulted in the death of four Army soldiers.

“That should not be classified as one example of how our police personnel would be treating civilians,” Esperon told CNN Philippines.

“This is not the kind of example that they would term as illegal arrests and undue harassment of the populace. Let’s not connect (the bill) to that (incident),” he added.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said the alleged rubout of four Army intelligence operatives in Sulu last June 29 reflected the “extreme danger” that law enforcers could abuse of the Anti-Terrorism law as it demonstrated the inability of policemen to determine who are the real terrorists.

KMP urged anew President Duterte to veto the law which would otherwise lapse into law by July 9.

Citing the Sulu incident, the KMP said in a statement that “clearly, those who are supposed to enforce the law and are tasked to catch terrorists or would-be terrorists cannot distinguish or properly identify their targets.

“They shot their own kind. The Army operatives were tracking down suspected Abu Sayyaf members when they were interrupted by the Jolo police at a checkpoint. The police shot and killed the Army intels at point blank near the Jolo police station. This incident could happen to anyone,” said KMP chairman Danilo Ramos.

Presidential Communications Operations Office chief Secretary Martin Andanar downplayed yesterday the statements of United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet asking accountability from Philippine officials allegedly engaged in human rights violations in relation to the drug war under the Duterte administration.

In a statement, Andanar denied the claims that the Philippines has committed human rights violations under Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.

“The government takes seriously its duty to investigate all claims of human rights violations and to prosecute perpetrators,” said Andanar, who also encouraged certain sectors to conduct due diligence in their investigation.

Andanar backed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s address during the 44th United Nations Human Rights Council’s Enhanced Interactive Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland.

It was at the same forum where Bachelet presented her office’s report on the Philippines, which highlighted the “grave” human rights violations – including extrajudicial killings – under the government’s war on drugs and the vilification of dissent. –