BTA approves resolution urging Duterte to veto anti-terror bill

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang. ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

A few days left before it lapses into law if no action is taken on it, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), through approving a resolution, appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to veto the anti-terrorism bill.

The BTA approved Resolution No. 239 that urges the President to use his veto powers to give the Congress an opportunity to “review and address the issues of vagueness, overbreadth, and other concerns” over some provisions under the controversial bill.

The BTA appealed to Duterte after Bangsamoro Chief Minister Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim expressed alarm on the passage of the bill, saying that it is his duty as a leader of a political entity that is “born out of the struggle against injustice and oppression” to issue a statement to make sure that the anti-terror bill will not be used to threaten human rights, particularly to “normalize abuse and discrimination against the Bangsamoro.”

Ebrahim also said he fears that the Bangsamoro people will be among those to be hardly affected once the bill is signed into law, stressing that the number of incidents of human rights violations might be on the rise again and that the Bangsamoro people, who, he said, can be “easily labeled as terrorists,” would be targeted again for discrimination and abuse.

“While we agree that a policy framework needs to be enacted to fight the menace of terrorism, we feel that the fundamental guarantees of liberty and the institutions of democracy must be protected. We can do better,” Ebrahim said in his letter read by Minister Mohagher Iqbal of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) during a special session on Thursday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier announced that the anti-terror bill was already with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea’s office for final review. Roque said when the bill was given to the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), there was already a memorandum recommending a course of action to Duterte but it will still be subject to final approval by Medialdea before it will be given to the Chief Executive.

The President has only less than a week to act on the anti-terror bill. It can be recalled that his spokesman said he is “inclined” to sign it, despite strong opposition from many individuals, including some well-known personalities, and various groups who fear that it could be a threat to human rights and could be used against critics of the government.