{"id":260636,"date":"2020-07-06T09:42:37","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T13:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=260636"},"modified":"2020-07-06T09:42:37","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T13:42:37","slug":"palace-to-terrorists-beware-of-anti-terror-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/07\/06\/palace-to-terrorists-beware-of-anti-terror-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Palace to terrorists: Beware of anti-terror law"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. during a press conference at the Presidential Guest House in Panacan, Davao City on January 4, 2018 ALBERT ALCAIN\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang on Monday allayed rising fears over the newly-signed anti-terrorism law, saying only terrorists and not dissenters, should beware since criticizing the government is not a crime.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark after National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said critics who claimed that the law would erode human rights could be supporters of terrorists themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cSiguro<\/em>\u00a0(Perhaps), I will phrase it differently. Terrorists, beware of the anti-terror law.\u00a0Iyong mga hindi naman po mga terorista, huwag po kayong mag-alala, sapat-sapat po ang mga<\/em>\u00a0safeguards\u00a0sa batas mismo at sa ating umiiral na<\/em>\u00a0rules of court\u00a0para pangalagaan po ang karapatan ng kalayaan at karapatang mabuhay<\/em>\u00a0(Those who are not terrorists, don\u2019t worry, there are enough safeguards in the law and the rules of court to protect the right to life and liberty),\u201d he said in a virtual presser.<\/p>\n

Roque, a lawyer, said there had to be \u201cclear and present danger\u201d before a person can be arrested and detained for inciting terrorism.<\/p>\n

\u201cKapag sinabi po ng<\/em>\u00a0leader\u00a0ng<\/em>\u00a0Abu Sayyaf,\u00a0pugutan ng ulo ang mga Kristiyano, iyan po ay ehemplo ng<\/em>\u00a0inciting to terrorism (When the leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group declares to behead Christians, then that is an example of inciting to terrorism),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He, however, said that not all remarks are actionable because jurisprudence on free speech should also be applied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi naman po lahat ng salita ay<\/em>\u00a0actionable,\u00a0kinakailangan ang nagsasalita ay may kapangyarihan na bigyan ng riyalidad iyong kaniyang sinasabi \u2018no<\/em>\u00a0(Not all remarks are actionable, the person who made the declaration must have the capability to realize his words),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Roque, if the threats were made by an individual with no involvement with any terrorist group, there would be no clear and present danger to deter.<\/p>\n

He cited as an example the incident involving a 25-year-old public school teacher who offered a PHP50-million bounty for anyone who would kill President Rodrigo Duterte.<\/p>\n

\u201cNa-dismiss po kasi wala pong<\/em>\u00a0clear and present danger\u00a0dahil depende rin po iyon sa kakayahan ng nagsasalita na mapatupad iyong kaniyang mga sinasabi<\/em>\u00a0(The case was dismissed because there is no clear and present danger because it would depend on the person\u2019s capability to carry out what he declared),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Echoing Hermogenes\u2019 statement, Roque confirmed that the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) will begin designating individuals and groups as terrorists in accordance with resolutions issued by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).<\/p>\n

He said left-leaning organizations can only be classified as terrorists if there is enough evidence to prove that they are members of terrorist groups.<\/p>\n

Enough safeguards<\/p>\n

Roque belied anew the statement made by Vice President Leni Robredo that the anti-terrorism law does not have enough safeguards to prevent abuses.<\/p>\n

He said legal remedies are available such as the writ of habeas corpus which can be used to secure the release of a person who is being unlawfully detained and writ of amparo which can be used if a person\u2019s right to life, liberty and security has been violated or under threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cSapat-sapat po ang remedyo, nandiyan na po iyan bagamat may bagong batas, lahat po iyang mga<\/em>\u00a0writs\u00a0na ginawa po ng ating Korte Suprema at nasa ating Saligang Batas ay patuloy pa rin pong magagamit<\/em>\u00a0(There are enough remedies. Even if it is a new law, the writs crafted by the Supreme Court and the Constitution can still be used),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After petitions have been filed questioning the legality of the ani-terrorism law, Roque said the Palace would leave it to the Supreme Court to decide on its constitutionality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe general rule po is every law passed by Congress enjoys the very heavy presumption of constitutionality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Muslim representation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) leaders expressed concern about the controversial law, saying they were not consulted while the measure was being crafted and they did not have a representation in the ATC.<\/p>\n

Roque, however, said that despite a lack of representation, the ATC is required to consult with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi nga lang po<\/em>\u00a0(BARMM leaders won\u2019t have a) full membership into the Anti-Terrorism Council but they are one of the agencies that the Anti-Terrorism Council is duty bound to consult po,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also assured Muslim Filipinos that Duterte will not allow the implementation of class legislation against Muslims.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay dugong<\/em>\u00a0Muslim\u00a0din po ang ating Presidente. Ang lola po niya<\/em>\u00a0Tausug. So\u00a0ina<\/em>-assure\u00a0po natin ang ating mga kapatid na<\/em>\u00a0Muslim,\u00a0kasama niyo po sa inyong hanay ang Presidente<\/em>\u00a0(The President has Muslim blood. His grandmother is a Tausug. We assure you that the President stands by you),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Petitions filed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Separate petitions against Republic Act No. 11479 or Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 were filed by lawyer Howard Calleja who was joined by the De La Salle Brothers Inc. represented by Bro. Armin Luistro; Far Eastern University Institute of Law Dean Melencio Sta. Ana, and Rep. Edcel Lagman before the Supreme Court on Monday.<\/p>\n

The petitioners questioned the powers of ATC, and the provisions on the forms of speech and expression, surveillance, and detention.<\/p>\n

They also questioned the definition of the crime of terrorism under the law, claiming it as vague and ambiguous; the maximum of 24 days of prolonged detention of a suspect without a judicial warrant or without charging him; the maximum of 90 days technical surveillance and wiretapping of communications; the maximum of six months investigation of a suspect\u2019s bank accounts and the freezing of assets; and the authority to designate a person or association as a terrorist without judicial intervention.\u00a0(With reports from Benjamin Pulta\/PNA)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang on Monday allayed rising fears over the newly-signed anti-terrorism law, saying only terrorists and not dissenters, should beware …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":143927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260637,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260636\/revisions\/260637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}