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In this Op-Ed, Anne Delacruz explains what Duterte's new Anti-Terror Bill means for the people of the Philippines. With a vague and subjective definition of "terrorism", the law grants police the right to follow and arrest anyone they consider a risk. Offenders are most likely to be those who criticise the government, journalists, and protesters - even those who are peaceful. For many, the move foreshadows an insidious attempt at a dictatorship.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly violated the rights of Filipinos. He gained infamy for his war on drugs, leading to the extrajudicial murders of suspected drug users and dealers. In 2019, Duterte closed 80 Lumad schools in an effort to disenfranchise indigenous people from Mindanao. The Lumad have been evacuating their lands after several conflicts with the Moro and misunderstandings of modern land tenure laws. During the coronavirus pandemic, the Lumad schools became a shelter for indigenous people, and they rely on donations from several organizations to support their needs. As a result of these actions, as well as the lack of mass testing for COVID-19 and suppression of jeepney drivers’ peaceful protests for higher wages, Duterte and his party have been facing resistance within the nation and abroad. With their intentions laid out, the Philippine legislature appears intent to pass the Anti-Terror Bill of 2020 in order to shut down criticism towards the government. As of June the 9th, the bill has been sent to the president. Because this bill not only violates the Filipino constitution, but also Filipinos’ human rights, it should not be passed into law.
The Anti-Terror Bill of 2020, or House Bill 6875, was proposed on June 9 by the Senate. It provides a loose interpretation of what a terrorist and terrorism are. This allows the police and the military to tag, arrest, and detain a person for 14 days, based on their arbitrary reading of the person’s “intent” to commit an act of terrorism. Under this vague definition of terrorism, anyone who discusses the government’s inefficiencies and acts of violence, supports groups that criticized the government or educates themselves on the state of the nation may be considered a terrorist.
The bill transgresses several of the civil rights and liberties outlined in the Philippine bill of rights. More specifically, Article, 3, Section 2 protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature.” Article 3, Section 3 also states that “the privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable. The bill endangers these rights by allowing the police and military to track people’s online and social activities for no real reason The bill of rights also protects “freedom of speech, of expression, of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.” Additionally, Article 3, Section 18 declares that “no person shall be detained solely by reason of political beliefs and aspirations.” The Anti-Terror Bill is the most blatant threat to this liberty, because it can punish any dissenters of the Philippine government, allowing Duterte to maintain his oppressive regime on Filipinos. This bill allows the government to arbitrarily search, imprison and silence progressive opposition who disagree with Duterte’s cruelty. Despite Muntinlupa Representative Biazon insisting that the police will be held liable for abuses of the bill, Duterte stated that he would absolve the police and military of any misconduct during his term.
On top of that, this bill violates the rights that should be granted to all people. The United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that people should be protected from “arbitrary deprivation of life;...arbitrary arrest or detention; arbitrary interference with privacy; [and] discrimination…” As clarified above, the Anti-Terror Bill stifles freedom of opinion and expression by tagging, arresting, and detaining “terrorists.” With the passage of this bill, the government will have the ability to arrest people without warrants or grounds and possibly kill dissent and opposition. They will also have the power to follow citizens online and in-person, interfere with peaceable assembly, and outlaw donations or aid that are not government or state-organized. Such "crimes" sanction arbitrary arrest and interference with privacy, which discriminates against protesters that oppose Duterte and his policies. The Anti-Terror Bill violates the life and liberty of Filipinos and should be blocked.
The Anti-Terror Bill is not the first attempt by the Filipino government at censorship. The 2017 Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists announced that the Philippines “ranked fifth in the world in terms of impunity when it comes to the killings of journalists,” according to GMA. The introduction of the bill draws eerie comparisons to the Philippines’ past with martial law. On September 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos, president of the Philippines at the time, introduced martial law, allowing him to effectively rule the Philippines as a dictator. With his expanded power, Marcos changed the constitution drastically and gagged the media. His political opposition was either imprisoned or disappeared mysteriously. After he ended martial law, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was formed to prevent another dictatorship.
This new law threatens the very democratic institutions that the 1987 Constitution is supposed to protect. The intention of the 1987 Constitution was clear: do not let the Philippines revert into an oppressive state. With the Anti-Terror Bill, Duterte can give himself the same oppressive powers that Marcos had. However, there is some hope in stopping the bill’s passage before it becomes a law in 8 days. As two representatives are needed to withdraw their vote, Filipinos must hold public officials accountable and demand legal protections for free speech; it is the duty of the people to express their discontent to the government and prevent the dissolution of their rights.
Non-Filipino people are witnessing, and experiencing, a similar demand for justice, especially in the United States, due to the #BlackLivesMatter protests. It is imperative that people internationally stand with Filipinos by signing petitions and donating to Filipino organizations, because the threat of one corrupt government anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Almost 50 years ago, Filipinos worked by themselves to free their country from Ferdinand Marcos’ tyranny, but now, we may hopefully have the support from the global community to strengthen our fight for liberty.
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