Anti-Terror Bill: Security or Power Abuse?

The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, officially designated as Republic Act No. 11479, is a
Philippine law which intent to prevent, prohibit, and penalize terrorism in the Philippines.
Moreover, the Act replaced the Human Security Act of 2007 on the 18 th of July which President
Duterte added that “this act itself strongly mandates that human rights be absolute and protected
at all times”[ CITATION Mor20 \l 13321 ]. This bill is basically to prevent people from joining or do
a terrorism action. Although the act is quite promising for the security of the country, but the
right groups are worried and against on the said act as it chills freedom of expression and incites
that speeches, writings, proclamations, etc. that are against the government are considered as an
act of terrorism. During this time of crisis due to the COVID-19, citizens publicized an opinion
such as that activism in our country is quite intimidating that is why the government is trying to
shut the cries and criticism of the media. In short, those groups that are against the bill concludes
that it is an act of oppressing the people.
History repeats itself as it is said, on some point of view, the country is being colonized
again or it just ignite the fear of some that it will bring back the controversial Martial Law which
awakened the nationalistic spirit of the Filipinos in the 80’s. But during those trying times, it
build a strong threshold to protect the rights of every person and to use it as reference to criticize
the reckless movements of the government. According to the report of Aljazeera, this bill is
poised to cause more trouble and a threat to peace in Mindanao, as it just adds vulnerability
among Moros and Muslim women, especially with the heightened visibility that comes with
wearing scarf. Activism is also at stake as activism sometimes encounter or participate in armed
rebellions and therefore, to prevent “violent extremism” the group should be penalized wherein
the bill stated that it is an act of terrorism. Warrantless arrest is allowed to execute by the Police
and Military and detainment of those the government-appointed Anti-Terror Council deems
“suspicious”. This bill is definitely not fit for a country which does not have a strong institutions
that will guarantee the citizens against abuses of power. The bill will just open the old wound
due to a long history of discrimination among the Moro and Muslim which this profiling of
Muslims as violent “terrorist” continues to this day.
“There is no shortcut for Peace–” as the bill will just ease legal restrictions on law
enforcement in defining who is a terrorist and what rights these “terrorists” have under the law.
In particular, it allows the warrantless arrest and detainment of those who deems to be suspicious
by the government. Suspicious activities could range from attempting to damage government
property to simply criticizing the administration online. Crisis response mechanisms need to be
put in place in the aftermath of terrorist attacks so that no individual or institution is caught
unaware in dealing with such situation. The anti-terror response mechanism should have a wide
range of facilities properly put in place so that in the event of a terrorist attack the government is
equipped to deal with it. There is a need to provide adequate safeguards for suspect and at the
same time ensure that this leverage does not lead to any advantage to people with evil and
malicious intentions. Furthermore, a country with this bill should be socially balanced which
means that there should be a strong institution that will protect the lives of every person.

Group 2
Our Lady of Penafrancia