Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday expressed frustration, concern, and fear over the signing of the Anti-Terrorism Act while the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nung nalalaman ko na nilagdaan na, parang nanghina ako. Nakakalungkot, frustrating kasi ginawa ito sa kabila ng nasa gitna tayo ng matinding pandemya at ginawa ito sa kabila ng maraming pagtutol ng maraming sektor (When I learned that it was signed already, I felt weak. It was saddening and frustrating because it happened when we’re in the middle of a pandemic and it was done despite opposition coming from various sectors),” she said in an interview over DZMM Teleradyo.
With this recent development, Robredo admitted that she’s afraid too. “Ako natatakot din pero sa gitna ng takot ma-assure tayong tama ang pinaglalaban natin kasi oras na hinayaan natin na maparalisa tayo ng takot, kawawa ang mga taong umaasa sa atin (I am afraid, too, but amid this fear, let’s take assurance that we are fighting for what is right because the moment we are paralyzed by fear, the people who depend on us will suffer),” she added.
President Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 last July 3 to help strengthen the country’s campaign against terrorism.
Why now?
While she recognizes that terrorism is indeed a very big problem in the country that needs to be solved, Robredo expressed concern on the “timing and the process” that led to the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
Robredo hit the priorities of the government, pointing out that everyone should be “all hands on deck” in responding to the ongoing health emergency. “Yung timing ginawa sa gitna ng pandemic, ‘yung manner ng pagpasa nakakabahala parang something as important ‘yong batas na ito, gano’n ‘yong prosesong ginawa lalo na’t may contentious provisions (The timing it was done amid the pandemic, the manner by which it was passed for a law as important as this, the process was done just like that despite having contentious provisions,” she lamented.
For Robredo, the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 was “forced” because even if there were opposition to it, the Senate and the House of Representatives “versions were the same.”
There are also some “unconstitutional” provisions of the law that bother Robredo because these open up “too much room for abuse.” For instance, she noted that the “warrantless arrest” is a very dangerous provision.
“Nasa Constitution natin na ang puwedeng mag-issue ng warrant of arrest ‘yong judge, dito parang may isang council, ‘yong Anti-Terrorism Council na ang members nito ay politically appointed - sila ang puwedeng mag-determine ng probability of guilt of accused, napaka-delikado nito at politikal, in a sense, kasi kakabit ng appointing authority dito ang presidente (The Constitution cites that the warrant of arrest should be issued by a judge but here, it is issued by the Anti-Terrorism Council wherein the members are politically appointed – they can determine the probability of guilt of accused, this is very dangerous and political, in a sense, because the appointing authority is the president),” Robredo explained.
Given this, Robredo said safety nets should be in place. “Sana lagyan ng mas maayos na safeguards, sana walang provision na labag sa konstitusyon ang pinakamahalaga ang karapatan ng mamamayan (There should be safeguards, there should be no provisions that are unconstitutional because the safety of the citizens should be the most important),” she explained. While there are safeguards, she noted that “these are not enough.”
Do not lose hope
Despite the passage of the anti-terror bill, Robredo urged everyone not to lose hope and remain vigilant because there are “still many things that we can do.”
Robredo said that once the law is implemented, people can go to the Supreme Court (SC) to raise its “unconstitutional” provisions. “We can also engage with Congress to repeal and amend certain provisions that are unacceptable to us,” she said in Filipino. “The most important thing is for us to believe that the power is still in the hands of the ordinary people, so let’s not lose hope,” she added.
Robredo also urged ordinary citizens to continue to voicing out their concerns.