The Supreme Court (SC) decided on Tuesday, August 11, to conduct oral arguments on all the petitions filed against the alleged unconstitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) under Republic Act No. 11479.
SC Spokesperson Atty. Brian Keith F. Hosaka said the oral arguments will be conducted “on the third week of September at the earliest, and proper notices will be issued once the date is finalized.”
Hosaka also said the SC ordered the consolidation of the six latest petitions with those of the 19 petitions earlier filed.
All the respondents in the new petitions were ordered to submit their comments within 10 days from receipt of notice.
While there are only 25 petitions officially docketed at the SC as of Tuesday, August 11, there were two other petitions which were filed through the post office by two separate groups in Mindanao.
Once received by the SC from the post office, the two petitions will be included in the list of cases filed against ATA.
It was not known immediately if the requests for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in almost all the petitions will be resolved once the comments are received and before the oral arguments are conducted.
ATA was signed into law by President Duterte last July 3 and the government started implementing it starting last July 18.
The SC had acted on the first eight petitions as it ordered all respondents to file their comments.
In behalf of the Executive Department, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has filed its consolidated comment on the eight petitions.
Solicitor General Jose C. Calida has asked the SC to dismiss the petitions against RA 11479.
Calida said: “The government should not be perceived as the enemy, but rather as a guardian in safeguarding the Filipino people and ensuring the enjoyment of all of our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.”
He pointed out that ATA “incarnates the State’s policy ‘to protect life, liberty, and property from terrorism, to condemn terrorism as inimical and dangerous to national security of the country and to the welfare of the Filipino people, against humanity, and against the Law of Nations.’”
“More specifically, the enactment of this law is part of the Philippines’ obligation to ensure respect for the rights to life and the right to security,” he said.
At the same time, Calida pointed out that “the Anti-Terrorism Act is needed to fight the continuous and aggressive security threats brought about by terrorism.”