The Supreme Court (SC) docketed officially on Friday, September 11, the 31st petition against the alleged unconstitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 under Republic Act No. 11479.
It was not known immediately if the two other petitions filed more than a month ago and coursed through the post office in Mindanao have been officially received by the SC.
Once the two mailed petitions are docketed, there would be a total of 33 cases filed so far against RA 11479.
The 30th docketed petition was filed by the Philippine Bar Association.
The new petition was filed by groups known to be advocates against torture and torture survivors, and women and child rights group.
This new petition is expected to be consolidated with the first petition filed immediately after President Duterte signed ATA last July 3.
The SC had required the respondents in the earlier petitions to file their comments, including their answer to the pleas for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to stop the law’s implementation that started last July 18.
It had also decided to conduct oral arguments on all the petitions late this month after due notice to the parties.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Solicitor General Jose C. Calida had asked the SC to cancel the oral arguments.
In lieu of oral arguments, the OSG proposed the submission of written memoranda from parties and written answers to the clarificatory questions which should be known in a resolution to be issued by the SC.
Calida’s suggestion, contained in an official pleading, has not been acted upon by the SC.
Several groups, mostly petitioners, have opposed the proposed cancellation of oral arguments.
A copy of the new petition filed by the groups led by the United Against Torture Coalition (UATC) was not immediately available.
In a press statement they stated that “ATA directly contravenes RA 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law of 2009 that criminalizes acts of torture and ill-treatment.”
They claimed that under Section 29 of ATA, “suspected terrorists may be detained for up to 14 days, extendible for another 10 days before they have to be charged in court – a condition that is conducive to the person detained to being tortured or coerced into involuntary confession, forcibly made to disappear or even summarily executed which the Anti-Torture Law aims to prevent.”