Thirty-three officially docketed petitions have been filed with the Supreme Court (SC) on the alleged unconstitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020.
The latest petition was filed Friday by several groups led by the Coordinating Council for People’s Development and Governance Inc. (CCPDG).
They asked the SC to declare ATA under Republic Act No. 11479 unconstitutional in its entirety because the law “in all aspects, is an arbitrary and repressive law.”
A check with the SC showed that the date for the oral arguments on the petitions has not been set by the SC due to the recent filings of cases against ATA.
The SC has not even resolved the plea of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to cancel the oral arguments due to COVID-19 pandemic.
ATA became a law last July 3 and since then there have been 33 officially docketed cases filed with the SC in a span of 10 weeks.
“The continuous filing of cases, at the rate of at least one case every two days, would further delay the setting of the oral arguments -- if the OSG’s motion to cancel is denied -- and the resolution of the petitions, particularly on the pleas for a restraining order,” legal circles said.
Aside from CCPDG, the other petitioners in the new case are the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, Climate Change Network for Community-Based Initiatives Inc., Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura, Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes, Children’s Rehabilitation Center, Ibon Foundation Inc., and Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Konsyumers para sa Ika-uunlad ng Bayan.
They told the SC that even prior to the enactment of ATA, many of their members “who showed their genuine concern to the welfare of the people were subjected to red-tagging, harassment, and intimidation by no other than the government itself.”
They also said “many of the community workers have experienced surveillance and threat from government forces and were harassed through trumped-up cases filed against them in court.”
“The passing into law of RA 11479 will legitimize and will ultimately justify the threat, harassment, and intimidation against these development workers. The aid, projects, programs, and infrastructure development in the communities that they are capable to deliver to benefit the people can be branded as ‘support for terrorist activities,’” they said.
They pointed out that “the fear is imminent that this law will impede the conduct of developmental and humanitarian work.”
“The petitioners and other similar organizations whose main thrust is to empower the poor and marginalized sectors so that they can genuinely participate in all aspects of public policy, programs, and projects will become targets of State forces who could wield this law as a weapon against them. They will surely be unjustly treated and be subjected to government’s annoyance, ridicule, threats, and discrimination and ultimately, their lives and liberty will be at stake,” they stressed.