The series of incidents of disappearances of Muslims in Luzon has brought fears that the missing individuals could have been seized by security forces under the warrantless arrest provision of the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020.

Deputy Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman aired this fear as he called for public vigilance to “ensure that the safeguards under this (ATA) law and indeed under the Constitution, are followed.”

The ATA, which amends the 2007 Human Security Act, grants state security and law enforcement agencies authority to arrest suspected terrorists even without the need for court-issued arrest warrants.

It also allows hold suspects for questioning and investigation for at least 24 days. In a privilege speech on Wednesday, March 3, Hataman disclosed that on February 17, 11 Muslims were seized in Bacoor City by individuals who identified themselves as members of the Bacoor police station, agents of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and the National Capital Region Police Office.

Hataman said these individuals may have been the first batch to be arrested under the controversial ATA. Seven of those taken by the unidentified group were Hataman’s constituents while the four others were construction workers based in Manila in the past four years.

He identified some of the missing men as Hadzma Pandapit Marunsing, Arsid U. Adbulkadir, Arhan Mustafa Juhur, Tahirin Ngairun Jalil, Nulham A. Tadjae, Dam Sansangan Hamid, Muslimen Saban Mantawil , Bai Monerah Saban, Solaiman Baonto Muhammad and Abdulmuin Tula.

“Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that members of the Muslim community were harassed, discriminated against, abused, denied due process, or outright disappeared,” Hataman stated.

He recalled that on February 16, a day before the Bacoor incident, Muslim couple Muslimen Saban Mantawil and Bai Monerah Saban were “snatched” by men who identified themselves as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.

The NBI later denied involvement in the disappearance of the couple. On February 19, Solaiman Baonto Muhammad did not go home and was never heard of since then. A month before this, CCTV footages showed heavily-armed men in civilian clothes abducting Abdulmuin Tula in Maharlika Village, Taguig City.

The gunmen were all masked and rode a red Toyota Innova van. A series of disappearances victimizing Muslim individuals has been going since last year, said Hataman.

“Walang makapagsabi kung ano ang nangyari. Nag- aalala pa rin ang mga kaanak nila (Nobody could say what happened to them. Their families are worried),” the former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said.

Hataman stressed that it is important that the legal processes of arrest are strictly observed and the rights of those arrested are respected.

“Lilinawin ko lang din, Mr. Speaker, Lahat tayo gustong sugpuin ang terorismo (Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker. All of us want to end terrorism) - - perhaps me, more than most, given my personal experience as a Muslim,” said Hataman.

However, he warned that committing excesses and abuses against the Muslim is never a solution to violent extremism.

“Kung walang kasalanan ang mga hinuli, di ba lal lang akong magtatanim ng galit sa sistema? (If those arrested are innocent, wouldn’t harbor a grudge against the system?) Doesn’t oppression make the risk of radicalization greater?” the House official stated.