The alleged life-threatening acts of intelligence gathering and profiling reportedly done by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) prompted several petitioners and their lawyers to press the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
In a manifestation filed on Monday, March 29, the SC was told that a recent DILG memorandum red-tagged union groups -- Confederation for Unity Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
The lawyers and petitioners against ATA said a stop in the law’s enforcement would be crucial in preserving and protecting the people’s lives and rights.
The 37 petitions on the alleged unconstitutionality of ATA are still on their oral arguments stage in the SC. The legal debates are expected to resume on April 6 after four postponements which were done to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In their manifestation and reiterative plea for an order the stop the law’s implementation, the lawyers and the petitioners alleged that DILG Assistant Secretary for Public Safety and Security (OASPSS) Alexander Macario reportedly issued a one-page memorandum last March 10 on the subject of “Membership of Employees of the Department in the COURAGE”.
The memorandum reportedly stated that the DILG participated in an undisclosed and confidential meeting and part of the discussion was on the alleged infiltration of known communist terrorist group (CTG), such as COURAGE and ACT, in government agencies.
It was alleged that the memorandum directed DILG regional directors to investigate and validate if there are employees who are COURAGE members.
“The DILG memorandum is undeniable proof that the affiliate unions, federations and associations of COURAGE and ACT, as well as their individual members and officers, are among the targets of the government’s vicious crackdown on dissent and activism under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” the petitioners and lawyers said.
They pointed out that by declaring in the memorandum that the legitimate organizations of COURAGE and ACT as CTG “front organizations” is a “prima facie act of designation…, and under the ATA, this can trigger grievous consequences to the concerned persons and organizations’ rights and liberties.”
They also told the SC the DILG memorandum was uploaded in the DILG website last March 14 and was deleted the following day on March 15.