By Richa Noriega The University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) on Monday (June 8) called for the veto of the Anti-Terrorism bill and urged President Duterte to direct his attention to fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic instead. “The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 reduces the safeguards embedded in the Human Security Act of 2007 to exact accountability from abusive persons in authority,” the university said in a statement. UPD said that rather than eliminating terrorism by addressing its root causes, the bill will embolden law enforcement agencies to disregard constitutionally protected human rights. The university also condemned the suppression of legitimate protest and the violation of UP campuses as recognized sanctuaries for political dissent, when Cebu City police violently dispersed a peaceful protest against the bill being held in the vicinity of UP Cebu and arrested eight protesters within the campus last June 5. UPD said it was a violation of the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense Peace Accord, which prevents the police and the military from conducting any operations inside any UP campus without prior coordination with UP officials. The university said that as an institution that has produced countless public servants, professionals, and activists, it believes academic excellence requires “conditions of openness and respect for diversity.” It added that these conditions include the “freedom to question, think, write, and speak" that is "granted to all, regardless of beliefs and background.” “We must uphold the right of every Filipino to criticize, protest, and demand accountability from public officials without fear of being branded and persecuted as ‘terrorist,’” the university said. Certified as an urgent administration bill by President Duterte, the passage of House Bill (HB) No. 6875 is the country’s response to the threat of intergovernmental organization Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to put the Philippines on the “gray” list of countries that are non-compliant with international efforts to fight money laundering and terror financing. READ MORE: Lower House passes Anti-Terror bill