Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Senate may reject anti-terror bill: lawmaker
By Camille P. Balagtas
SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Monday said the administration-sponsored anti-terrorism bill may end up getting trashed by the Senate if the proponents of the measure will refuse to accept the suggestion of opposition senators to put adequate safeguards against possible abuses by law enforcement and security officers.
Pimentel said even some members of the majority bloc are inclined to vote against the controversial measure if there are not enough built-in guarantees against violations of civil liberties of the people.
He said at least three senators from the majority - Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto -- have expressed the sentiment against the anti-terror bill.
This means, Pimentel said, there are now 10 senators who would most likely reject Senate Bill (SB) 2137 or the proposed Anti-Terror Act, including seven from the minority bloc.
Aside from Pimentel, the other members of the minority who oppose the passage of SB 2137 are Panfilo Lacson, Sergio Osmeña III, Alfredo Lim, Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal, Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and Luisa "Loi" Ejercito Estrada.
It will take 12 votes to defeat a bill in the 23-man Senate.
"With a little more convincing, I think we can attract more of our colleagues to join our cause not for our sake but for the sake of our people," Pimentel said.
He said one of the provisions of the proposed law that may be vulnerable to abuse is that which allows security authorities to detain a person suspected of involvement in terrorist activities for at least 15 days without a court warrant and without formal charges.
The 1987 Constitution clearly prohibits unreasonable searches and arbitrary arrests, Pimentel said.
"But they are looking for exceptions to this constitutional requirement through the proposed anti-terrorism act," he said. "In other words, the danger to the civil liberties of our people is very grave under this Anti-Terrorism Law. That is why if we have to pass this, let us put the necessary safeguards to prevent abuses," he added.
Recalling his own experience during Martial Law when he was picked up and jailed four times by the military without court warrant, Pimentel said "I do not want that repeated because it is not easy to go through incarceration, specially if there is no valid basis for your being incarcerated," he said.
Pimentel said the definition of terrorism under the bill drafted by its principal sponsor, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, "is not even clear".
He said the Enrile bill enumerates what may be considered acts of terrorism without defining what a terrorist is. "If the definition of terrorism is vague, that is dangerous because that leaves a lot of discretion to the law enforcers, the prosecutor and the judge. The ordinary man on the street may find himself unduly harassed, and that is what I do not want to happen," Pimentel said.
Besides, Pimentel said, many, if not all of the criminal acts mentioned in the Enrile bill are already covered by the Revised Penal Code.
"I cannot find any justification why these offenses will be repeated under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Or why there should be another set of rules to govern practically the same acts," he said. "I find that very unsettling and threatening to the liberties of our people," he added. (Sunnex)
(October 10, 2006 issue)
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