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Monday, July 16, 2007
Protests, warnings greet anti-terror law
MANILA -- Protests greeted a controversial anti-terrorism law that came into force in the country Sunday amid fears it could be used to quell popular dissent against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government.
A small group of leftist activists carried slogans and banners in a peaceful rally near the presidential Malacañang palace, demanding that the Human Security Act be reviewed by the Supreme Court or repealed by Congress.
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On Monday, church-based groups will be staging a prayer protest against the law in Kalaw, Manila.
"We will file a petition with the Supreme Court in the coming week," said Renato Reyes, spokesman for the fringe Bayan Muna political party, stressing that the law could be used to crack down on legitimate members of the opposition.
At the very least, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales is asking that the law's implementation be deferred until the "gray areas" in the provision are clarified.
"It may serve and create a widespread panic (if the gray areas are not resolved)," Rosales said in a radio interview.
The prelate said the definition of "terrorism" in the law is very broad and may be "misinterpreted" or "abused".
He cited in particular the placing of certain people under house arrest as among the provisions that must be clarified.
Terror shield
The Human Security Act will turn the Southeast Asian country - regarded as a breeding ground for Islamic radicals - into hostile ground for militants and shield the public and the economy from terror attacks, officials said.
"The general population is safely guarded by this law," said Defense Undersecretary Ric Blancaflor, a chief proponent of the law.
"Only terrorists have reasons to be threatened," he said.
President Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said the law could be used against anybody who would resort to terrorism, including communist rebels, religious extremists and rogue policemen or troops.
"The law's message is clear: if you are armed and kill civilians, you will be prosecuted," he said.
Bunye stressed the law's importance, saying a suspect in a bomb attack on Davao City's airport a few years ago managed to bail out due to a lack of an anti-terror law then went on to stage another bombing in the south.
Talks doomed
Communist guerrillas said they would intensify attacks and warned the law could doom long-stalled peace talks with the government.
"It further diminishes, if not renders impossible altogether, the possibility of moving the talks forward," the Communist Party of the Philippines said in a 10-page assessment of the anti-terror law posted on its Web site.
A prominent left-wing group, Bayan, said the law endangers civil liberties that Filipinos won in 1986, when they ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a nonviolent "people power" revolt.
"This is a new dark age for human rights and civil liberties," Bayan said in a statement.
The law, signed by Arroyo in March, allows detention of suspected terrorists without charge for three days and includes "rebellion or insurrection" among crimes considered terrorism.
It has been welcomed by the United States and Australia, whose officials fear terror training camps in the Philippines' volatile south could produce militants who could strike anywhere in the world.
The new law could be used against leftist opponents of the government, Bayan said. About 800 left-wing activists have been killed in extrajudicial killings and nearly 200 others have gone missing under Arroyo's rule, it added.
Safeguards
The military has denied any involvement in the killings. However, a UN human rights investigator and a Philippine fact-finding commission created by Arroyo have linked soldiers to some of deaths and disappearances.
The defense undersecretary said legislators had watered down the anti-terror bill with safeguards to prevent abuses.
He cited a provision that bans the torture of suspects, and another that fines law enforcement officers P500,000 for each day they wrongfully detain a terror suspect.
Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said a possible fine could hinder counter-terrorism operations.
"It gives you second thought on arresting certain targeted terrorists," he said.
Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. is also for giving the law a chance and appealed to the public to do the same.
Revilla said he is concerned over the growing opposition to the law but added it was enacted by the legislature with good intentions.
"Both Houses of Congress passed this measure in the honest belief that it will improve the lives of Filipinos, and I am sure that we in Congress will not allow the legislative intent behind the law to be bastardized," he said. (AP/AFP/With Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (July 16, 2007 issue)
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