SEN. Panfilo Lacson, allaying lingering apprehensions over the 2020 Anti-Terror bill inching closer to being signed into law, advised the wary public to ignore “erroneous interpretations” being foisted by critics of the counterterrorism measure.
“Sana po huwag tayo basta makinig sa paulit ulit kong sinasabi na maling interpretation ng mga kumokontra,” Lacson advised at Monday’s Malacañang Laging Handa briefing, recalling gaps in existing laws allowed terrorist attacks in the past that he said could have been everted.
Lacson added: “Kung talagang gusto natin malaman ang epekto nito alalahanin natin ang nangyari sa Jolo Cathedral, Zamboanga Siege, Marawi Siege, pati Indonesian couple nakapasok na rito. Ang nangyari, No. 9 tayo sa buong mundo na most negatively impacted ng terorismo dahil kulang ang ating batas kumpara sa karatig bansa. Tayo ang nagiging safe haven. Ang ISIS gusto dito mag-estabish ng caliphate at palalawakin nila di lang sa Marawi kundi pati sa iba’t ibang lugar ng Mindanao, and God forbid, huwag naman sana, sa NCR.”
Citing the bloody Rizal Day bombing, the senator reminded critics of the bill of other terrorist attacks that could have been averted even as he assured adequate safeguards are in place to deter its abuse.
For instance, he described one safeguard, which states that, “When a suspect is arrested, the police should immediately notify” the Commission on Human Rights, adding that “if a law enforcer fails to notify [the CHR] he could be held in prison for 10 years and his pension forfeited, including the superior officer of the erring policemen.
Moreover, Lacson explained that law enforcers, “in applying for surveillance, only the Court of Appeals is empowered” to grant it.”
He added that another safeguard provides that “all evidence collected during surveillance should be confidential, including wiretap materials, unless released by Court of Appeals.”
“If any lawmen disobeys its provision, stiff punishments are provided in the bill,” the senator warned.
As provided in the Lacson bill, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 amends the Human Security Act of 2007, expanding the definition of terrorism to include acts intended to cause “death or serious bodily injury to any person, extensive damage and destruction” to a government facility, private property, or critical infrastructure, and when the purpose of those acts is to “intimidate [the] general public…create an atmosphere or message of fear,” or “seriously destabilize or destroy the fundamental political, economic and social structures of the country. Those found guilty face life sentences without the chance of parole.”
Once enacted, the Anti-Terror law criminalizes the “threat, planning, training, facilitating of” and “proposal” and “inciting” to terrorist activities by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, banners and emblems. As proposed in the Lacson bill, it also “subjects suspects to surveillance, warrantless arrest and detention for up to 24 days.”