Organizations both within and outside the Philippines have questioned the government’s prioritization of the Anti-Terror Bill despite allegedly scrambling to solve problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic. | GabrielLaluINQ
“There are many bills in Congress that congressmen and senators should focus on especially those that effectively respond to the COVID pandemic, but they had to kowtow to Pres. Duterte’s need to approve his pet anti-terror bill,” Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares said in a separate statement.
According to ICHRP, the possible enactment of the proposed measure will have several repercussions, including a harsher approach to critics as they may now be accused of being part of terrorist groups. Under HB 6875, people found to propose terroristic acts or incite others to commit terrorism can be jailed up to 12 years. Meanwhile, electronic surveillance and warrantless arrests — although Senator Panfilo LacsonBut both Murphy and Colmenares believe that the bill, coupled with the lockdowns placed in various parts of the country, would lead to a de facto martial law.
“The Philippines has the longest and most militarized response to COVID-19 in the world. This terror bill, if signed into law, is a rubber stamp to already undeclared military rule and will only legalize the targeting of critics and civilians,” Murphy claimed. “Despite these pressing needs, the House approved a bill that has no relation whatsoever to people’s health and COVID and grants Malacanang more power to arrest critics. The passage of a more draconian anti-terror law will worsen the COVID crisis as it would cow dissenters, the media and all those who criticize Pres. Duterte’s inutile COVID response,” Colmenares added.
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