Pinirmahan na ni PangulongRodrigo Duterte ang kontrobersiyal na anti-terror bill para maging ganap na batas, ayon kina presidential spokesperson Harry Roque at Interior Secretary Eduardo Año. Ang mga kritiko ng batas, nangakong dadalhin sa Korte Suprema ang usapin.
Ginawa ni Duterte ang pagpirma sa Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (Republic Act 11479) nitong Biyernes, sa kabila ng pagtutol ng iba't ibang grupo kabilang na ang United Nations human rights body at Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
"As we have said, the President, together with his legal team, took time to study this piece of legislation weighing the concerns of different stakeholders," sabi ni Roque sa pahayag.
"The signing of the aforesaid law demonstrates our serious commitment to stamp out terrorism, which has long plagued the country and has caused unimaginable grief and horror to many of our people," dagdag ng opisyal.
Ayon pa kay Roque, ang laban sa terorismo ay nangangailangan ng, "comprehensive approach to contain terrorist threat."
Tutol ang mga kritiko ng naturang batas dahil sa paniwala nila na maaari itong maabuso at lalabag sa karaparatang pantao.
Kabilang sa kinukuwestiyon nila ang probisyon na pagkakakulong ng hanggang 24-araw sa isang inaakusahang terorista o kasabwat, kahit walang arrest warrant.
Binibigyan daw ng kapangyarihan sa batas ang Anti-Terrorism Council na magpagtupad ng pagdakip sa mga terrorist suspect.
Una rito, nanawagan ang BTA na ibalik sa Kongreso ang naturang batas para resolbahin ang umano'y "vagueness and overbreadth" ng batas at iba pang kontrobersiyal na probisyon.
Nangangamba si BTA interim chief minister Murad Ebrahim para sa Bangsamoro people na umano'y madaling mamarkahan na terorista at mabibiktima pa ng diskriminasyon at pang-aabuso.
Ikinatuwa ng mga senador na nagsulong sa panukala ang ginawang pagpirma rito ni Duterte upang gawing batas.
Ayon kay Senate President Vicente Sotto III, na co-author ng Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, may sapat na probisyon sa bagong batas upang hindi maabuso.
"The government's hands are no longer tied. We now stand at par with many countries in the region in capacity- building measures against terrorists. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear," sabi ng lider ng Senado.
Pinuri naman ni Sen. Panfilo Lacson, pangunahing may-akda ng panukala, si Duterte dahil sa ipinakita umanong "strong political will" para palakasin ang kampanya ng pamahalaan laban sa terorismo.
"Much credit goes to PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte). With all the pressure coming from different directions against the signing of the Anti-Terrorism Bill into law, at the end of the day, it is his strong political will that mattered most," sabi ni Lacson.
"I cannot imagine this measure being signed under another administration. If only for this, I take my hat off to the President," dagdag niya.
Sa kabilang panig, nangako sina Sens. Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros at human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, na kukuwestiyunin nila ang legalidad ng bagong batas.
"I am not surprised. From Day 1 this Administration unleashed draconian and authoritarian measures as a showcase of its brand of leadership. These draconian measures however have been exposed as nothing more than a show of senseless, mindless violence as means to sow fear amongst the people," sabi ni Pangilinan.
"While the country’s COVID-19 cases have gone past 40,000 and while 7.3 million Filipinos have lost their jobs and livelihood, Malacanang has instead signed the Anti-Terrorism Law that it will use to trample on Filipinos’ basic rights and freedoms," ayon naman kay Hontiveros. --FRJ, GMA News
