The Philippines’ Anti Terror Bill: “Activism is Not Terrorism”
In the midst of battling a global pandemic, the Philippines encounters yet another fear — particularly one concerned with the nature of human rights: the newly-passed Anti-Terror Bill.
What is the Anti-Terror Bill?
The “Anti-Terrorism Bill” is a bill signed by the current president of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte, on July 3, 2020, and went into full effect on July 18, 2020. The purpose of this bill is to “stop or prevent” terrorism by targeting specific individuals who have committed any of the actions labeled as a terrorist act.
What is in the Anti-Terror Bill?
Who is considered a terrorist?
Under this bill, the government is able to completely reconstruct the meaning of terrorism. Some actions that are considered terrorist actions include:
- Using or developing weapons
- Cause damage or attempt to cause damage to a government-owned facility
- Donate to organizations that are not state-recognized
- Protest in any movement that is considered a “public safety risk”
- Post, write, share, talk about with friends, or joke about topics that are related to terrorist acts
- Assault or attempt an assault
What are the punishments?
Punishments include a jail sentence from 12 years to as much as a life sentence. People can be arrested without a police warrant for up to 14 days and jailed for up to 24 days with no specific charge against them.
Under this bill, individuals can also be wiretapped and monitored for 60 days without consent or knowledge of said wiretapping. Texts, calls, emails, and social media accounts are easy to monitor. No one is exempt from this and every word spoken from any individual could be used against them.
There is currently no form of checks and balances on the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) or the PNP (Philippine National Police), which gives them absolute control over the labeling of terrorism. This raised public concern on the extraordinary amount of power that will be placed into the hands of the Philippine government, questioning the grounds of the country’s democratic system.
The announcement of this bill was met with heavy backlash, mainly due to the concern that the government was trying to suppress the voices of Filipino citizens. Hashtags and phrases such as #JunkTerrorBill, #OustDuterte, and “Activism is Not Terrorism” started surfacing on social media as a sign of public disapproval. Petitions were also made as an attempt to overturn the bill and spread awareness.
Opposers of this bill, like Senator Francis Pangilinan, say that the premises of what is considered as terrorism are “vague.” Small, common crimes can fall under the category of terrorism. This gives leeway for the government to abuse its power. A social media joke made by an ordinary citizen that meant no harm could instantly be labeled as a terrorist attack.
Human rights activists fear that this bill could lead to an infringement of the Filipinos’ human rights and heavily suppresses the right to freedom of speech, as certain actions will be heavily monitored by the government.
While the threat of terrorism is a valid fear, this law allows the government to become tyrannical without limitations.
This is a fight that we are all a part of.
To learn more about the bill, along with ways to help, visit: https://junkterrorbill.carrd.co/.
Sources
Dangerous anti-terror law in the Philippines yet another setback for human rights. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/07/philippines-dangerous-antiterror-law-yet-another-setback-for-human-rights/
Isinika, A. (2020, May 29). ‘Dissent is duty, not crime’: Filipinos slam anti-terrorism bill. Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://rappler.com/nation/dissent-duty-not-crime-filipinos-slam-anti-terrorism-bill
JUNK TERROR LAW NOW! (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://junkterrorbill.carrd.co/
Philippines Defends Anti-Terror Law Before U.S. Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-07-18/philippines-defends-anti-terror-law-before-us-congress
Stand with Filipino Environmental Defenders against the Terror Law! (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://world.350.org/asia/junkterrorlaw/
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Edited by: Ira Gupta, Director of Research Bloggers
