NUPL warns human rights violations, police abuse if anti-terror bills passed

MANILA, Philippines — The passage of the Anti-Terror bills needs to be stopped as it could result in human rights violations, misconduct and abuse of law enforcers’ authority, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said Monday.

In a statement, NUPL said the bill expands the “already-vague” definition of terrorism, which gives the police and military “much elbow room to subject to their own interpretations” the provisions of the bill and the “license to commit rights violations with impunity.”

The measure also allows surveillance, wiretapping and recording of conversations of any person on mere suspicion of committing terrorist acts, it added.

“This makes the draconian proposal prone to abuse and misuse by the military and police, which agencies have – the records and experience would show – a long history of brutality, rights violations, and intolerance for any form of dissent,” the NUPL said.

“One cannot deny that this bill diminishes the role of the judiciary into a mere stamp pad of legality and an instrument to the institutionalization of shortcuts, circumventions and even validation of outright violations and abuses,” it added.

In February, the Senate passed Senate Bill No. 1083 or the Anti-Terrorism bill. This was followed by the House of representatives when the House committees on public order and safety and national defense and security passed on May 29 its counterpart bill in the House.

It can be expected that the bill will try to expedite the passage of the bill on second and third reading with minimal debates, the NUPL said.

Efforts to swiftly pass the bill through Congress poses a “serious threat” to all critics of the government and “independent-minded individuals, regardless of party or ideology, and even the ordinary citizen on the street,” the group added.

“The bill, should it become law, will only serve to worsen the climate of impunity that has made the Philippines fertile ground for extra-judicial killings, illegal arrests, and crackdowns against activists and progressive organizations and even ordinary citizens,” the group said.

“As such, there is an urgent need to stop the passage of this bill at the earliest opportunity. The dangers it poses are incalculable, and the risks are too great for people to turn a blind eye under the misguided assumption that their own freedoms would not be affected,” NUPL added.

Attempts to pass the Anti-Terrorism Bill must be “fervently resisted,” NUPL said, to protect everyone who wishes to speak freely about matters of public interests and concern.

“This draconian proposed measure has no place in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces, in our communities. It is going back to the days of disquiet and nights of rage,” it said.

EDV