Multi-sectoral group backs of anti-terror bill

Members of extremist group Abu Sayyaf are pointing their guns at four construction workers being held captive in Zamboanga City in this 2017 file photo.

MANILA, Philippines–A multi-sectoral group has urged Malacañang to enact into law the proposed anti-terrorism bill, saying that Filipinos need to be free from fear of tyranny and senseless violence.

The Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI), a coalition of 48 organizations nationwide, said that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 “is key to end all forms of terrorism.”

“This is a legislative measure that would free people from the claws of global terrorism,” Jose Antonio “Ka Pep” Goitia, LIPI secretary-general, said in a statement.

According to Goitia, the anti-terror bill passed by both chambers of Congress and now up for signature of President Rodrigo Duterte to become a law, is the actual preemptive measure for a terrorist act not to push through.

Goitia also said that the Filipino people deserve freedom against the tyranny, oppression, violence, killings of innocents, and the long-standing armed insurgency brought by communist groups, Islamic extremists, and other rebel organizations in the country.

He said acts of terrorism must be stopped to allow people to live peacefully, stressing that the proposed bill does not discount inviolable rights.

The proposed bill is not a step toward martial law, he said, but a solution to the long-running insurgency, among other issues, in the country.

Goitia said the public should not cast doubt on the contents of the bill because measures to safeguard human rights are in place.

“It is clearly stated in the 1987 Constitution under Bill of Rights that the Anti-Terrorism Council has mechanisms in place for potential human rights violations,” he said.

He said the rule of law will reign supreme in the end.

Goitia lamented that militant organizations are just using the measure for political agitation and propaganda against the government, amid a surge in petitions to veto the bill.