Lacson warns terrorists ‘will strike at every opportunity’

MANILA, Philippines — “They will strike at every opportunity.”

Such was the warning of Senator Panfilo Lacson after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic “highlighted vulnerabilities to new and emerging forms of terrorism.”

“The only timing that the terrorists know is their own. This is what I have been telling the critics of the Anti Terrorism Law. As long as the terrorists can achieve their intent and purpose of inflicting maximum damage to life and property in order to sow fear and intimidate the general public, they will strike at every opportunity,” Lacson told INQUIRER.net in a message on Wednesday when sought for comment.

“The presumed degraded security capability of states like the Philippines gravely impacted by [COVID-19] pandemic, as the UN Secretary General has pointed out, presents such opportunity to the terrorists,” he added.

Lacson, one of the principal authors of the controversial measure in the Senate, underscored the need for the Philippines to “cope with our neighboring countries with an equally strong and effective legal backbone to fight terrorism.”

“Surely, we do not want to be the haven of terrorists in Asia. The Marawi siege is such a painful and costly experience which we as policy makers cannot allow to happen again,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte recently  signed into law the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 which is seen to give more teeth to the country’s anti-terrorism policies.

While the proponents of the new law assured the public that there were enough safeguards to prevent abuse, several groups and lawmakers expressed concern that the provisions of the law could be used to crack down on dissent.

Only days after its enactment into law, several petitions have already been filed before the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

EDV