House panel OKs bill strengthening right of public to assemble, free expression

MANILA, Philippines — A committee in the House of Representatives approved Wednesday a bill that seeks to strengthen the right of the public to assemble and free expression.

The House committee on people’s participation approved House Bill No. 6297 or the New Public Assembly Act of 2019 filed by Bayan Muna lawmakers Carlos Isagani Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat.

The bill seeks to repeal Batas Pambansa Blg. 880 or “The Public Assembly Act of 1985”, which Zarate called a “draconian” measure.

“This is a positive development in ensuring the Filipino people’s right to assemble and freedom of expression,” Zarate said in a statement.

Zarate said one of the main provisions of their proposed bill is found in Section 5 which now only requires a notice to be filed with the local government unit (LGU) concerned when a public assembly is to take place in a public place.

Under the Batas Pambansa Blg. 880, a written permit is required for any person or group who wishes to organize and hold a public assembly in a public place.

“Clear guidelines and rules of conduct for law enforcement agencies are laid down in the bill. The bill also defined the corresponding responsibilities and obligations of leaders or organizers of the public assembly,” Zarate said.

“If passed into law, this will strengthen the people’s rights to expression, peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances and for accountability,” he added.

Now that the proposed measure has been approved at the committee level, it will be brought to the plenary floor for further debates.

“We hope that a counterpart bill in the Senate would be filed soon and would also be expedited,” Zarate said.

“In a time when freedoms and rights are being attacked we should have more mechanisms like the New Public Assembly Act to ensure that rights would be freely exercised in accordance with the Constitution and laws,” he added.

JE