FILE PHOTO A protester flashes a placard calling for the scrapping of the anti-terror law, which critics say is being used to demonize individuals and groups critical of the government.
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis Tolentino wants government workers to disclose whether they have family members or relatives who are part of or are affiliated with terrorist organizations.
Tolentino’s call came after Commission on Higher Education chair Prospero de Vera’s sister, an alleged ranking officer of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), was arrested.
CPP was among the groups tagged by the government as a terror organization.
“Is it now the right time that we also require when one enters the government through an appointment or an elective position to perhaps declare: do you have a relative within the fourth-degree of consanguinity who is a member of a terrorist organization, who is an affiliate of an organization that seeks to overthrow the Republic of the Philippines?” Tolentino asked during Tuesday’s plenary session.
“Bakit hindi natin ma-require? Even voluntarily, i-disclose kung meron tayong kamag-anak na napunta doon sa isang bahagi na gustong pabagsakin ang ating lipunan na ating pinaglilingkuran,” the senator further said.
(Why could we not require them? Even voluntarily, disclose if we have relatives who are part of groups who want to tear down the society that we are serving.)
NATIONAL SECURITY: Sen. Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino, in keeping with the commemoration of National Heroes Day, delivers a privilege speech on national security Tuesday, August 30, 2022 expressing fear that there might be some people connected to incumbent officers who have access to confidential information and may endanger the national security. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)
Tolentino likewise expressed concern on the possibility that some individuals linked to government officials, who have access to confidential information, may risk national security.
“The reason why I’m saying this is perhaps in other branches of government, in the hierarchy, within the hierarchy, in our bureaucracy, perhaps in the Usec. (Undersecretary), Asec. (Assistant Secretary), directorial level, there are still some of those in position of power with siblings, with relatives who are members of a terrorist organization,” he claimed.
But Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, who is pushing for a review of the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020, claimed the law has not sufficiently proved that some of these organizations were “enemies of the state.”
“I do not recall what law or what pronouncement of government has declared the Communist Party of the Philippines or similar organizations, movements, beliefs, or associations could be declared as enemies of the state. It’s so difficult to identify that,” she interpellated.
“If you see, if we see and study what they actually believe and want, it is social justice,” the lady senator added.
Legarda, a former journalist, also shared that she had worked with the National Democratic Front in the past in her line of work.
Responding to Legarda’s remarks, Tolentino pointed out that the CPP and its military arm, the New People’s Army, has already been declared a terrorist organization, not just by the Philippine government, but also by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and other countries.
Last year, the Anti-Terrorism Council tagged 19 alleged CPP leaders as terrorists.