Duterte asked to certify terror deterrence bill

A Manila congressman is appealing to President Duterte to certify as urgent a bill he authored seeking to impose more measures to fight the spread of terrorism, including the mandatory registration of prepaid mobile phone lines and social media accounts.

In a statement, Rep. Manuel “Manny” Lopez (first district, Manila) said House Bill No. 5382, or the proposed Terrorism Threat Deterrence Act of 2017, would help prevent the use for terrorism of social media and mobile phone networks through prepaid lines.

Lopez said gunmen who tried to set up an Islamic State (IS) province in Marawi City had been found to use social media and mobile phones for communication, propaganda and psywar operations against government soldiers.

New security threats

He said his bill became more relevant after Mr. Duterte met senators in Malacañang to discuss new and more serious security threats in Mindanao, particularly from groups that had sworn allegiance to IS.

The President also announced plans to recruit 20,000 more soldiers to strengthen the fight against terrorism.