House approves amending Human Security Act of 2007

June 4, 2020

The House of Representatives Wednesday approved on third and final reading a measure amending the Human Security Act of 2007 or the anti-terrorism bill.

The controversial measure, which was approved without amendment, was put to a vote just a day after President Rodrigo Duterte certified the bill as urgent amid the criticisms raised by different groups and organizations.

Congressmen voted 173-31 with 29 abstentions.

Masbate Rep. Narciso Bravo, one of the sponsors of House Bill No. 6875, dismissed the concerns raised by Quezon City Rep. Christopher Belmonte, invoking the principle of presumption of regularity on the part of authorities.

“We would like to believe that law enforcers will perform their duties in a regular manner. We believe that there are still good people (in the police and the military) because otherwise, there’s no point legislating,” Bravo told the plenary during the period of interpellations.

Belmonte, a member of the Liberal Party, echoed the concerns raised by left-leaning activists and human rights advocates and other critics who fear  the measure might be used to clamp down on legitimate dissent.

Belmonte said the reality is that authorities sometimes go around the law to pin down particular individuals because it is presumed they are doing their jobs.

Bravo, the chair of the committee on public order and safety, urged the public to just trust the intent of the proposed law.

“Let’s just trust this (proposed) law. We, the sponsor, believe that this is the only way we can (better) arm our law enforcers,” he said.

Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman zeroed in on the repeal of the provision that awards a sum of P500,000 per day to victims of wrongful detention.

“We're removing the protection against mistaken identity,” he said when he interpellated another sponsor, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, citing the case of a member of the AFP’s auxiliary force who was detained in Bicutan for allegedly being a terrorist but was later found innocent by the court.

Interpellations were finished after four hours and the bill’s sponsor, including PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles, rejected all proposed amendments proposed by other lawmakers, including Quezon City Rep. Jesus Suntay, chair of the committee on human rights, who tried to amend the provision allowing warrantless arrest of suspected terrorists.

Under the bill, which is identical to the Senate’s version, a suspect can be detained without a warrant for 14 days which can be extended by 10 more days. The suspect can be placed under surveillance for 60 days, extendable by up to 30 more days.

The bill authorizes wiretapping of suspected terrorists for a maximum period of 90 days as an amendment to the Anti-Wiretapping Law (R.A. No. 4200) and detention without judicial warrant of arrest for a maximum period 24 days of suspected terrorists instead of the present three-day maximum;

It empowers the Anti-Money Laundering Council to pry into the bank accounts of suspected terrorist groups and persons without a specific court order by freezing such accounts for 20 days, subject to six months’ extension by the Court of Appeals, as an exception to the “Law of Secrecy of Bank Deposits” (R.A. No. 1405).

The bill defines terrorism if a person commits any of the following: engaging in acts intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person or endangers a person’s life; engaging in acts intended to cause extensive damage or destruction to a government or public facility, public place, or private property; engaging in acts intended to cause extensive interference with, damage, or destruction to critical infrastructure; developing, manufacturing, possessing, acquiring, transporting, supplying, or using weapons; and releasing dangerous substances or causing fire, floods or explosions when the purpose of such act, by its nature and context, is to intimidate the general public, create an atmosphere to spread a message of fear, provoke or influence by intimidation the government or any international organization, or seriously destabilize or destroy the fundamental political, economic, or social structures in the country, or create a public emergency or seriously undermine public safety.

Threats to commits terrorism and proposals to carry out the act will be punishable by imprisonment of 12 years while conspiring, planning, training, preparing, and facilitating to commit the act will be punishable by life imprisonment. DMS