Legal battle over case seeking to label CPP-NPA as terrorists 'far from over' — Palace
NEW YORK, United States — The legal battle over the case seeking to label the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing New People's Army (NPA) is far from over as the government still has available legal remedies it can tap, Malacañang said Friday.
The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 19 has dismissed a government petition to declare the CPP and the NPA as terrorist groups, saying they were not organized to engage in terrorism.
Armed struggle is just a means to attain the purpose of CPP, not the purpose of the creation of the party, according to a 135-page resolution written by Presiding Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar.
The ruling stemmed from the proscription case filed by by the government against the two groups in 2018 under Section 17 of the Human Security Act of 2007, which was repealed by the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
"Actually, since the decision is not yet final and this is an RTC decision, the government still has many available remedies. But we also want to see ‘no the details on this one," Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said at a press briefing here.
"Malayo pa ‘to, malayo pa (This is far from over). And you know we don’t even know what parameters are here. By then, we’ll understand what remedies will be available if remedies are even necessary," she added.
Angeles said some details related to the case are not yet available so it would be improper to comment on it for now.
"Who filed the case? Under what law? Because I understand this might have been filed under the Human Security Act rather than the Terrorism Act," the press secretary said.
"So let’s see. RTC kasi ito. Under the Terrorism Act, it would have been filed with the Court of Appeals," she added.
Angeles said since the case was filed under the Human Security Act, the remedy is to use the Anti-Terrorism Law.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has said the government would file a motion for reconsideration, citing the need to act against people who are "attacking the state.
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