EDITORIAL- Wielding a weapon

The Supreme Court is being asked to intervene, and Malacañang has promised to abide by the decision of the high tribunal. While the SC ponders whether it should weigh in on a law passed by Congress and newly enacted by President Duterte, security forces are likely to begin applying the new law as soon as publication requirements are met.

Republic Act 11479, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, effectively replaced RA 9372, the Human Security Act of 2007. The new law reduced the prison term for wrongful arrest of terror suspects and does away with the daily fine of P500,000 – provisions in RA 9372 that security officials have cited as key reasons why the law was not used by counterterrorism forces.

Among the most contentious provisions in RA 11479 are the identification of who is a terrorist, the broad powers for conducting warrantless arrests, and the extension of the period for detaining terror suspects without charges for up to 24 days. Defenders of the new measure say security forces will need clearance from the Court of Appeals and notification of the Commission on Human Rights for the detention as well as broader wiretapping activities.

The new law allows the Anti-Money Laundering Council to look into the accounts of terror suspects, setting aside bank secrecy laws. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force has warned that the Philippines would end up this year on the gray list of money laundering havens if it fails to pass legislation against terrorist financing. Proponents of the measure have also pointed out that other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other Western democracies, have similar laws against terrorism, allowing even longer detention periods without charges.

Opponents of the measure say the provision on detention and certain other items in the new law are unconstitutional. They have also expressed fears of abuse and the use of the new law to suppress political dissent and trample on human rights. Because of the administration’s record in law enforcement, particularly in the so-called war on drugs, and the selective application of laws – as manifested in the mañanita for Metro Manila police chief Debold Sinas – the concerns are not baseless.

Security officials asked for a weapon from Congress and Malacañang, and got it. They will first have to earn public trust. Like any weapon, security forces will have to show that they can wield this one effectively, equally and with restraint, principally to keep the nation and its democratic institutions safe.