READ: SC orders gov’t officials to comment on Anti-Terrorism Act petitions
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 9) — President Rodrigo Duterte’s “declaration” that communist rebels are terrorists still has to be tried and approved by the Court of Appeals, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Thursday.
Lacson, principal sponsor and author of the Anti-Terrorism Act, was reacting to Duterte’s earlier statement that the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, New People’s Army are a terrorist group because “I finally declared them to be one.”
Lacson said that “is a personal opinion of the President, not official.”
He reiterated that the Department of Justice’s petition to outlaw the CPP-NPA has been pending before the Manila Regional Trial Court, and will now be transferred to a division of the Court of Appeals to be authorized by the Supreme Court.
This is in line with the signing of the Anti-Terrorism Act, a controversial measure with no implementing rules and regulations yet, but which has been met with Supreme Court petitions challenging its constitutionality.
“Under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, only the Court of Appeals can order the proscription – not the Anti-Terrorism Council, nor the President. Further, the burden of proof lies with the Department of Justice,” Lacson said.
Once an individual or group is proscribed as a terrorist group, arrests and detention can be made, following due notice, hearing, and approval by the Court of Appeals, he said.
He further explained that an individual or group can be “designated” by the Anti-Terrorism Council as a terrorist following the guidelines set by the United Nations Security Council. Such designation would not mean automatic arrest or detention, but would prompt the council to request the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze the accounts and assets of the designated terrorists.
“The said designated individual or group can still file a petition with the CA to appeal such freezing of their accounts,” he said.
Lawmakers who sponsored and authored the Anti-Terrorism Act maintain that a suspected terrorist won’t be automatically detained on mere suspicion, but critics flag Section 29 of the measure, which allows warrantless arrest and detention without charges for up to 24 days. This is among the contentious provisions widely seen as open to abuse and lacking safeguards for human rights.
