Business groups oppose ‘highly divisive’ Anti-Terrorism bill

The Philippines’ biggest business organizations on Friday joined the snowballing call to junk the controversial Anti-Terrorism bill.

“We, the undersigned, are united in voicing our opposition in the strongest possible terms to the enactment at this time of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (House Bill 6875) recently approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading, and a similar bill approved by the Senate (Senate Bill 1083) last February,” the business groups said in a joint statement.

The business groups that issued the joint statement are the Makati Business Club (MBC), Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development, Investment House Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Judicial Reform Initiative (JRI), Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), and Subdivision and Housing Developers Association, Inc. (SHDA).

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— Ted Cordero (@Ted_Cordero) June 5, 2020

The bill is just awaiting President Rodrigo Duterte's signature. It allows detention of suspected terrorists from 14 to 24 days without a warrant and defines inciting to terrorism through means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, banners, or other representations.

The bill, likewise, removes the existing P500,000 a day penalty on police officers who will detain suspects eventually acquitted of the crime.

“[T]he Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 is highly divisive - because it poses clear and present danger to human rights enshrined in our Constitution - at a time when our nation needs to come together as one,” the business groups said.

While the business groups fully appreciate the need for peace and security in building a stronger nation, it said that “current threats to national security are well addressed by existing laws and policies, and as such do not require urgent new legislation.”

The groups added that in the trying times amid the COVID-19 pandemic, what is needed is national unity.

“We are all suffering and fighting for survival: businesses are closing down, people are losing their jobs, those who still have jobs find it impossible to find safe transportation to work, our children are going hungry and the continuity of their education is under threat,” the statement read.

“We need to come together, united around a set of relief and recovery measures that will help us come out of this pandemic a stronger and more resilient nation,” the groups added.

The business groups urged national leaders and the private sector to be “focused fully” at this time on “what really matters,” such developing policies that will address multiple socio-economic shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening our health systems, improving the investment climate to create more jobs especially given many thousands of returning OFWs.

“These are what our country needs to pull us out of our crisis and get back on our feet,” the groups said.—AOL, GMA News