IBP cautions vs. possible ‘constitutional infirmities’ in anti-terrorism bill

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has cautioned against possible "constitutional infirmities" in the anti-terrorism bill, including a provision that empowers a council made up of executive officials to authorize the arrest of suspected terrorists.

In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, IBP president Domingo Egon Cayosa said the power to order arrests is with the courts.

Under Section 29 of the proposed measure, law enforcement or military personnel who have "taken custody" of suspected terrorists using written authorization from the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) can detain them for up to 14 days, extendable by 10 days, without a judicial warrant of arrest before bringing them before a judge.

Cayosa likewise pointed out that even in times of martial law, when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended, the Constitution requires that an arrested person be charged within three days.

He said the IBP has communicated its concerns to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and said they hope that the Office of the President will further review the bill and veto its "constitutionally questionable" provisions.

"We call attention to the possible unconstitutionality and avoid muddling it with issues of 'wisdom,' trust, preference, labelling and motherhood statements," Cayosa said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

In the radio interview, he said the bill could set a time limit for court actions due to the urgency of cases involving terrorism.

"Totoo namang kailangan natin ang proactive, adequate protection against terrorism but not at the expense of the Constitution," he said.

The proposed law creates the ATC, which will be made up of the executive secretary, the national security adviser, the secretaries of foreign affairs, national defense, the interior and local government, finance, justice, and information and communications technology, and the executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The bill says the council will be tasked to formulate and carry out anti-terrorism measures. In Section 45, the bill says "nothing herein shall be interpreted to empower the ATC to exercise any judicial or quasi-judicial power or authority."

In its statement, the IBP questioned whether or not the ATC can "authorize in writing" the "taking into custody" of terrorism suspects, as this power is "exclusively" a power of the judiciary.

Cayosa said the IBP welcomes statements by lawyers' groups and legal experts on the anti-terrorism bill.

"At the end of the day, everybody must bow to the supremacy of the Constitution and the guarantees and the processes enshrined in our Constitution," he said in the radio interview.

The Department of Justice is reviewing the bill, which hurdled Congress amid criticisms that its provisions could empower the government to go after legitimate dissent.

Sotto said the bill will be transmitted to Malacañang on Tuesday morning. — RSJ, GMA News