IBP among groups ready to file petition vs. anti-terror bill if it becomes law

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines is ready to file a petition against the Anti-Terror Bill once it becomes law.

In an online forum organized by the IBP Makati Chapter and the Fortun, Narvasa and Salazar law office on Thursday, IBP president Domingo Egon Cayosa said that they are one of many groups already preparing petitions to question the constitutionality of certain provisions of the bill.

Cayosa stressed that the persistence of the terrorism problem in the country is not due to existing laws but their implementation.

“It is clear that the issue of terrorism or controlling terrorism is really more an enforcement rather than the law,” Cayosa said.

“If we need to improve the laws, why not? But we must do it within the confines and the safeguards of the constitution,” he added.

Lawyer Theodore Te of the Free Legal Assistance Group also questioned the urgency in passing the bill.

“Meron bang surge, especially during this pandemic, of incidents that would show a trend, that would require na mas mabangis na kapangyarihan? Ako sa tingin ko, wala akong nakita,” Te said.

Assistant Solicitor General Angelita Miranda responded that the need to pass the bill is urgent as the Philippines remains at number 9 on the Global Terrorism Index.

She added that only one individual has been convicted under the Human Security Act of 2007.

“There’s only one conviction, not even on the merits but under the plea bargaining arrangement. And I tell you, there are 150 plus terrorists incarcerated now, [in the Bureau of Corrections] or anywhere in Manila, that’s about to be released after serving 12 years, minimum 12 years, because they were just charged under the revised penal code,” Miranda said.

Miranda said the Anti-Terror Bill will plug whatever holes were in the Human Security Act.

Miranda added that should petitions challenging the bill be filed, the Office of the Solicitor General is ready. — BM, GMA News