Palace to UN human rights chief: Other countries have ‘more draconian’ anti-terror laws

Malacañang on Wednesday allayed concerns of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet over the proposed anti-terror legislation which is still awaiting the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Bachelet on Tuesday urged Duterte not to sign the bill, saying the proposal’s looming enactment heightened their concern about the “blurring of important distinctions between criticism, criminality and terrorism.”

She urged Duterte to come up with a legislation that contains safeguards against abuse.

However, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said developed countries have “more draconian” laws against terrorism, citing the United States and the United Kingdom.

“I think the view of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has to be taken into context of other existing anti-terror legislation and I am sure that the studies would confirm that we are at par with the rest of the developed world and not just with the developing countries,”  he told CNN-Philippines.

Roque earlier said the Human Security Act, which the bill seeks to replace, lacked the teeth that is required “given the current face of international terrorism.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, told the UN Human Rights Council via videoconference on Tuesday that there should be “no moral ambiguity in looking at efforts to strengthen anti-terrorism legislation.”

“[I]t is the state’s duty to address, within the bounds of law, all threats and challenges to the security and safety of our communities. The Terrorism Index has consistently ranked the Philippines among countries most impacted by terrorism,” he said.

If Duterte does not veto or sign the bill, it will lapse into law on July 9, a month after it was transmitted to Malacañang. Duterte certified the bill as urgent, prompting Congress to speed up its passage last month. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News