Religious groups to Supreme Court: Declare anti-terror law unconstitutional

Several religious groups on Friday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to declare the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 unconstitutional and invalid.

Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo; San Carlos, Negros Occidental Bishop Gerardo Alminaza; United Church of Christ in the Philippines Bishop Emergencio Padillo and 17 others urged the court to issue a temporary restraining order against the law.

In the 18th petition against the law, the petitioners said many of them have experienced threats and harassment, and some have been accused of being communist supporters by state forces. They said they are "under credible threat of prosecution" under the anti-terrorism law.

For one, they argued that the definition of terrorism in the law is vague and overbroad, making it "not clear enough for a person of common intelligence to be sure of its meaning."

They objected to the provision on inciting to commit terrorism in particular, saying it lacks standards that would guide law enforcers, prosecutors and judges to say which speech constitutes incitement.

The petitioners said some personalities in the religious sector who have spoken out against the Duterte administration later on faced accusations or criminal complaints.

They added that they are all peace advocates who have supported the resumption of peace talks with the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

The petitioners also questioned Section 29, which provides for the warrantless detention of suspected terrorists for up to 24 days before they have to be charged in court.

"As suspicion is not based on any parameter, it is subjective, arbitrary and prone to abuse, which may result in indiscriminate unlawful warrantless arrest in violation of the fundamental right against unreasonable searches and seizures," they said.

The petitioners also said the Anti-Terrorism Council's power to "designate" persons or groups as terrorist is unconstitutional.

Retired SC justices Antonio Carpio and Conchita Carpio Morales, four members of the commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution, lawyers, professors, human rights advocates, labor groups, youth organizations, journalists, and artists have also filed petitions against the law.

More groups are expected to challenge the law. —KBK, GMA News