Enhanced surveillance, longer detention of suspects in Senate anti-terror bill

Saying terrorism seems to have no end in sight, Senator Panfilo Lacson pushed for the amendment of the country’s anti-terrorism law, which this time, would redefine the act, use technology to conduct surveillance operations and remove the penalty imposed on the state for wrongful detention of suspects.

Lacson said he anticipates criticisms from human rights advocates, but asserted that “due to the evils of terrorism sought to be avoided, there is an imperative need to impose justifiable limitations on the rights of some people, suspected of plotting and actually committing terrorist acts. This is the tough reality.”

Lacson, chairperson of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, on Wednesday presented the panel’s committee report on Senate Bill No. 2204 entitled, “An Act Amending Certain Provisions of Republic Act No. 9372, Otherwise Known As “An Act To Secure the State and Protect our People from Terrorism.”

The report was signed by 20 out of the 23 senators.

“To those of our colleagues who voted against and continue to oppose Martial Law in Mindanao, let me say this: As I said before, a vote for the immediate passage of this measure means a vote for the immediate lifting of Martial Law in Mindanao,” he said.

In his speech, Lacson said the danger brought by terrorism is present, but which could not be fully responded to by the current Human Security Act of 2007.  His proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2019 will address the “evident infirmities” of the present law.

“Do we not find it ironic, or rather alarming, that with the increasing number of deaths due to terrorism, we only hear of one conviction?” he said.

“Are we not troubled that when terrorists are captured, they are oftentimes charged with cases for violations of the Revised Penal Code, or illegal possession of firearms, or some other special laws rather than for terrorism?” he added.

Lacson lamented that the government “cannot speak of a criminal justice response to terrorism when this is how terrorism-related cases are handled.”

“Our existing anti-terror law cannot even give our law enforcers and prosecutors a firm foothold to pursue terrorism cases,” he said.

Terrorist act definition modified

The bill decided to do away with the predicate crimes enumerated in the law and just define a terrorist act as any of the following unlawful acts:

•  Attacks that cause death or serious bodily injury to any person;
•  Attacks that cause extensive damage or destruction to a government or public facility, critical infrastructure, public place or private property likely to endanger human life or result in major economic loss;
•  Manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply or use of weapons, explosives or of biological or chemical weapons, as well as research into, and development of, biological and chemical weapons;
•  Release of dangerous substance, or causing fires, floods or explosions the effect of which is to endanger human life.

The committee report introduced new acts that would be penalized under the measure:

• Planning, preparing and facilitating the commission of a terrorist act;
• Attempt to commit, proposal to commit and inciting to commit terrorist acts;
• Recruitment to participate, join, commit or support any terrorist act or membership in a terrorist group, association or organization proscribed in accordance with this Act;
• Terrorism by foreign nationals; and,
• Providing material support to terrorists.

Surveillance

Unlike in the present law when authorization to conduct surveillance operation was vested only with the Court of Appeals, the new proposed bill states that that application to conduct surveillance can also be made with the Regional Trial Court (RTC).

Taking into consideration the need to enhance the “antiquated” Anti-Wiretapping law, Lacson said the proposed surveillance-related activities would now involve using the “technology available today and those that will be known to science and the various forms of communications.”

To ensure “cooperation and active participation” of telecommunication companies, “in the event of factual or imminent terrorist attack,” the bill authorizes the Anti-Terrorism Council to file an application with the RTC for an order to compel telecom and internet service providers “to produce all customer information and identification records, as well as call and text data records and other cellular or internet metadata of persons suspected of committing said actual or imminent attack, with notice to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to ensure compliance.”

Judicial authorization

The bill also proposed for the extension of the effectivity of the period of judicial authorization to 60 days, which may be extended for another 30 days.

It also now required that verified applications filed with the court shall include an urgent prayer for the issuance of a preliminary order of proscription. The said order shall be issued within seventy-two (72) hours if the application is sufficient in form and substance, and the court finds probable cause for declaring the respondent a terrorist or outlawed organization or association.

It also proposed to limit the period within which to make the proscription either permanent or to totally set it aside to only six months from the time the application for proscription is filed in court.

When under the present law, a person arrested for violation of the provisions of the Human Security Law can be detained for three days without charge, the new measure proposes a 14-working day period of detention without extension. 

Lacson’s bill proposed to scrap the provision in the current law that mandates the payment of P500,000 per day of incarceration the moment the suspect is acquitted of the charge of terrorism.

“This has been the Sword of Damocles that hangs over the heads of our law enforcement authorities and one of the reasons why they cannot enforce the law to its full extent,” he said. 

“By removing this, we hope that our law enforcement authorities will now have the courage to fully execute the provisions of the law without fear of being slapped with this exorbitant fine,” he added. —LDF, GMA News