SC junks motions for reconsideration on anti-terror law ruling

The Supreme Court (SC) denied with finality the motions for reconsideration filed by several petitioners who challenged the high tribunal's decision declaring most parts of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as constitutional.

At the en banc session Tuesday, the high court voted to reject the six motions due to the “lack of substantial issues and arguments raised by the petitioners” on the court ruling issued in December last year.

“The Members of the Court maintained their vote in their December 7, 2021 Decision, which was penned by then-Associate Justice and now Philippine Judicial Academy Chancellor Rosmari D. Carandang,” the SC said in a media advisory.

“Newly appointed Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr. sided with the majority,” it added.

SC spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda wrote the resolution. 

To recall, the SC declared only two parts of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as unconstitutional following months of oral arguments.

The first is a qualifier under Section 4 that states that dissent is not terrorism if it is not meant to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, endanger a person's life, or create a serious risk to public safety.

The Anti-Terrorism Council's authority to adopt a request for designation by foreign jurisdictions was also struck down by the justices as unconstitutional.

On March, 26 out of the 37 petitioners who challenged the Anti-Terror Law filed a joint motion for reconsideration to ask the SC to reverse the ruling.

They questioned the legality of several provisions of the measure including Section 25 which gives ATC the authority to designate people or groups as terrorists and empowers the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to freeze their assets and Section 29 which legalizes warrantless detentions for suspected terrorists for 24 days.

A supplemental motion for reconsideration was also filed by a group of journalists and senators represented by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).

The oral arguments on the petitions took place from February to May 2021, with delays occurring in between as the Philippines battled a surge in COVID-19 cases.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law in July 2020.

Malacañang welcomed the high court's decision. 

"We welcome the latest decision of the Supreme Court on Republic Act 11479, otherwise known as the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020," acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said. 

"We consider this latest high court ruling a triumph for all peace-loving and law-abiding Filipinos as it serves as a stern warning against malevolent elements that the Philippines is not a safe haven for terrorists," he added. 

Meanwhile, the principal sponsor of the law in the Senate, Senator Panfilo Lacson, was not surprised that the motions were dismissed.

"That's expected kasi 'yung walang bagong arguments sa motions for reconsideration, talagang ide-deny talaga 'yon," Lacson, an Eleksyon 2022 presidential candidate, said in a chance interview in Abra.

(That's expected because if there are no new arguments presented in their motions for reconsideration, they will definitely deny that.)

He noted that the 15 magistrates of the SC rarely reverse their positions. — Hana Bordey/DVM/VBL, GMA News