Name: Micko A.

Amoroto Date: November 15, 2020

Group: Loyalty Course: BS Statistics
Class Designation: Treasurer

Reaction Paper on Anti-Terror Bill

Terrorist activity in the Philippines has been active since the 1930s and it is still been
active currently. The lack of security and counterterrorism made the country ranked 9th in the
2019 edition of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)’s Global Terrorism Index. In last
year alone, the communist insurgency movement the New People’s Army (NPA), was
responsible for 36% of the 297 deaths and 39% of the 424 incidents. Other active groups
include the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, a separatist group in the south of the
country, as well as militants affiliated to the Islamic State which carried out their first suicide
bombing in the country last year, killing 12 people. While last year’s death toll marked a 13%
improvement on the previous year, it was still the second-worst annual total on record for the
country. Based on those statistics, it can be said that the current administration is actively
working on eradicating terrorism in the country. One of those actions is the replacement of the
Human Security Act of 2007, or Republic Act No. 9372, to Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, or
Republic Act No. 11479.
According to the Official Gazette of the Philippines website, the Anti-Terrorism Act of
2020, officially designated as Republic Act No. 11479, is a Philippine law whose intent is to
prevent, prohibit, and penalize terrorism in the Philippines. The law was signed by President
Rodrigo Duterte on July 3, 2020, and effectively replaced the Human Security Act of 2007 on
July 18, 2020. The law consists of a list of actions that are considered “acts of terrorism”, the
law also creates a presidentially-appointed body, the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), which would
designate the persons who could be arrested as "terrorists. The law allows suspects to be
detained without a judicial warrant of arrest for 14 days and can be extended by 10 more days,
and placed under surveillance for 60 days, which can also be extended by up to 30 days, by the
police or military. Another thing that is replaced is that under the new law, a wrongfully detained
person would have to file a suit against the government to get any remuneration for having been
wrongfully accused. As an overview, the law contains the following: Definition of terrorism,
Creation of Anti-Terrorism Council, Warrantless arrest, and Removal of safeguard against
wrongful detention.
I applaud the administration for taking drastic action in eradicating terrorism in the
country. The Philippines has been bombarded with various terrorist activities and has been in
the news about it; As a citizen living in the archipelago that has the most activity, it is a
promising solution so that we can live more peacefully. For the past years, the government has
been in peace agreements with those groups so that both of the parties can satisfy their
agendas without compromising the innocent lives of Filipino citizens. I will not forget the day
when the Roxas Night Market Bombing happened, I was there days before the incident and it is
already secured to the maximum since it is crowded with people; somehow, the suspects of the
incident passed through maximum security and successfully disturbed the peace in the City
after that. I will not also forget that rebels are present next to the barangay that I formerly lived
in, it alarmed the majority of the people there, my family and neighbors are constantly looking
for updates on that situation. Thankfully, we were safe and sound, but we were still on high alert
just in case those rebels came back. If you were somehow experienced terrorism and its
horrors, you could say this bill will give you a true sense of security and peace.
News about the possible implementation of the law bothered various groups, specifically
human rights, and religious groups, and they are against it. They feared that the implementation
of the law would mean possible misuse of power, more frequent red-tagging, or simply violation
of human rights. I do somehow agree about their insights, innocent lives may be in danger.
Warrantless arrests may do be useful for capturing true terrorists but may be used to citizens
who give constructive criticisms regarding governments’ actions, mistakenly interpret it as
someone that is strongly against the government.
My stance on this anti-terror bill is that it would be helpful for victims of terrorism so that
they could live their lives peacefully. However, everyone must call out the possible misuse of its
contents and demand, for possible revision or revoke and creating a safer law. I see every day
in social media sites Filipinos express their thoughts and feelings on political issues no matter
what their political interests are, those expressions create noise around the country and we can
use it for the betterment of the country’s future. This issue unites lots of Filipinos, even
foreigners and they do care about it, for it holds what the country would look like years from
now.