NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Third Regular Session

SENATE
S.B No. ______
2006

Introduced by Senators Edzel Angelo P. Banal and Charlyn Kim Chao

AN ACT
PENALIZING PUBLIC OFFICIALS VIOLATING CITIZENS’ INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND
LIBERTIES DURING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, AMENDING R.A. 11479, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 was signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte during his term to
“prevent and stop” terrorist attacks in the country. As this bill was signed to become a law, the
executive branch of the government and its armed forces have had the absolute power in defining what
constitutes the definition of terrorism, who are to be considered terrorists, and the actions to be done
to these individuals. The law empowers an appointed Anti-Terror Council (ATC) to assume judicial
power to indict citizens not just based on commitment of the act of terrorism as stated in the Section 4
of RA No. 11479, but also the intent. Therefore, any suspicion by the state’s institutions such as the
Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as well as the
suspicion of government officials, is enough basis for being considered as terrorist.

This Act also allows police, law enforcement, and military personnel duly authorized by the Anti-
Terrorism Council that the state/president will elect or appoint to designate groups and individuals as
“terrorists” and carry out warrantless arrests without incurring liability under Article 125, or the
Revised Penal Code. Additionally, the allowable period of detention has been extended to 14 working
days, extended by 10 days, which is against the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Furthermore, this
indicates that the institutions and government officials stated above have the power to call or label
someone as “terrorist” by just basing on their beliefs, personal view, and mindset, which is unfair to
the citizens.

Any person who can be considered as terrorist was stated under Section 4 of RA No. 11479, but it was
also stated in that section that terrorism shall not include any form of social movement and social
reforms as long as it does not intend to cause death or physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s
life, or to create a serious risk to public safety. However, those who are in position have been violating
this Act for the past years now.
This bill aims to penalize those who are in positions of authority who have been labeling and arresting
individuals due to their alleged “acts of terrorism” that are not indicated in R.A. No. 11479, specifically
abusing the Act, and to provide protection to those who have been arrested and labeled as “terrorists”
for solely engaging in social movements like protesting, advocating, mass action, etc.
NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
Third Regular Session

SENATE
S.B No. ______
2006

Introduced by Senators Edzel Angelo P. Banal and Charlyn Kim Chao

AN ACT
PENALIZING PUBLIC OFFICIALS VIOLATING CITIZENS’ INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND
LIBERTIES DURING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, AMENDING R.A. 11479, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2020

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be referred to as “Amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act
of 2020.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy and Objectives. - It is declared a policy of the State to protect life,
liberty, and property from terrorism, to condemn terrorism as inimical and dangerous to the
national security of the country and to the welfare of the people, and to make terrorism a crime
against the Filipino people, against humanity, and against The Law of Nations. In the
implementation of the policy stated above, the State shall uphold the basic rights and
fundamental liberties of the people as enshrined in the Constitution.

The State recognizes that the fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive approach,
comprising political, economic, diplomatic, military, and legal means duly taking into account
the root causes of terrorism without acknowledging these as justifications for terrorist and/or
criminal activities. Such measures shall include conflict management and post-conflict
peacebuilding, addressing the roots of conflict by building state capacity and promoting
equitable economic development.

Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as a curtailment, restriction or diminution of

constitutionally recognized powers of the executive branch of the government. It is to be
understood, however, that the exercise of the constitutionally recognized powers of the
executive department of the government shall not prejudice respect for human rights which
shall be absolute and protected at all times.
SECTION 3. Identification of Beneficiaries. - The following are the ones who will benefit from
the bill:

(a) Filipino Citizens - Filipino citizens will be protected from potential abuses of power by
revising the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to include new sanctions for public officials who
violate the law and falsely identify people as “terrorists.” This amendment protects the
rights and liberties of every Filipino citizen by ensuring that personal views and beliefs are
not to be used as a basis for the arrest of innocent individuals.

SECTION 4. Definition of terms. - as used in this Act:

(a) Terrorism shall refer to activities committed by individuals intended to: cause death or
serious bodily injury to any person, or endanger a person’s life; cause extensive damage or
destruction to a government or public facility, public place, or public property; cause
interference with, damage, or destruction to critical infrastructure; develop, manufacture,
possess, acquire, transport, supply or use weapons, explosives, or of biological, nuclear,
radiological, or nuclear weapons; and release dangerous substances, causing fire, floods, or
explosions.
(b) Anti-Terror Council (ATC) shall refer to members appointed by the executive, that would
permit the authorities to arrest people it designates as “terrorists” without a judicial warrant
and to detain them without charge for up to 24 days before they must be presented before
a judicial authority.
(c) Judicial Power shall refer to the power vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower
courts as may be provided by law. This power includes the duty to settle actual
controversies involving rights that are legally demandable and enforceable and to determine
if any branch or instrumentality of government has acted with grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack of excess of jurisdiction.
(d) Terrorist shall refer to shall refer to any natural person who commits any of the acts defined
and penalized under Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11 and 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of
2020.
(e) Terrorist Groups shall refer to any entity organized for the purpose of engaging in terrorism,
or those prescribed under Section 26 hereof or the United Nations Security Council-
designated terrorist organization.
(f) Social Movements shall refer to tools of resistance that can bring about social changes and
often a form of nonviolent protest that challenges the status quo and creates a better society.
(g) Revised Penal Code shall refer to the basic law that defines criminal offenses and provides
the penalties for the commission of those offenses.

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulation. - Within thirty (30) days following the enactment
of this proposed bill, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Human Rights
(CHR), in coordination with relevant law enforcement agencies and legal experts, shall be
tasked with establishing and promulgating the necessary rules and regulations to ensure the
effective enforcement of the provisions of this Act.
SECTION 5.1. Clarify Definitions and Criteria. - One of the first steps should be to clarify the
definitions and criteria for what constitutes terrorism. This should be done to ensure that there
is a clear and precise understanding of what actions are considered terrorist acts and what
actions fall under social movements. The law should be amended if necessary to provide clearer
and more specific definitions.

SECTION 5.2. Oversight and Accountability. - Establish a robust oversight mechanism to monitor
the actions of the Anti-Terror Council (ATC), the police, law enforcement, government
officials, and military personnel involved in designating individuals or groups as "terrorists"
and carrying out warrantless arrests. This oversight body should have the power to review and
investigate cases of alleged abuse of power and misconduct.

SECTION 5.3. Judicial Review. - Ensure that there is a strong judicial review process to determine
the validity of designations as "terrorists" and to assess the legality of warrantless arrests. This
process should be transparent and independent of the executive branch.

SECTION 5.4. Protection of Citizens' Rights. - Clearly outline the rights of individuals who are
labeled as "terrorists" or arrested under the law. This includes the right to legal representation,
due process, and the protection against torture and other forms of abuse. Ensure that these rights
are upheld in practice.

SECTION 6. Prohibited Acts. - The prohibited acts section outlines specific actions that public
officials must refrain from doing:

(a) Labeling as "Terrorist" should be prohibited for any public official in a position of power
to designate an individual or a group as a "terrorist" or a member of a terrorist militant
group unless there is clear and verifiable proof that their acts violate R.A. No. 11479.
(b) Unlawful Arrest shall be unlawful for any public official in a position of authority to arrest
an individual or a group without a proper warrant or due legal process solely for their
participation in legalized social movements such as protest, advocacy, mass action, or
similar activities.
(c) Excessive Force is prohibited for any public official in a position of power to use excessive
force, hurt, or kill an individual or a group while labeling or detaining them without proper
warrant and due legal process.

SECTION 7. Penalties. - Any person, whether a government official, the police, law enforcer, military
personnel, or the ATC who violates any of the provision this act shall be penalized accordingly
to first-, second-, and third-degree penalties:

(a) First Degree Penalty. - If any of the officials uses his/her power to label an individual or a
group as “terrorist or a member of a terrorist militant group” shall be penalized with one
(1) month suspension.
 (b) Second Degree Penalty. - If any of the officials uses his/her power to label and arrest an
individual or a group, without any warrant, because of doing social movements like protest,
advocating, mass action, etc., shall be penalized with ten (10) years of imprisonment, which
he/she cannot run for any elections or apply for any work in the government during the ten
years.
(c) Third Degree Penalty. - If any of the officials uses his/her power to label, arrest an
individual or a group without any warrant, and purposely harm or harm or kill an individual
or a group shall be penalized with dismissal in service, he/she cannot run for any elections
or apply for any work in the government, and life imprisonment without parole.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - If for any reason any part or provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby
shall remain and continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. - Republic Act No. 9372, otherwise known as “Human Security Act
of 2007”, is hereby repealed. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules or regulations or parts
thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified
accordingly.

SECTION 10. Effectivity Date. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.