Groups Renew Call to Repeal Anti-Terror Laws, Citing Repression

Human rights advocates on Friday renewed calls to repeal two anti-terrorism laws, which they said have long been used to silence critics who were only expressing legitimate political dissent. “For years, the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act have served as legal weapons for unjust arrests, prolonged detention, bank account freezes and other forms of political repression, threatening the people’s fundamental rights and freedoms,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said in a statement. According to Karapatan, at least 256 activists and even ordinary Filipinos have been charged under the so-called “terror laws” or were designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council. The group noted that 25 individuals remain imprisoned. “The Marcos Jr. administration continues to weaponize these laws to silence critics and suppress legitimate political dissent,” said Palabay. Members of Karapatan also held a protest in front of the Department of Justice on Friday to demand both laws to be repealed. The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) echoed the demand in a separate statement, pointing out that most terrorism and terrorism financing charges are often dismissed because of the lack of evidence. “The State’s own judicial record exposes the lie. Prosecutions for terrorism and terrorism financing under the ATA and its companion statute, the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, routinely collapse under judicial scrutiny,” it said. The group also criticized how the Anti-Terrorism Council is able to designate groups or individuals as terrorists without a prior notice or hearing, allowing the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze their assets. As a result, some organizations that had been tagged as terrorist groups are unable to continue conducting their humanitarian programs because of the lack of access to funds, NUPL said. Earlier on Wednesday, Windel Bolinget of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) said in a press briefing that there is a need to educate the public about the two laws, noting that the majority of Filipinos do not fully understand what it means to be tagged as a terrorist and how much it can impact a group or individual. “When it comes to murder, rebellion, these kinds of political cases that were filed against us, it’s easy for them to understand. But for terrorism, it’s so hard to engage with them.” “For ATA, there is still a lack of education about it.” He recalled that in 2023, he was designated as a terrorist alongside three other members of the CPA “without due process.” However, Bolinget stressed that the CPA is not a terrorist group and that its activities cannot be proven as terrorism. Because of the designation, Bolinget recalled how the bank accounts of the three CPA members as well as their relatives were frozen by the ATC. “They think it’s no harm done, that it’s just a label,” Steve Tauli, also from CPA, said in the same briefing. “There is a need to understand how it really affects us, the family, and the community.”