Senate passage of anti-terror bill seen to boost fight vs. terrorism

By Ronron
February 8, 2007

Authorities are looking forward to the enactment into law of the Anti-terror bill passed recently by the Senate and earlier on by the House of Representatives as it is seen to boost the country’s fight against terrorism.

“Despite the successes we have, once this (bill) is approved, we look forward to having more successes in the fight against terrorism,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said.

Bacarro said an anti-terror law will provide the military “the teeth” in their counter-terrorism operations, which, since the last quarter of 2006, have resulted in the neutralization of top Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Jainal Antel Sali, Jr., alias Abu Solaiman, who each have a $5 million bounty on their heads.

The Philippine military and police have long called for an adoption of an anti-terrorism law to deny arrested suspected terrorists of chances of gaining temporary liberty or absolution, which they usually get from charges lifted only from revised penal code.

Since 2001, the Philippines has committed to be a partner of the United States in the global war on terror after the latter was boldly attacked by Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network that year.

“The passage of the (anti-terrorism bill) is an integral component of the Philippine campaign against terrorism,” said Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, the Director for Legal, Public Information and Advocacy of the Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF), in a separate statement.

Blancaflor expressed optimism that even if the Senate version, known as the Human Security Act of 2007, is substantially different from the House version, the “distinctions would be easily ironed out during the bi-cameral meeting” in June.

The Senate approved its version of the bill on third reading late Wednesday evening while the House version was approved last April 4, 2006.

Blancaflor noted that among the new features in the Senate bill include further protection of human rights thru an enlarged role of the Commission on Human Rights, proper observance of due process, the need for a custodial logbook, no specific definition of terrorism, and 40-year incarceration penalty.

He credited the initiative of crafting an ant-terror law for the country to Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who filed the first version of the proposed law on June 17, 1996.

But the bill was strongly opposed by some sectors, especially cause-oriented and militant groups, for fear that it would result to abuse of power, and curtailment of some basic human rights, such as that to expression.

“The ATTF Technical Working Group lauds the effort and commitment of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile in ensuring the passage of the 2007 Human Security Act,” Blancaflor said./DMS