ASEANEWS-HEADLINE | Paper Editions: MANILA- Court upholds anti-terror law

April 27, 2022April 27, 2022 Editor 0 Comment

Supreme Court

(UPDATE) THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday denied with finality the motions for reconsideration (MRs) of its decision on the petitions challenging Republic Act (RA) 11479 or the “Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.”

During its deliberations in Baguio City, the full court “resolved to deny the [MRs] due to lack of substantial issues and arguments raised by the petitioners.”

Chief Assistant Court Administrator Brian Keith Hosaka, also SC Public Information Office chief, announced that the magistrates maintained their votes.

The verdict declared two provisions of the law unconstitutional while others were ruled as constitutionally sound.

The main ruling then was penned by then-Associate Justice and now Philippine Judicial Academy Chancellor Rosmari Carandang.

As for the current motions for reconsideration, Hosaka said, there were six MRs filed, and the member in charge of the case is J. Rodil Zalameda in view of the retirement of Carandang last January 2022.

The high court is set to give full details of the case.

In the main ruling before, and with a 12-3 vote, the court had ruled as unconstitutional for being overbroad and violative of freedom of expression “the qualifier to the proviso in Section 4 of RA 11479, i.e…. which are not intended to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life or to create a serious risk to public safety.”

It also declared unconstitutional by a vote of 9-6 the portion in Section 25, Paragraph 2, that states, “Request for designation by other jurisdictions or supranational jurisdictions may be adopted by the ATC (Anti-Terrorism Council) after determination that the proposed designee meets the criteria for designation of UNSCR (United Nations Security Council Resolution) 1373.”

All the other provisions of the law, which alarmed critics who are worried that authorities might abuse it and curb dissent, were declared “not unconstitutional” by the tribunal.

A controversial provision of the law empowers authorities to arrest without a warrant people they deem as terrorists and detain them without charges for 14 days.

At least 37 petitions were filed before the high court, naming as respondents Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the ATC and the Anti Money Laundering Council, among others.

The first four petitions of lawyer Howard Calleja, along with former Education secretary Bro. Armin Luistro of the De La Salle Brothers Inc., lawyer Joseph Peter Calleja, University of the Philippines Law professor Christopher John Lao, Dr. Reynaldo Echavez, Napoleon Siongco, Raeyan Reposar and civic groups