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Chilling effect 'refers to that pause in the writer as he composes his words,' says Alfredo Molo III, counsel for the petitioners. 'It is the hesitation inside the mind of the speaker because of a vague and overbroad law. He doesn’t know whether the next word he will say will be criminal or in this case, mark him as a terrorist.'
endIndex: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2) — No other law penalizes the exercise of civil and political rights based on a person’s intent, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said during the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on the Anti-Terrorism Act on Tuesday. “Worse, it allows the state to simply presume the existence of intent from the citizens’ acts even if the acts themselves do not constitute a crime,” said Diokno, one of the seven counsels of the petitioners seeking to junk the controversial law. He argued mainly against Section 4 of the law, which states that advocacy...
endIndex: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2) — The petitioners against the Anti-Terrorism Act have so far failed to present an “actual case” that would warrant the Supreme Court’s abolition of the controversial measure, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said during the much-anticipated oral arguments on Tuesday. In a searing debate with law professor Alfredo Molo III, a counsel for the petitioners, Leonen said it might be too early for the high court to step in considering that none of the 37 sets of petitioners have directly suffered from the implementation of the law. “Pers...
Too much executive power? The Anti-Terrorism Council, currently headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, can now designate individuals and organizations as terrorists without any hearing, as long as it sees “probable cause” that they commit, attempt to commit, or are part of a conspiracy to commit acts defined and penalized as terrorism under Sections 4 to 12 of the law. While authorities stressed that designation does not automatically warrant an arrest, the lists of designated terrorists are published, giving those tagged 15 days to file an appeal. Petitioners say this encroach...
File photo of CPP-NPA militia: AFP/Mitchell Maduro QUEZON CITY, Dec. 27 (PIA) -- The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has designated the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) as a "terrorist" organization, association, and/or a group of persons. The resolution, approved on Dec. 9, and released to members of media this week, was signed by ATC chair, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, and the body's vice chair, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. The ATC is composed of nine members of the Cabinet including the Executive Secretary, National Security Advise...