THE Supreme Court (SC) yesterday announced the holding of oral arguments on petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
In an advisory, oral arguments will begin starting on January 19, 2021, 2 p.m., at the SC en banc session hall in Manila.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed a stricter anti-terrorism bill, condemned by critics and rights groups as a weapon to target opponents and stifle free speech.
Duterte has defended the law, saying law-abiding citizens should not fear as it targets terrorists including communist insurgents.
The highly contested provisions of the law are the following: section 4 – definition of Terrorism; section 5 – the threat to commit terrorism; section 6 – planning, training, preparing and facilitating the commission of terrorism; section 9 – inciting to commit terrorism; section 10 – recruitment to and membership in a terrorist organization; section 11 – foreign terrorist; section 12 – providing material support to terrorists;section 25 – designation of terrorist individual, groups of persons, organizations or associations; section 26 – proscription of terrorist organizations, associations or group of persons; section 27 – preliminary order of proscription and section 29 – detention without judicial warrant of arrest.
