This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 4, Feb. 25-March 3, 2007
As CPA
hits Cordi congressmen for backing ATB The
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) plans to challenge the
constitutionality of the Human Security Act 2007 or more popularly known as the
Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB) once President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) signs it
into law, as the Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) assailed Cordillera
congressmen for endorsing the passage of the bill. BY
KIM QUITASOL BAGUIO CITY – The National
Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) plans to challenge the
constitutionality of the Human Security Act 2007 or more popularly known as the
Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB) once President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) signs it
into law, as the Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) assailed Cordillera
congressmen for endorsing the passage of the bill. NUJP-Metro Baguio
secretary-general Arthur Allad-iw said his group is questioning the
constitutionality of the ATB. Should the bill be signed into law, his group may
challenge it before the Supreme Court, he said. Allad-iw said the ATB would
criminalize media work. The ATB violates press freedom and the people's right to
know as it would limit journalists' sources of news especially for community
newspapers focusing on investigative reporting, he said. “If we pursue objective
reporting and exhaust all possible sources like the military or the NPA (New
People’s Army) we may be charged with terrorism,” he said. CPA chairperson Beverly
Longid assailed Cordillera congressmen for endorsing the ATB. She encouraged
voters to include as part of their criteria in choosing candidates in the
forthcoming May elections the politicians’ stand on human rights violations. “We
could not afford to have in government people who do not respect human rights,”
she said. Longid further said the
government would use the ATB to facilitate economic plunder like liberalization
of the mining industry especially on indigenous peoples' ancestral domain. She
added that the Cordillera indigenous peoples' experience proved that opposition
to certain projects is met with state violence. She said the ATB would be used
as a tool to suppress people's opposition. “The said bill would legalize state
terrorism,” she added. Cordillera Human Rights
Alliance (CHRA) secretary-general Atty. Randy Kinaud said the ATB violates
provisions of the Bill of Rights such as the right to life and liberty,
including right to privacy, the freedoms of expression and of association. He
said the bill violates these freedoms enshrined in the 1987 Constitution that
supposedly ensures protection to the people. Kinaud said suspected
terrorists would be placed under surveillance, put under house arrest or
detained for more than three days without charges, which all violate present
laws. Bayan Muna (People First)
regional coordinator Manuel Loste said there would be an upsurge of political
violence against progressive partylists with the passage of the ATB. “We have no
defense in terms of physical security but we hope the Melo commission and the
Alston report would deter the government's plan,” he said. Loste added Bayan Muna
would continue to pursue what it describes as “politics of change” amid the
escalating extra-judicial killings. “We have to persist and we will persist
because this is our commitment to the people. We will rise to the challenge of
the times,” he stressed. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat © 2007 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
NUJP Questions ATB
Constitutionality
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat