Jpeg Garcia’s advocacy for peace based on social justice made him a target of state forces, his fellow human rights defenders in the Southern Tagalog region said.
The Supreme Court has upheld the controversial terror law as constitutional except for two provisions.
Today, there have been reports that the Supreme Court ruled on the Constitutionality of the terror law. As the country awaits the decision, Bulatlat compiled its previous reports on the controversial law.
On the third oral argument, petitioners against the Philippine terror law raised before the Supreme Court the longer period of detention without charges under Anti-Terrorism Act.
Petitioners against the Philippine terror law argued m before the Supreme Court that the controversial law suffers from overbreadth and impermissible vagueness. During the oral arguments, they called on SC to declare the law unconstitutional even before it causes more harm than the evil it is supposed to fight.
In their petition, the two Aetas decried that the law’s definition of terrorism is “impermissibly vague.” They also argued that it is “overly broad that it sweepingly stifles even innocent and legitimate acts, including the exercise of protected freedoms.”
Now that the schedule has been set, the focus now is on how the members of the high court would come up with a decision on these. Considering the caliber of the lawyers questioning the ATL’s validity, will they simply brush off the arguments to put a finality on the question and allow the president to do as he wills or will they listen to the arguments and seriously put the law into question?
“It is important that peace talks continue as this is one of the avenues to resolve the roots of armed conflict.”
“No one, save its proponents, is safe from the assailed law. Thus, the issues surrounding its validity are matters of public concern of which the public have the right to be informed.”
Community journalists, artists, writers, activists and dissenters are not spared from the law’s dangerous provisions such as surveillance.
"Hindi natin kayang maghintay at hindi natin kailangang maghintay. Kailangan natin na lumahok sa malawakang laban para patalsikin ang isang pabaya, pahirap at pasistang diktador na si Duterte at hindi kami takot mula sa Bahaghari na sabihin na kailangan na nating palitan ang sistema na mapang-api, ang sistema na nagpapahirap lamang sa sambayanang Pilipino."
The dangers have always been real. This aggressive troll offensive is trying to obscure the fact that the Philippines has been ranked the deadliest country in the world for land and environmental defenders just last year in an incisive report by international investigative group Global Witness.
With the new policy, there is a higher probability that the police themselves would be spreading the disease.
Human rights lawyer Ephraim Cortez pointed out that the definition of terrorism under Republic Act 11479 is vague and over broad, and could include humanitarian groups which have long been subjected to red-tagging.
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