Why Duterte's Terrorism Bill Worries Human Rights Activists

JAKARTA - Recently, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has been drafting a new Terrorism Bill. The move made a number of parliamentarians and human rights activists (HAM) in the Philippines worried. The bill has many loopholes for the government to abuse in the future.

According to Reuters, the potential abuse in question is that the legal basis can be used to silence those who oppose government policies. Not without reason. Duterte is known to have policies that have often drawn criticism, especially regarding human rights. His war on drugs is most famous, in which Duterte legalizes the killing of drug criminals.

Lawyer who is also a human rights activist, Jose Manuel Diokno explained, in the new Terrorism Bill, there are points where the government expands the definition of terrorism. Apart from that, the bill also increases the power of the police to carry out surveillance, arrest and detention.

"We think this is against the constitution, given the broader definition of terrorism, so that critics of the government can be considered terrorist suspects," he said.

Moreover, in the new bill there are also points that give the government authority to tap, arrest and detain suspects without warrant for 14 days. As a result, a member of the Philippine parliament, Edcel Lagman, spoke up regarding the bill.

He criticized Duterte for prioritizing the passing of a bill which he deemed cruel, rather than agreeing to an economic stimulus package which is still awaiting congressional approval. In fact, the package aims to help those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Duterte is tightening the rules to bind terrorist suspects at the expense of protecting human rights and civil liberties," Lagman said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque immediately brushed off the criticism. For him, the elements contained in the bill have the same pattern as the countries in the world that are effectively dealing with terrorism.

Harry also reminded how the terrorists occupied Marawi for five months in 2017. In fact, he warned that if the bill was not passed, the residual influence of terrorism could terrorize the Philippines. "Don't forget, Marawi's remains are still there."