The Anti-Terrorism bill recently passed by Congress will result in the improved well-being and safety of the majority of the population, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Monday.
He said the nation should always be vigilant against terrorism and anticipate what the terrorists were planning to do.
“Fighting terrorism is not a theoretical exercise that we can discuss without letup forever without real-world consequences,” Cayetano said.
“It is an is ever-evolving issue that all countries—not just the Philippines—are grappling with right now.”
Cayetano says it is not just governments that are adapting to terrorism but the terrorists as well.
“Every time we have a new law, new weapons or effective approaches and strategies against terrorism, the enemy also evolves: becoming fiercer, more determined and innovative in their efforts to destroy and kill people,” Cayetano said.
“This means that we can never let our guard down—not against overreach by government or the acts of terrorists. These two objectives should not be mutually exclusive. With more trust and less politics, I am confident that we can have both.”
Cayetano says the Anti-Terrorism bill that Congress approved and sent to President Rodrigo Duterte is not intended to stifle dissent and suppress activism. Its target is terrorism and not activism.
Earlier, Cayetano said the bill, when enacted into law, “will save many lives” that otherwise would be lost to terrorist attacks on communities and other soft targets.
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman on Monday slammed the warrantless arrest of two Moro traders by Manila policemen who accused them of being drug traffickers.
Hataman, who represents Basilan in the House of Representatives, said Saadudin Alawiya and Abdullah Maute were arrested without a court order on June 12.
The policemen who arrested the two reportedly also searched their houses.
"The Anti-Terrorism bill has not even been signed into law, but we already hear of police abuses against our Muslim brothers,” Hataman said in a statement.
“How much more if warrantless arrest is already legal under that bill? What protection can Moros and other Filipinos avail of against abuses?"
Hataman is one of the handful of congressmen who voted against the Anti-Terrorism bill. As a result, Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte has included him among those he has asked to resign their committee chairmanships.