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Friday, March 29, 2024

Council set to finish anti-terror law rules

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A Justice  department  official said Tuesday the Anti-Terrorism Council is still formulating the rules governing the process of removing names from a government list of suspected terrorists.

Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay says the council will try to finish the drafting of the internal rules within the month and submit them to the ATC for consideration and approval.

“We are in the process of crafting the rules. We hope to submit the rules for the ATC’s consideration within the month,” said Sugay, who has been designated as spokesman for the council on matters relating to the anti-terrorism law’s implementing rules and regulations .

“I understand that there is a meeting set for next week. We will try to finish the rules before then,” he said.

The department  led the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations for Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

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Under the law’s IRR, the list of individuals and groups designated as terrorists will be published on the council’s website, in the Official Gazette, and in a national newspaper.

Those designated as terrorists may seek to be delisted on grounds of mistaken identity, a change in circumstances, newly discovered evidence, death, dissolution of designated organizations, among others, that would show the designation had no basis.

They may file a verified request for “delisting” before the ATC within 15 days of publication.

Activists have criticized the provision for the publication of a list of supposed terrorists, saying it would be the “mother of all red-tagging,” referring to the act of labeling people and groups as communist rebels or fronts.

Critics said in many cases, red-tagging preceded the murders of activists and human rights workers in the Philippines.

Many of the petitioners who have questioned the anti-terrorism law before the Supreme Court  fear  the measure will lead to more arrests and prosecutions of the members of “red-tagged” progressive organizations and “terror-tagged” Muslim Filipinos.

The high court will hold oral arguments on the 37 petitions assailing the law on January 19, 2021, about half a year since the anti-terror law took effect.

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