Petitioners have again urged the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the implementation of the controversial Republic Act 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, following the alleged life-threatening acts of intelligence gathering and profiling being undertaken by the Interior department.
In a manifestation before the high court, the petitioners said the DILG recently issued a memo red-tagging the Confederation for Unity Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.
The lawyers and petitioners against the ATA insisted on the need for the high court to stop the enforcement of the law to protect the rights of Filipino citizens.
“The DILG memorandum is undeniable proof that the affiliate unions, federations and associations of COURAGE and ACT, as well as their individual members and officers, are among the targets of the government’s vicious crackdown on dissent and activism under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” the petitioners said.
They said declaring the legitimate organizations such as COURAGE and ACT as “front organizations” was a “prima facie act of designation…, and under the ATA this could trigger grievous consequences.”
In their plea for an order the stop the law’s implementation, the lawyers and the petitioners said DILG Assistant Secretary for Public Safety and Security Alexander Macario reportedly issued a memorandum on March 10 on the subject of “Membership of Employees of the Department in the COURAGE”.
The memo reportedly said that the DILG participated in an undisclosed and confidential meeting and part of the discussion was on the alleged infiltration of known communist terrorist groups such as COURAGE and ACT in government agencies.
It was alleged that the memo directed DILG regional directors to investigate and validate if there were employees who are COURAGE members.
The DILG memo was uploaded in the DILG website pn March 14 and was deleted on March 15.
The high court has suspended the oral arguments on the 37 petitions challenging the constitutionality of the ATA. The legal debates are expected to resume on April 6 after four postponements to prevent the spread of COVID-19.