MANILA – The designation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), as terrorist groups implies freezing of their assets and not immediate arrests of its members, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
According to Undersecretary Adrian Sugay, the move came after the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) kicked off the controversial process of designating who may be considered as “terrorists” and “terrorist groups” under the anti-terror law.
“When you talk about designation, it’s not about arrest. There will be no arrest [or] detention in the coming days. This is really more for going after the funds or the assets of the designated individual or organizations,” Sugay said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
Among those designated by the ATC as “terrorist organizations, associations, and/or groups” are the CPP-NPA, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in South-East Asia, as well as the Maute Group in two separate resolutions approved on Dec. 9.
Sugay added that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) may examine accounts related to the CPP-NPA under Republic Act 10168 or “The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.”
The ATC, according to Sugay, did not issue any list of individuals linked to the CPP-NPA, and it will leave it up to banks and covered financial institutions to determine accounts related to terrorist groups.
Section 25 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 states the assets of a designated group, organization or individual shall be subject to the authority of the AMLC to freeze.
On Dec. 25, the ATC approved a resolution designating the CPP-NPA as terrorist organizations.
The document approved on Dec. 9, states that there is probable cause that the CPP-NPA committed acts defined as terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and should be tagged as “terrorist organizations, associations or groups of persons.”
The ATC is the body tasked under the law to designate any individual or group as a terrorist, following the guidelines set by the United Nations Security Council./PN
