Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) – Panay decries the Anti-Terror Council Resolution designating 19 individuals as terrorists including Panay-based NDPF Peace Consultant Concha Araneta and Tomas Dominado, husband of the disappeared Luisa Posa-Dominado.
BAYAN-Panay Deputy Spokesperson Bryan Bosque said that the resolution is arbitrary and seeks to criminalize certain individuals without due process of law.
He added that the resolution did not cite specific terror acts, lacks clear standard, without factual basis and is a mere accusation.
He added that the resolution did not cite specific terror acts, lacks clear standard, without factual basis and is a mere accusation.
Bosque also said that the terror-tagging is no different from red-tagging as it accuses anyone of certain things even without evidence to support their claims. Bosque expressed alarm over the designation as it has completely turned the tables around on judicial proceedings in the Philippines wherein everyone should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
In the case of the designated individuals they will have at least 15 days to appeal for delisting which means that the burden of proving their innocence lies with them as the accused. He also called the tagging of peace consultants as sabotaging the peace process.
“By branding consultants as terrorists, the ATC, has closed the doors for the peacful resolution of an armed conflict,” Bosque cited. He challenged everyone to denounce the resolution as it may be a prelude to more arbitrary terror listings of innocent individuals.
“If we cannot stop this and if they can do this to 19 individuals without presenting concrete basis, then they can almost do it with everyone else,” Bosque concluded.
