MANILA – Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa told critics of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to “go ahead” and push for its junking, so long as they will not blame the government if terrorism in the country worsens.
The neophyte senator made the statement in a radio interview on Sunday as he clarified that advocacy, protest, dissent, stoppage of work, mass or industrial actions were not a violation in the measure.
“Sige junk ninyo. Kapag kayo nabiktima ng terorista, kapag may namatay sa mahal sa buhay ninyo kayo mismo huwag ninyo sisihin ang gobyerno na hindi gumagawa ng paraan para masawata ang terrorism,” Dela Rosa told DZBB.
“Gusto ninyo ng another Marawi siege? Gusto ninyo ng another Zamboanga siege? Go ahead. Gusto ninyo ng bombing kaliwa kananan? Go ahead i-junk natin ito basta huwag ninyo sisihin ang gobyerno kapag nagkaletse letse sa terrorism dito,” he added.
Militant and human rights groups, among others, fear that the Anti-Terrorism Act will be abused and used to go after critics of the government, while Commission on Human Rights called on the bill’s vague definition of terrorism.
Under the anti-terrorism bill, persons who shall threaten to commit terrorism, and those who will propose any terroristic acts or incite others to commit terrorism shall suffer imprisonment of 12 years.
Suspected persons can be detained for 14 days without a warrant of arrest with an allowable 10-day extension. A 60-day surveillance on suspected terrorists can also be conducted by the police or the military, with an allowable 30-day extension.
Dela Rosa said that he is hopeful that President Rodrigo Duterte won’t veto the Anti-Terrorism Act, which the Chief Executive certified as urgent before the sine die break of the Congress.
“Sana naman pirmahin niya (Duterte) otherwise kawawa naman kami (Senate) grabe pagtalakay namin sa batas na ito tapos ma-veto lang. Anyway, that’s part of the process okay lang sa amin pero sana pirmahan niya,” Dela Rosa said./PN
