The Baguio City council approved a resolution on June 23 endorsing the reports of United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan and urging congress to amend the abused provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
The resolution’s author Councilor Jose Molintas said specific provisions that constitute a serious threat to free expression and peaceful protest must be amended. Among these is Section 25, which grants the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) the power to designate a person or individual as a terrorist based merely on ‘probable cause’ or possibility. The council has the authority to freeze the bank accounts of so designated individuals or groups without the need for a court order. Another is Section 9, which allows a suspected terrorist to be detained for 24 days even without charges. This violates the constitution, which protects citizens from arbitrary detention and infringes on the writ of habeas corpus.
The council also called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review all cases filed under the ATA, especially those involving activists and human rights defenders, and to dismiss cases if necessary.
Khan visited the country in 2024 to study the state of free expression in the Philippines. She held dialogues with government officials, journalists, and progressive organizations in various cities, including Baguio City.
Khan’s report on June 18 at the 59th UN Human Rights Council Session discussed the state’s use of red-tagging and legal intimidation and recommended changes, including the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and a review of the ATA.
