Joining today’s Day of Action Against Terror Laws in front of the Justice Department building in Padre Faura, Manila, a labor NGO said that the country’s anti-terror law is part of the Duterte administration’s legacy of repression that should be repealed immediately.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which marks its sixth anniversary today, together with the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, have been used against legitimate dissent, and not any legitimate terrorist.

“Duterte waged a bloody war on drugs, sought to silence all opposition, and took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to further attack dissent. That is the context of the Anti-Terror Act’s approval, its broad definition of terrorism, and its draconian measures,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

CTUHR recalled that the Anti-Terrorism Act includes in its overly definition of terrorism actions that are intended to kill, cause serious body injury to, or endanger the life of, a person; and actions that are intended to destroy or seriously damage government or private property.

“In his speeches and actual policy, Duterte attacked human rights. The Anti-Terrorism Act shows Duterte’s hostility towards human rights in its extreme form. It legalizes the punishment of people based on their intentions and actions that are not clearly distinguished from criminal or subversive acts,” Deligente added.

The labor NGO also said that the law mandates the 12-year imprisonment of individuals who are found guilty of acting as accessory to terrorist acts, and a suspect’s detention without a warrant of arrest for 14 days that can be extended by another 10 days.

“The truth is that Filipinos don’t live in fear of terrorist attacks. Many Filipinos are speaking out on social media and joining protests because of socio-economic problems and government policy. Government repression is a greater threat to Filipinos than terrorist attacks, and that is what this law legalizes,” Deligente added.

CTUHR said that the Anti-Terrorism Act has authorized and legitimized many of the 108 recorded cases of extrajudicial killing in the labor movement since 2016, the continuing imprisonment on trumped-up charges of 20 labor activists, the disappearance of two labor activists under the Marcos Jr administration, and other human rights violations.

“Fighting terrorism has become a legitimate government responsibility, but utmost care must be taken to protect human rights while fighting terrorism. The Anti-Terrorism Act does not even try to strike the best balance between fighting terrorism and human rights and it must be repealed immediately,” said Deligente.