
‘Undemocratic, unconstitutional and anti-Filipino’

The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas strongly condemns the rail-roading of and the signing into law of the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), especially at this epoch when the confirmed cases of Covid-19 are peaking and that millions of Filipinos are going through extreme suffering.
We support the legal luminaries, constitutionalist and lawmakers who petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the 2020 ATA as unconstitutional and a threat to the basic freedoms we continue to fight for in a democratic society.
No less than the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, in its Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines, has taken cognizance of the clear and present danger posed by this Anti-Terrorism Act, stating:
We call on the magistrates of the highest court of our land to heed the call of Truth, Justice and Peace and declare the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act as undemocratic, unconstitutional and anti-Filipino!
ROUQUEL A. PONTE
President
July 10, 2020