southeastasianists:

Two committees of the House of Representatives on Friday approved an unnumbered substitute bill that would effectively repeal the Human Security Act of 2007 and replace it with a harsher law similar to the Senate’s controversial proposed “Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.”

The Senate version approved back in February was met with criticism from local and international rights groups over provisions said to loosely define terrorism and authorize the widescale violation of human rights in the Philippines.

This ignited social media Friday, with thousands of posts using “#JunkTerrorBill” topping local Twitter trends along with similar terms “#OustDuterte” and “ACTIVISM IS NOT TERRORISM.”

While on the surface, the Senate bill and its unreleased House equivalent appear to propose an effective framework for anti-terrorism efforts in the Philippines, a serious issue hides between the lines: the definition of terrorism.

“If enacted, the new anti-terrorism bill will become the most potent weapon the government can use to stifle dissent. In the hands of an administration that has shown its penchant for using the law to silence and punish its critics, and security apparatuses known for human rights abuses, the proposed measure will only serve as a legal framework for a crack down on progressive organizations, civil society groups, activists, members of the media, and individuals labelled as dissidents or ‘enemies of the state,’” the National Union of People’s Lawyers earlier described Senate’s propose measure.