Neil
The Philippine National Police Headquarters is currently probing the contentious ‘anti-terrorism’ post of Malaybalay Police station in Bukidnon.
In their Facebook post, Malaybalay City Police station attached an image which contains text saying, “Malalaman mong sila ay para sa Terorismo, papatulan lahat ng isyu basta laban sa gobyerno.”
[You will know that they are for terrorism, they always react with all issue about the government]
Beside the text are pictures of protesters who clamor about the ABS-CBN franchise denial.
Iimbestigahan ng PNP National Headquarters ang post ng Malaybalay Police Station na 'para sa terorismo' ang mga grupong 'pumapatol sa lahat ng isyung laban sa gobyerno' | via @zhandercayabyab pic.twitter.com/SgN5YD9Tsl
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) July 17, 2020
People have been staging noise barrages to protest the closure of ABS-CBN and the loss of 11,000 jobs because Congress denied the network a franchise. The images in the post and tagged as terrorists all seem to be from protests calling on a new franchise for ABS-CBN.
Recently, Republic Act No. 11479 or the “Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020” was signed by President Duterte. This act became a target of criticisms, as people are afraid that the law enforcers will take advantage and abuse the law.
The abovementioned scenario is an example of how a protest can be mistaken as a form of terrorism. However, this now solely lies upon the hands of the law enforcers. Proper implementation must be assured regarding this RA.
Suspected violators of the Anti-terror bill can be detained without warrant of arrest and placed under 60-90 days of surveillance as decided by the police or military.
