President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Anti-Terror Bill into law, also

known as Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, on the
same day that the Philippine’s coronavirus cases sored at its peak with
many people getting infected. From that day on, the law was never outback
by the issues of COVID-19 as many people are against it. Before the law
was signed, it has gathered many objections from various sectors, from the
celebrities, law experts, human rights advocates and citizens who fear that
the law’s ambiguous definition of terrorism could easily be abused by
anyone in authority. As it is defined, the anti-terror law is a counter-
terrorism law intended to prevent, prohibit and penalize terrorism in the
Philippines (Source: Wikipedia)
Many have filed their petitions against the law and all of those were
denied with finality by the Supreme Court. The appeals call for challenging
the constitutionality of Anti-Terrorism Act. The Supreme Court’s decision
calls victory for citizens who are against those who have made it their
particular goal to spread chaos, violence and terrorism in our country.
The Anti-Terror Law proves to protect the rights of all citizens,
therefor, promotes democracy within our country. It is not meant to curb
dissent and is legally and constitutionally sound as it is meant to be
implemented. As a police officer, this has added security and protection in
carrying out our tasks in ending insurgency, terrorism and other threats to
peace in our country. Those who live in what we call “Red Areas” or areas
which are prone to be infested by terrorist can now be assured that the
government can now use the full powers of the law to protect them against
the horrors of terrorism.
In conclusion, I believe that the government should not be shaken
with the fights or argues against the credibility and constitutionality of the
law but should build confidence to the public that this will not be abused. In
order for the Philippines to keep up with other progressive countries, we
should be supportive of the government and give high level of confidence
that the law will actually be able to balance two competing interests: on the
one hand to prevent terrorism or any terror attack, on the other, that this
law will protect innocent civilians and those may be falsely or wrongfully
accused because of whatever motive those in power may have.