Pimentel defends delay in passage of anti-terror bill

Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. defended the delay of the anti-terror bill by claiming the Senate has the mandate to scrutinize the controversial measure further against the possibility of bringing harm and danger to the citizens.

Pimentel said the delay in the approval of the anti-terror bill, which Malacañang said had become a casualty in the spat between executive-legislative branches of government, does not mean the government is helpless in dealing with terrorism.

He pointed out the government can utilize numerous criminal statutes against terrorists and charge them accordingly under the Revised Penal Code.

"At present, many of the criminal acts perpetrated by terrorists are already covered by the Revised Penal Code. But in crafting an Anti-Terrorism Act, we may more or less be repeating provisions of the Revised Penal Code on certain criminal offenses," he said.

The Senate has placed the anti-terror bill among its priorities but some lawmakers like Pimentel had expressed deep mistrust over the controversial measure, which they see as an excess of government power.

The anti-terror bill has been identified as one of the priority measures in several meetings between members of the executive and legislative branches of government.

But still no progress has been made as far as its passage is concerned as only the House of Representatives has been able to hurdle the resistance of militant groups and critics in adopting the proposed measure.

"The Senate will not commit the mistake of the House of Representatives which railroaded the passage of the Anti-Terrorist Act at the expense of the right of opposition congressmen to propose amendments in order to please Malacañang," Pimentel said.

"If we pass the Anti-Terrorism Bill now without adequate safeguards against possible abuses, we are bound to regret it later," he added.

Pimentel claimed progress had been made at the Senate where the controversial provision of the bill allowing law enforcers to detain suspected terrorists for 15 days without warrant has been scrapped.

He said Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, principal sponsor of the anti-terror bill at the Senate, has agreed to scrap the provision from the proposed measure.

Under the bill, authorities can arrest and detain any suspected terrorist for at least 15 days without warrant.

Pimentel noted the detention may be extended to allow authorities to gather more evidence and witnesses against the suspect, as proposed under the anti-terror bill.

The Revised Penal Code, however, only allows the detention of a suspect without any charges for not more than 36 hours.

Malacañang attributed the delay of the passage of the anti-terror bill to its differences of policy with the Senate.

With the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US approaching, Palace officials stressed the Philippines has yet to enact a law that would address the global threat in this part of the region.

Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said the absence of an anti-terror bill remains a security concern because of the lack of authority for security forces in dealing with terrorism.

Pimentel, however, expressed doubts if the anti-terror bill will be approved on or before Sept. 11.

He said a number of senators have yet to take their turn in deliberating the proposed measure on the floor.

While he recognizes the importance of an Anti-Terrorism Act, Pimentel said it should be cleansed of provisions that might jeopardize civil liberties.

He said the consequences of approving a flawed Anti-Terrorism Act "are too frightening to imagine" in the light of the spate of extra-judicial killings of political activists and journalists.