MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is expecting to receive recommendations on the anti-terrror bill from government agencies this week, his spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.
Roque in a Palace briefing said the Department of Justice and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo already submitted their own recommendations to the president.
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"I don't know if the president has read the whole bill, we are still waiting for input [from his other advisers]," Roque said in Filipino.
He added that Malacañang is also waiting on the Office of the Executive Secretary's recommendations.
Presidential chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo on June 12 said his office is recommending that Duterte sign the controversial proposed bill into law, despite mounting calls from lawyers’ groups and the law academe for a veto.
The controversial bill has been widely criticized for its vague definition of terrorism which many fear will lead to abuse on the executive branch's part. The bill also allows terrorism suspects to be held for 24 days before they must be presented before a judicial authority.
Under the existing Human Rights Act, authorities are supposed to bring a suspected terrorist before judge within three days of being detained.
Panelo dismissed critics' fears in a statement, saying they were "more imagined than real."