MANILA, Philippines — With the door wide open for a repeat of 2018's 'anti-tambay' and 'crime-prevention' crackdown, Police Gen. Archie Gamboa again, unsurprisingly, lauded the signing of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 on Monday.
Speaking to reporters at Monday morning's presser, Gamboa called the new law a necessity in the face of possible instances of "terrorism in the same magnitude as the 9-11 in New York in 2001, the 7-7 in London in 2005, and the Rizal Day 2000 bombing in Manila, and the Siege of Marawi City in 2017" that could happen in the future.
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He added that the law "will add more teeth to the government’s aggressive stance against domestic terrorism and bolster the Philippines’ international commitment against terrorist organizations that operate across national borders."
"Your PNP listens to and fully understands the concerns of the public and you may rest assured that we shall faithfully uphold all institutional mechanisms that provide safeguards to the implementation of this law to its fullest effect," Gamboa added.
Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac also put out a similar statement in the early goings of the law's signing, saying: "PNP assures that it will not be abused and we shall faithfully uphold all institutional mechanisms that provide safeguards to its implementation."
Mounting warning signs
Though Gamboa cited instances of attacks by Islamic terrorist groups, the interior department—under which the PNP is an attached bureau—earlier assured the public that the law had enough safeguards against abuse but in the same breath also conflated legal activist groups with communist rebels.
DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya also said in April that a spontaneous protest by residents of Sitio San Roque who were asking for food and aid was part of "a political agenda to agitate and mobilize the people."
RELATED: DILG vows no abuse of anti-terror law; insists rallyists and rebels have 'same intent' | PNP 'art' tags activists as terrorists amid debate on anti-terrorism bill
Critics of the anti-terrorism law have said that it can be used to silence dissent and criticism of the government. As it stands, elements of the national police have already actively and publicly red-tagged activists and solons found to be critical of the administration.
Within a day of the enactment of the law, police arrested eleven activists holding an indignation protest. The weeks leading up to it also saw similar warrantless arrests, even after the PNP said it would practice "maximum tolerance" in dealing with Independence Day protesters.
According to the Joint Task Force COVID Shield on Sunday, Gamboa also gave "a go-signal for the strict implementation of the local ordinances through a memorandum" ordering police personnel to tighten enforcement of local ordinances—including bans on loitering, drinking and smoking—to further clamp down on quarantine violators.
READ: Task force looks to 2018 'anti-tambay' campaign for COVID-19 fight | 11 activists protesting enactment of Anti-Terrorism Law arrested in Cabuyao
"The law has not been implemented yet but we are already seeing how worse the police can be against anyone speaking out against the government," Justin Umali, chairperson of Kabataan Party-list Laguna, said in a statement in Filipino.
Jolo shooting
The chief of police also urged the public to let the National Bureau of Investigation's probe into last Monday's shooting run its course, highlighting again that the incident would not affect the agency's relations with the military.
"Let these developments be not hampered and overshadowed by the recent unfortunate incident in Jolo, Sulu that resulted in the death of two army officers and two enlisted personnel. Let me appeal to everyone to let the National Bureau of Investigation search for the truth surrounding the incident and let the wheel of justice prevails. Whoever needs to be held accountable will answer for it," Gamboa said.
RELATED: What we know so far on the Jolo 'misencounter' shooting | PNP chief says fatal Jolo shooting will not affect police-military relations
The incident was a tale of two narratives from the get-go with not much was clear in the aftermath of the incident after the police and the military presented drastically different accounts.
Both sides of the issue agree that the four soldiers slain on Monday were gathering intelligence on suicide bombers linked to the Abu Sayyaf group when they were stopped by cops and later shot, though similarities in press statements come to a halt there.
The national police has since walked back its earlier nomenclature that the incident was simply a "misencounter," now referring to it as a "shooting incident."
"Let me just reiterate that our relationship with the AFP is founded on a long shared history of cooperation and brotherhood. We are inter-operable in the field because we share the same goal and purpose in serving the people and in fighting a common enemy. Let us maintain a clear sky with our neighborhood camp and we should always spread the love with our fellow brothers in uniform," the country's top cop added.
PNP coronavirus cases
The national police also launched the PNP Daily Online Personnel Accounting system on Monday to monitor PNP personnel in line with the policies under the new normal.
RELATED: PNP coronavirus cases still rising, now at 754
This comes as the coronavirus tally within the agency's ranks hit a new high after adding 22 new cases of the new pathogen, composed mostly of Metro Manila cops and personnel from Police Regional Office 7 in Cebu City, where at least 250 new cops were recently sent to buttress the metro's enhanced community quarantine.
The latter also posted 830 suspect cases awaiting confirmatory testing.
As of this publishing, the PNP count for coronavirus cases stands at 902, with 414 recoveries, nine deaths and 479 active cases.
The health department on Sunday evening recorded its largest single-day leap with 2,434 new patients of the virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 44,254.