Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has filed two resolutions seeking a congressional inquiry into the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012. This follows the denial of bail to community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil. The aim is to ensure these laws protect citizens rather than suppress dissent.
In Manila, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has filed House Resolutions 786 and 787, urging the House committees on justice and human rights to conduct a joint investigation into Republic Act 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), and Republic Act 10168, or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA). De Lima stated, "These laws should not be used as a license to put pressure on people, to red-tag or jail people with trumped up charges, much less to kill innocent people."
In January, after spending six years in a crowded provincial jail, Frenchie Mae Cumpio and Marielle Domequil were convicted of terror financing and sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison. They were acquitted on a lesser firearms charge. De Lima added, "Our objective is clear: to ensure that our laws protect our people instead of suppressing dissent. Counterterrorism measures erode their core purpose if they are weaponized by the State to promote a climate of fear, harassment and intimidation among human rights defenders, activists, youth leaders, humanitarian workers and civil society organizations."
HR 786 seeks to determine whether the ATA's implementation complies with constitutional guarantees of due process, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association, peaceful assembly, and the right to privacy, as well as the country's international human rights obligations. It also aims to examine the adequacy of institutional safeguards against possible overreach. The resolution notes that international human rights bodies have cautioned that the ATA contains overly broad provisions and vague definitions that may be susceptible to abuse.
Meanwhile, HR 787 calls for a review of the TFPSA's enforcement to assess whether it has disproportionately targeted civil society actors and dissenters rather than high-risk money-laundering and corruption networks. It seeks to evaluate the adequacy of safeguards on due process, judicial oversight of asset-freezing orders, evidentiary standards for terrorism-financing prosecutions, humanitarian and civil society exemptions, transparency and accountability mechanisms, and anti-de-risking guidance under RA 10168.
De Lima described the bail denial as "a serious setback in the fight for press freedom." She said, "Junk all the fabricated charges (and) end the weaponization of laws to suppress press freedom and fundamental liberties." The report is by Jose Rodel Clapano.
