Let's Tag #AmendTerror, Not #JunkTerror, Concerning The Anti-Terrorist Bill

It's one thing to fear the anti-terrorism bill for its mere existence. It's another to fear that the anti-terrorism bill can be misused and abused. It's like fearing a gun for being a gun or fearing that a gun can be misused and abused are two different things. The problem today is that people would rather panic over the passage of the Anti-Terrorism. The tagging of #JunkTerror should be replaced with #AmendTerror. If you consider the reality of the Philippines then the 2019 Global Index of terrorism really shows that the Philippines is in the TOP TEN. Play the convenient blame game on President Duterte for it? Well, it's been collective years of terrorism and no president can instantly solve it.

Why am I currently skeptical about it? It's because of what Far Eastern University Melencio Sta. Maria did present that Section 26 is FAULTY. Nobody should be arrested based on suspicion. That defect alone should be a cause to DELAY the submission or for the president NOT to sign it. However, that defect is not a reason to totally junk the Anti-Terrorism Bill altogether. It's like rejecting a proposal because of a defect, telling the person to fix that defect, and accepting it only when the defect is fixed. Unfortunately, I think Catriona Gray and Pia Wurtzbach are missing the point when they called to junk it. They could've realized that the law can be AMENDED. I think arresting people for MERE SUSPICION is just stupid and won't help combat terrorism. Arresting without a warrant works if a person is caught red-handed doing acts of terror or if the person is already a wanted terrorist. Police doesn't need to get a warrant to arrest someone caught redhanded. It's another to release a warrant for someone who's been confirmed to be a criminal.

Just because there's a defect in the Anti-Terrorist Bill doesn't mean that it should be junked. Why not tag #AmendTerror instead to change the faulty provisions? It's pretty much like the Cybercrime Law. Having the rule to arrest people for merely liking and sharing is stupid and must be removed entirely. Cybercrime laws should focus on arresting REAL cybercrime like inciting to seditious activities, hacking of privacy, hacking other peoples' bank accounts, hacking government servers, and should I mention electoral fraud? The terrorist bill should likewise focus on REAL acts of terrorism. If soldiers and policemen break the law then they too should be punished accordingly. The amendments should be done to make sure that the Anti-Terrorist Law is really meant to punish real terrorism - which should also include AUTHORITY FIGURES who misuse and abuse their power.