The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), along with 37 individual petitioners—journalists, artists and free expression advocates—filed a petition for Certiorari and Prohibition before the Supreme Court against the Anti-Terrorism Law on July 23. They were assisted by their counsel, Atty. Evalyn Ursua.
Along with NUJP, journalists who took part as individual petitioners were reporters from Rappler, including their Managing Editor and co-founder Glenda Gloria; ABS-CBN news anchor Ces Drilon; and veteran journalists Inday Espina-Varona and Luis Teodoro, among others.
Among artists who joined as petitioners were National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, University of the Philippines Fine Arts professor and Concerned Artists of the Philippines chairperson Neil Doloricon; writer-director-scriptwriter Bibeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna; writer Roland Tolentino; visual artist Abdulmari Imao, Jr.; Mindanao filmmakers Teng Mangansakan II and Arnel Barbarona; and Cebu artist Maria Victoria Beltran who was arrested allegedly for ‘spreading fake news’ due to her satirical posts on social media during the COVID-19 lockdown, among others.
“It appears that the Anti-Terror Law is deliberately designed to stifle dissent with its poorly worded provisions that allows the state to recklessly arrest anyone by mere suspicion,” Doloricon said.
Geplaatst door National Union of Journalists of the Philippines op Woensdag 22 juli 2020
The petition assailed that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 3 and deemed effective by the Department of Justice on July 18 midnight, provided a vague definition of crimes and, due the vagueness of the crime of terrorism, violates freedom of speech and expression, right to liberty without due process of law.
They named as respondents the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) headed by its chairperson, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency as the secretariat of the ATC.
They also named as respondents for being the ATC’s support agencies for the enforcement and implementation of the law the Armed Forces of the Philippines represented by its Chief of Staff Felimon Santos Jr., the Philippine National Police represented by its chief Police General Archie Gamboa, and the National Bureau of Investigation represented by its OIC Director Eric Distor.
Earlier, progressive groups including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and 44 petitioners also physically filed their petition at the Supreme Court. Theirs was the 10th petition filed, first via e-filing on July 19, against the much-protested law.
Many groups were slated to file their petition physically today as the Supreme Court was closed from July 20 to 22 for disinfection, cleaning, and sanitation.
