Press Release
May 1, 2007

PIMENTEL LAUNCHES BOOK ON HOW
HUMAN SECURITY ACT WAS CRAFTED BY THE SENATE

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) will launch a book on how the Senate crafted the Human Security Act of 2007, the countrys version of the anti-terrorism legislation which was approved after more than six years of deliberations.

The book will be launched at the Dagot Hall, Philippine Normal University (PNU) Library, Taft Avenue, Manila at 3 p.m. on May 4 (Friday). Among the personalities invited to grace the occasion are Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Purificacion Quisumbing, Supreme Court Associate Justice Angelina Gutierrez, Senate President Manuel Villar, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon and Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Maza.

During the prolonged floor debates on the controversial measure, Pimentel presented over a hundred amendments most of which were in written form and others verbally proposed to make sure that it contains sufficient safeguards against violations of human rights and civil liberties of the people.

About 97 percent of Pimentels amendments were accepted by the measures sponsor, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, and are now embodied in the HRA.

In effect, there is hardly any section of the HRA which does not bear the imprint of the amendments that Pimentel introduced.

The amendments I introduced are designed to make the Act provide security for our people and country against terrorism but at the same time uphold the rights and secure the liberties of our people.

Pimentel said the Human Security Act has some inherent defects. For example, it does not define what terrorism is. It merely makes it illegal for persons to commit six offenses already punishable under the Revised Penal Code and six other crimes already punishable under special law and martial law decrees if done to sow panic in the communities.

The offenses covered by the HRA already punishable by the Revised Penal Code are piracy, rebellion/insurrection, coup d etat, murder, kidnapping and destruction of properties.

The offenses already punishable under special laws and martial law decrees are: arson, possession of toxic substances, hijacking, piracy and illegal possession of firearms.

During the debates on the bill, I argued that there was no need to punish again what is already penalized under existing laws. To no avail, Pimentel said.

Among the major amendments introduced by Pimentel into the HRA are the following:

Reducing the period of detention without court warrants of arrests/to not more than three days as required by the Constitution. Requiring the police/law enforcers to immediately bring before any judge, Commission on Human Rights official or justice of the Sandiganbayan any person arrested by them on charges or suspicion of terrorism before he or she is detained. Compensating persons wrongfully arrested and detained on terrorism charges P500,000 for every day of illegal detention. Exempting media practitioners, lawyers and doctors from being compelled to reveal to the law enforcement authorities their communities with their clients, patients and sources of information. Creating a grievance committee, headed by the Ombudsman before which people harassed by law enforcers on suspicion of involvement in terrorism activities, may complain and get redress for their grievances.

Despite criticisms that the insertion of a slew of safeguards against human rights abuses has defanged the measure, the contingent of the House of Representatives accepted the Senate version in its entirety during the bicameral conference committee negotiation which lasted only for about 90 minutes.

Although the Human Security Act was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on March 6, the new law will take effect only two months after the May 14 national and local elections. Likewise, RA 9372 provides that the law shall be automatically suspended one month before and two months after the holding of any election.

We inserted this safeguard precisely to prevent people in power from taking advantage of the Anti-Terrorism Act to harass or cause harm to their political opponents during the election period, Pimentel said.

Notwithstanding the adoption of numerous safeguards intended to ensure that human rights are not sacrificed in the name of the anti-terrorism drive, Pimentel has voiced apprehension that some of the provisions of the HRA may be abused by the powerful and used as an instrument of state terrorism against the powerless.

He said these provisions may unsettle the people because they allow law enforcement agents to: 1. place a terror suspect under surveillance; 2. arrest and detain terror suspects without warrants; 3. examine a terror suspects bank deposits and financial papers; and 4. seize, sequester and freeze bank deposits, financial papers and properties of all kinds or nature of the terror suspects.

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