SC reaffirms anti-terror law as constitutional

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has affirmed with finality the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9372, also known as the Human Security Act of 2007, which was crafted by Congress to give teeth to the government’s anti-terrorism drive.

In a two-page resolution, the Court en banc dismissed the motions for reconsideration filed by militant and cause-oriented groups, which sought to reverse the tribunal’s ruling issued on Oct. 5, 2010, that upheld the constitutionality of RA 9372.

The high court ruled that the petitioners, including the Southern Hemisphere Engagement Network Inc., Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights), Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Bayan-Southern Tagalog, Kilusang Mayo Uno and other individuals, failed to raise new arguments in their motion for reconsideration.

“The Court resolved to deny with finality the said motion for reconsideration, as the basic issues raised therein have been passed upon by this Court and no substantial arguments nor compelling reason were presented to warrant the reversal of the questioned decision,” the justices said.

“No further pleadings or motions will be entertained. Let entry of judgment be made in due course,” they added.

It would be recalled that in its Oct. 5, 2010, unanimous ruling, the Court held that the petitioners had no legal standing to assail RA 9372 since there was no “actual controversy” and that “none of them faces any charge” under the law.

The group petitioners had asserted their legal standing to file the suit on the basis of being suspected “communist fronts” by the government, while individual petitioners invoked the “transcendental importance” doctrine and their status as citizen citizens and taxpayers.

The Court then also acknowledged that while the Communist Party of the Philippines, its paramilitary wing New People’s Army and the bandit group Abu Sayyaf Group have been classified by the United States and the European Union as foreign terrorist organizations and may be charged in accordance with RA 9372, no actual case has been filed yet before any court seeking to declare the groups as domestic terrorist groups.

“RA 9372 has been in effect for three years now. From July 2007 up to the present, petitioner-organizations have conducted their activities fully and freely without any threat of, much less an actual, prosecution or proscription under RA 9372,” the Court had said.

The justices earlier said that the mere invocation by the petitioners of the case’s transcendental importance was not enough for the Court to rule on the petition and that they must show that an “actual, imminent or direct injury as a result of the implementation of RA 9372” for their petitions to be given due course.

“Allegations of abuse must be anchored on real events before courts may step in to settle actual controversies involving rights, which are legally demandable and enforceable,” the Court added.

As stated in its Declaration of Policy, RA 9372 empowers the State “to protect life, liberty, and property from acts of terrorism, to condemn terrorism as inimical and dangerous to the national security of the country and to the welfare of the people, and to make terrorism a crime against the Filipino people, against humanity, and against the law of nations.”

In the implementation of such policy, the State pledges to uphold the basic rights and fundamental liberties of the people as enshrined in the Constitution.

The State also recognizes that the fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive approach, comprising political, economic, diplomatic, military, and legal means and duly taking into account the root causes of terrorism but without acknowledging these as justifications for terrorist and/or criminal activities.–Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer