Thursday, July 30, 2020

With a new Anti-Terror Act: Philippines take another step towards authoritarianism

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Vanshita Banuana

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With a new Anti-Terror Act: Philippines take another step towards authoritarianism

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

July 30, 2020

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President Duterte addressing the 18th Congress

President Duterte addressing the 18th Congress | Source: Oliver Marquez via Philippine News Agency

On July 3, 2020, President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte signed a new Anti-Terrorism Bill, which was rushed through the houses of Congress without appropriate discussion, and has amassed protests and disapproval within the nation and abroad since its draft was first announced.

The Confederation of Lawyers in Asia and Pacific (COLAP) has raised concerns that anti-terrorism bill of the Philippine government is “violative of human rights and the due process of the law.” It's statement opposing the the bill stated following concerns with the bill:

  1. It punishes suspected individuals for organizations who are proscribed as terrorists and that the very broad and vague definition of terrorism under the bill poses danger to the basic freedoms of the people.
  2. The suspect’s right to due process of law is virtually denied and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court is virtually negated.
  3. It enable the President-backed Anti-Terrorism Council to label any individual or group as a terrorist “without the opportunity of being heard.
  4. Any member or sympathizer of a proscribed organization is punished as a terrorist even if he or she does not actually take arms against the government.
  5. The bill encroaches on one’s privacy as it gives the government access to personal and bank information and freezes bank accounts and assets.
  6. The bill violates the sovereign rights of states and the internationally mandated norm that criminal jurisdiction is confined to the territories of a state, citing its extraterritorial nature.

Hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Manila protesting the bill on 27th July when President Duterte gave his annual State of the Nation address. While it is true that the has nation faced the threat of terrorism in recent years, it is also agreed upon that Duterte’s response has been perhaps equally brutal.

This bill was also criticised by the Christian religious organisations which issued a joint declaration on this law. They stated “We are bothered by the broad and vague definition of terrorism and terrorist. It can include acts of dissent, free speech, right to assemble, right to organize, freedom of belief, among others. By such a broad definition it is open to abuse and misuse.”

An opposition Congress member, Edcel Lagman and two lawyer groups of Philippine approached the Philippine Supreme Court and asked it to strike down the new anti-terrorism law, or parts of it, as they called it unconstitutional for infringing on civil liberties.

The Philipino American Student Association (FASA) also denounced the new anti-terrorism law in its Instagram post which stated, “FASA sa UW denounces Duterte’s signing of the Anti-Terrorism Bill to which its terms do nothing to resolve the true terrorism in our nation and instead conducts an outright assault on the freedom of speech from our people living on the motherland and even Filipinx abroad,”

International Human Right organisation, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director, Nicholas Bequelin, in response to this law said, “Under Duterte’s presidency, even the mildest government critics can be labelled terrorists. He further stated, “This law’s introduction is the latest example of the country’s ever-worsening human rights record. Once again, this shows why the UN should launch a formal investigation into ongoing widespread and systematic violations in the country.”

Prior to this, Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ received global scrutiny, especially for the numerous extrajudicial killings that have occurred since he came to power and the effect of this aggressive policy on the poorest citizens of the nation.

Apart from this, he has also repeatedly voiced opinions in favour of martial law and silenced news media that spoke against him. But he seems to be encouraged largely by his own people, among whom Duterte continues to be popular.

Many have called Duterte the ‘revival’ of authoritarianism in the small Southeast Asian country, which has only recently seen some semblance of democracy after years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos (of whom Duterte was a close family friend).

The Philippines is walking a thin line between fascism and democracy, and which side it ends up on depends not only on the actions of its government, but just as much on the actions of its people.

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February 4, 2021 4:40 PM

Gaza under Israeli blockade — Its Impact on COVID-19

The Gaza Strip has faced massive destruction due to Israeli-led blockade since 2007. Israel controls all the entry and exit points of Gaza which it uses to restrict the movement of goods and people between Gaza and the outside world, effectively turning it into the “largest open-air prison” in the world. Gaza, as a result of the humanitarian crisis since the last 13 years is now one of the most densely populated yet the poorest spaces in the world. This has adversely impacted the delivery of public services, including healthcare service in Gaza strip. According to the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sub-delegation to Gaza, Ignacio Casares, the health system in Gaza “is already overstretched, already at its limit,”. Daily power cuts and irregular electricity supply add on to this which forces Doctors to rely on generators during emergencies. This horrible condition was documented earlier as well in a 2017 UN Report which stated that the Gaza Strip would be “unlivable” by 2020. 

The 13 years long blockade has forced the government as well as people living in Gaza to manage the harsh conditions with the meagre resource at their disposal.  The WHO  had pointed out in a report last year that all the patients and their companions were required to apply for Israeli permits to exit the Gaza Strip for accessing the hospitals in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israel,". "Access has been particularly problematic in 2019, with the patient permit approval rate declining”. 

People in Gaza strip are now battling the COVID-19 pandemic also with the help of simple whatever meagre resources at their disposal. The healthcare and other authorities understood that they would not be able to provide the hospitalization if the pandemic broke out, so they took some immediate steps to contain the COVID-19 from the early stage. The places of large public gathering like street markets, shops, shopping malls, wedding halls were ordered to lock down by State authorities. A senior official with the Hamas movement said at a news conference that officials were considering imposing a curfew. Using the traditional methods, the authorities built more than 1000 quarantine rooms in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Ministry of Health states that quarantine centres are established in three places: Rafah, Deir Al-Balah, and Khan Younis. More than 1000 people who came from the Israel and Egypt borders were quarantined in schools, hotels, and hospitals. 

With the increase in the number of cases, society started displaying anxiety and fear but it was overcome by mutual cooperation. The State of Palestine and its citizens has proved that the constraints cannot become an obstacle in dealing with the pandemic.

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