CN: SS101/A9

Plaza, Eras Vincent S.

Facts about Anti-Terrorism Law

Terrorism is committed by any person or group of persons, whether natural or juridical,

who, with intent to create or sow danger, panic, fear or chaos to the general public or a group of
persons or particular person, or to coerce or intimidate the government to do or to abstain from
doing an act through the premeditated, threatened, or actual use of force, violence or oilier means
of destruction, commits any of the following acts:

Threatening or causing death or serious bodily harm (on person or persons), Threatening
or causing serious risk to health or safely of (the public or any segment of the public;

Threatening or causing substantial damage or wanton destruction or resorting to arson on

critical infrastructure or property, public or private;

Threatening or causing serious interference with or serious disruption of an essential

service, facility or system, whether public or private, other than a result of lawful advocacy,
protest, dissent or stoppage of work;

Hijacking or threatening to hijack any kind of aircraft, electric or railroad train,

locomotive, passenger bus or oilier means of mass transportation, or public conveyance, or
piracy of ship or sea vessel;

Taking or threatening to kidnap or deprive any person of his/her liberty;

Assassinating or threatening to assassinate, or kidnapping or threatening to kidnap the

President or the Vice President of (lie Philippines, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
Mouse of Representatives or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court}

Killing or violently attacking an internationally protected person or depriving the liberty

of such person in violation of the Convention on the Protection and Punishment of Crimes
Against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, and oilier international
agreements;

Attacking or threatening to attack the cyberspace, by destroying the actual machinery of

the information and communication infrastructure, disrupting the information technology
underlying the internet, government or private networks or systems, or committing any unlawful
act against networks, servers, computers or other information and communication systems;

Willfully destroying the natural resources in land, water and air, such as forests or
marine and mineral resources, or intentionally causing oil or toxic spillages, or other similar acts
of destruction against the environment that threatens ecological security;
 Unlawfully manufacturing, processing, selling, acquiring, possessing, using, diverting,
supplying or transporting chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear agents, or equipment and
instruments used in their production, distribution, release or spread that would endanger directly
or indirectly the safety of one or more individuals, or to cause mass destruction or great damage
to property; or

Unlawfully manufacturing, selling, acquiring, supplying, disposing, using or possessing

explosives, bombs, grenades, projectiles, devices or other lethal weapons, or substances or
machinery used or intended to be used for the manufacture of explosives in furtherance of, or
incident to, or in - connection with, an act of terrorism defined herein.

Any person who commits any act of terrorism shall suffer the penalty of life
imprisonment and a fine of Ten Million Pesos (Flip 10,000,000.00): Provided, That, if an act of
terrorism should result in the death of a person, or if committed with the use of uniform,
paraphernalia, communication equipment, or other implements peculiar to the armed-forces or
other-law enforcement agencies, or if the offender is a government official or-employee or has
retired, resigned, dismissed or otherwise separated from the government service, the penalty of
death shall be imposed.

Reactions:

The Anti-Terror Law must not be only a product of legislation, it should also be a call to
arms for national and international cooperation fighting a common enemy. It should be an
integral part of that call to sacrifice and valor and creativity to secure our borders and malls and
jeepney and tricycles from the terrorists.

Ah, but there is the problem. Only legitimate leaders, those with the implicit trust and
confidence of their people, can call upon them to make such sacrifices in the name of survival
against an implacable and dangerous foe.

Only true, tested and trusted leaders can convince their people to suspend disbelief in the
inherent, malevolence of statepowertowardspersonal freedom.

Without such a leader to implement a law of such precise definition as you suggest and
which I agree is needed, no amount of definition and distinction-making can possibly elicit the
willing and eager support of the population for the temporary curtailment of the full ambit of
their liberties and prerogatives.