Philippines: Implementing rules of anti-terror law up in Malacanang meeting tomorrow

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PUBLISHED ON June 28, 2007 AT 12:23 AM

MANILA — Plans and programs for the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Law will be discussed during the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) meeting on Thursday in Malacanang.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced in his weekly press briefing in Malacanang this afternoon that the ATC, a special body composed of high-ranking officials from the different law enforcement agencies, will try to get feedback on the actual organization of the Anti-Terrorism Law, also known as Republic Act 9372.

“The ATC will get an update from the ATC secretariat if the council will have to organize a body or even designate a chairman or executive officer, or come up with another body that would implement the law,” he explained.

The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) serves as the head of the ATC, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine Coast Guard as the member agencies.

“Through these details, the council shall come up and formulate the actual plans and programs of the country’s security law and its implementation in the appropriate time,” Ermita said.

The Executive Secretary admitted that he does not expect the council to tackle the ATC’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) since ” they need to implement first the law before presenting it to the public.”

On the issue of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), Ermita clarified that the government needs to study whether to support the lifting of the terrorist tag on the leftist group.

“As long as the CPP-NPA commits acts that could fall under the definition of terrorist activities, then the group will continue to fall under such list,” he pointed out.

Ermita said that the CPP-NPA attacks against civilians, military and police detachments were the basis for their listing by the European Union, the United States and Canada as an international terrorist organization.

He added that if the group will prove that they are toning down their terrorist activities, it could signal the resumption of the stalled peace talks and also a good opening for them to be delisted.

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