Groups stage lightning rally vs Anti-Terror Bill

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

In the latest round of activities opposing House Bill (HB) No. 6875 (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020), various groups staged a lightning protest inside the Iloilo City campus of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) on June 5, 2020.

The protest was held at UPV Iloilo City’s Oblation area, with members practicing physical distancing measures and wearing face masks as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

It was supposed to be held near the General Luna Street gate, however, organizers changed the location after the media reported the arrest of protesters at the UP Cebu City campus.

Just like in Cebu, Daily Guardian spotted uniformed police officers outside the gates of the university.

Apart from pushing for the scrapping of HB 6875, the protest also called for better services to protect all frontliners and the transport sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Kabataan Partylist Panay, one of the organizers of the protest action, said the approval of the bill would usher in greater power for President Rodrigo Duterte against genuine dissent to his policies.

“This bill would only serve as an instrument of the Duterte Administration to silence the people who criticize his lack of action to address the economic and medical needs of the people. The Anti-Terror Bill is not intended to target real terrorists, but rather target individuals or groups that are only practicing their right to air their grievances. We call on all our legislators to withdraw their support on the Anti-Terror Bill and call on all the freedom-loving youth and Filipino people to remain steadfast in upholding our democratic rights and denounce the passage of the Anti-Terror Bill,” the group said.

The bill was passed on third and final reading at the House of Representative on June 3 with 168 members voting in favor.

Only 36 members voted against the bill, while 29 members abstained.

Previously, the House’s official website stated that 173 members voted in favor and 31 against.

The House adopted the Senate’s version of the bill which was transmitted for President Duterte’s signature on June 5.

 

LOCKED OUT?

Protest organizers likewise called out the UPV administration for allegedly barring more protest participants from entering the campus grounds.

In another statement, Kabataan Partylist alleged that some UPV students were not allowed to enter the campus despite the presence of police outside.

“As Kabataan Partylist Panay held a picket protest inside the University of the Philippines Visayas Iloilo City Campus to oppose the Anti-Terror Bill, the university administration did not let some of the students enter the campus despite the presence of police outside. The protesters, along with teachers of UPV, tried to lobby and negotiate with the Vice Chancellor for Academics to allow the students to enter the campus to ensure their safety from possible harassments from the state forces,” they stated.

In a message sent to Daily Guardian through UPV’s official Facebook page, Vice Chancellor for Administration Mary Ann Gumban said that the gates are regularly closed early.

“After early departure at 3:30 pm for UPV employees, we order our gates to be closed. It will change however when we resume our departure schedules at 5 pm,” Gumban said