Manila—"The
Anti-Subversion Act is a relic of the Cold War era," Senator Ma. Imelda
Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos said, reacting to a call among military and police
supporters to fight insurgency by reviving the law that makes it a crime to be
a communist.
"It is not ideology but
criminal acts that should be punished," Ms. Marcos stressed.
The senator explained that
"updating and upgrading the country's anti-terrorism law"—the Human
Security Act of 2007—would provide a "stronger legal instrument than the
Anti-Subversion Act of 1957 to punish crimes committed in the name of ideology,
religion, politics, or economic gains."
Ms. Marcos earlier filed
Senate Bill 630, known as the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2019, to increase the
liability of crimes listed in the Human Security Act, providing for a possible
death penalty for rebellion, insurrection, coup d’état, arson, kidnapping, and
hijacking, among others.
Other violent or premeditated
acts that intend to sow fear and panic among the public, threaten the
government, or disrupt public services are also considered forms of terrorism
in Ms. Marcos's bill, as are new modes of promoting
and committing violence using computer technology, educational institutions,
and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear material.
Ms. Marcos's stand against
reviving the Anti-Subversion Act is not the first time she has gone against a
position taken by her father, the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos,
who expanded the coverage of the said law during his term.
The creation of the Youth
Civic Action Program (YCAP) and Youth Development Training (YDT) in the 1970's
was borne out of her opposition to the mandatory Reserve Officers' Training
Corps (ROTC) program first instituted by her father, Ms. Marcos revealed.
She has proposed to make ROTC
an option rather than a requirement for college students in Senate Bill 413,
which prescribes a Civil Service Program to instill patriotism among students
in grade school to college. (BVV)
Comments
Post a Comment