HONG KONG (SE): The 122nd anniversary of the declaration of the Philippine Independence was marked by migrant rights groups picketing the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong against the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, in Admiralty on June 12. The action was organised by Bayan Hong Kong and Macau, UNIFIL-Migrante Hong Kong, Gabriella Hong Kong and other groups.
The Philippine House of Representatives passed the bill on June 3, which had been approved by the Senate three months previously. The president, Rodrigo Duterte has 30 days’ to decide whether to sign it into law or not under intensifying opposition.
Speaking at the demonstration, Ma Wan-ki, deputy secretary-general of the International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines, stressed that the anti-terror bill is just a tool for an authoritarian government to limit the freedom of people and has no place in a democratic society.
Dolores Balladares Pelaez, of the UNIFIL-Migrante Hong Kong, condemned controversial bill as well as the red-tagging of Migrante International and all other rights organisations, with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) calling them terrorist. She added that migrant groups in Hong Kong are angry over the railroading of the anti-terror bill, especially during the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Many Filipinos are anxious that family and friends might get sick, but wouldn’t be allowed to return home. As of June 15, more than 26,000 people in the Philippines had been infected and 1,098 died from the virus, while 6,252 have recovered.
Pelaez explained more urgent issues that need to be addressed with the pandemic. She believes a mass testing policy is now more important as it can help to control the outbreak and ease the stress of those who are working under the shadow of the pandemic. She is also concerned about the vagueness of the bill and its broad implications. Under the proposed law, posting criticism against the government on social media can be punishable, seriously threatening freedom of speech.
She also questioned the red-tagging of groups under Migrante International by NTF-ELCAC. “These migrant organisations have been busy during the pandemic delivering relief to communities in need. May we remind the government that these organisations are doing the work the government is supposed to be doing,” she said.
She believes the job of the Congress is to enact laws that will benefit the Filipino people and not sow terror among people who are already in distress.
On the same day, a mass protest action, organised by various rights groups in the Philippines, took place at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, opposing the anti-terror bill and expressing people’s frustrations over the lack of effective policies to curb the outbreak of Covid-19.
