Here’s what Vice President Sara Duterte said when this law was being used against her.
Vice President Sara Duterte cries foul and has this to say as the government attempts to pin her down on anti-terrorism charges.
On November 25, Vice President Sara Duterte appeared before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s seventh hearing. This is her second time to appear at the probe regarding her offices’ confidential funds allegedly misused.
On Wednesday, November 27, the vice president claimed at a press conference that she is being “oppressed” and harassed” as the Marcos administration is using the Anti-Terrorism Act against her. As per her, this is the same “playbook” used against former congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. to put restriction on her movements and freeze her assets.
Duterte stated that the law would be used to cancel her passport, trigger a Red Notice, freeze her assets, and issue search warrants against her properties which, for her, is straight-up oppression. This is after her remarks against the Marcoses were taken out of context.
To recall, Duterte’s video about having President Bongbong Marcos and his wife killed went viral online. Her statements also included Speaker Martin Romualdez. As per her words, she had someone tasked to take these people down if she died first.
The Anti-Terrorism Act was signed into law in 2020 replacing the 2007 Human Security Act which also broadened the definition of terrorism. In the 2020 law, it included acts aimed at destabilizing national security. This is the same law her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte passed in 2020.
Why is Duterte facing a possible violation of the said law?
According to Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres, her remarks laced with profanity and threats against President Bongbong Marcos and others violated a provision of the law. Citing Section 4, one of the five acts as an act of terrorism “regardless of the stage of execution” is when a person “engages in acts intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, or endangers a person’s life”.
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