"Joint statement on Anti-terrorism Act of 2020", Jun 2020

We the undersigned are united in voicing our opposition in the strongest possible terms to the enactment at this time of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (House Bill 6875) recently approved by the House of Representatives... and a similar bill approved by the Senate (Senate Bill 1083) last February. In these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, what we need is national unity. We are all suffering and fighting for survival: businesses are closing down, people are losing their jobs... We fully appreciate the need for peace and security in building a stronger nation. Current threats to national security are well addressed by existing laws and policies... And the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 is highly divisive – because it poses clear and present danger to human rights enshrined in our Constitution.. [Signed by] Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development, Cebu Business Club, Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Investment House Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Institute for Solidarity in Asia, Judicial Reform Initiative (JRI), Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Makati Business Club (MBC), Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), Philippine Ecozones Association (PHILEA), Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN), Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA), Subdivision and Housing Developers Association, Inc. (SHDA), [and] Women’s Business Council Philippines...