On the 3rd of July 2020, the Philippines government enacted an anti-terrorism law which, according to international human rights watchdogs, will eliminate critical legal protections and permit government overreach against groups and individuals labelled terrorists. The law was signed by the President  amid intense opposition from trade unions and national and international civil society, but also from several business associations and business executives. 

Several leading business associations from finance & banking, tourism, technology, private education and other sectors, for example, stated that they oppose "in the strongest possible terms... the enactment at this time of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020", that "current threats to national security are well addressed by existing laws and policies" and that "the Anti-Terrorism Act... is highly divisive – because it poses a clear and present danger to human rights enshrined in [the] Constitution".