"Tax reform more important than new anti-terror bill: Financial executives group", 09 Jun 2020

A group of financial executives... said it opposes the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), and called on Congress to prioritize the passage of the corporate tax reform bill instead. The Financial Executives Association of the Philippines (FINEX) said that while it acknowledges the importance of protecting lives and property from terrorism, its members are concerned over the provisions of the bill. "We are concerned, however, that the changes proposed in the ATA in relation to the existing Human Security Act of 2007 (HSA), particularly the expansion of the definition of terrorism, addition of acts punishable under the ATA, coupled with the reduction, or removal, of specific safeguards against abuse and mistaken charges, may create more issues and complications in its implementation and enforcement," FINEX said... The group said a court should decide whether an individual can be tagged as a terrorist, instead of giving this authority to the proposed Anti-Terrorism Council... The group said that instead of expanding the state's powers to go after suspected terrorists, the government should instead focus on helping businesses recover from the crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic... "The most important bill to pass immediately is CREATE to allow the tax relief to be converted into salaries and business recovery, and then followed by other necessary economic stimulus measures...