With his signing of the Anti-Terror Law of 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte has failed his Constitutional Law test. We are disappointed with his failure to reject an unconstitutional proposal. He succumbed to the seduction of an indecent proposal.
The people will go to the Supreme Court to remind him and Congress that the fundamental law is supreme over the Anti-Terror bill.
The President missed his historic opportunity to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution. He failed to stand to the historic challenge.
He very well knows that he has veto power but he failed his solemn duty to ensure that all laws should be enacted in accordance with the constitution-- the Supreme Law of the land to which all laws must conform to and to which all persons, including the highest officials, must respect.
Many presidents around the world have used their veto powers to rectify constitutionally-infirm provisions of proposed measures, but the president failed this challenge to veto the proposed anti-terror bill despite knowledge that Section 9 (inciting to commit terrorism) is contrary to our freedom.of expression under the Bill of Rights; sections 29 (detention without judicial warrant) which provides for warrantless arrests and longer detention period for suspected ‘terrorist’ is diametrically running against the right of citizens to be secure against unreasonable arrest (Sec 2 of Article III of the Constitution).
We are taking this to the Supreme Court.
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