Leyte 4th District Rep.
Lucy Torres-Gomez is again publicly defending the
proposed Anti-Terrorism bill.
She said “fear of abuse
of law should not be a valid reason to reject important measures seeking to
address terrorism which should be preventive rather than reactive.”
Torres-Gomez reiterates
what Senate President Vicente Sotto and senator Panfilo Lacson have been saying
about the proposed measure which seeks to protect and prosecute the country
from all acts of terrorism.
(photo credit to PNA) |
She explains that the
proposed measure is not and will not have judicial authority as the said power
remains as it should be with the courts.
"It is still the
court (which will) order the warrant and the ATC (Anti-Terrorism Council) is
deputizing a law enforcement officer to pursue a probable cause based on the
rule of hot pursuit," Torres-Gomez said in an exclusive interview
with ANC’s Headstart.
She asks the public to weigh the risk involved on
the people, "the risk of the wrongful arrest or the risk of a terror
attack actually happening."
The congresswoman from Leyte said terrorism is the highest
crime against humanity.
"I don't think it is right to not pursue or to not go
after the suspect -- if he is suspected of the crime of terrorism," she
said. "Not that I prefer the risk of wrongful arrest, I’m just saying that
if wrongful arrest just happens, that person has legal recourse -- but when a
terror attack has been carried out, the damage is irreversible."
She urges all the
critics to read the bill thoroughly, saying the gains will be beneficial to the
country.
"We have to read
the bill with the right target in mind. This is a bill that aims to break
terrorists to justice, this isn't about making life difficult to
activists," she said.
Safeguards against
abuse
Torres-Gomez said that the
fear of bill can be abused or the law can be abused is not unfounded.
"We have seen how laws have been abused in the years --
not just under the reign of President [Rodrigo] Duterte but even the reigns of
other presidents,” she said, noting that the fear of abuse is not a valid
reason to reject a bill outright.
(photo credit to Lucy Torres-Gomez Facebook account) |
"It's not a valid reason to reject needed legislation
like the anti-terrorism bill because theoretically speaking, all laws can be
abused, even social welfare laws that are very benign and charitable they can
be abused. That is why, there are safeguards in place to prevent those abuse
from happening," she added.
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Report from PNA
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