BARMM Chief Minister opposes Anti-Terror Bill

COTABATO CITY – A former Muslim rebel chieftain-turned-politician has expressed strong opposition over the Anti-Terrorism Bill and urged President Rodrigo Duterte to veto the proposed law.

MILF chieftain and Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with President Benigno Aquino. (Library Photo)

Murad Ebrahim, leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and now Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said the 75-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) parliament also approved Thursday a resolution appealing to Duterte to veto the Senate Bill No. 1083 and House Bill No. 6875 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, to provide congress the opportunity to review and address the issue of vagueness, over breadth, and other concerns.

The proposed law was created to prevent, prohibit, and penalize terrorism and repealed Republic Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007.  The bill was approved last month.

MP Mohagher Iqbal

In a letter by Ebrahim addressed to BARMM lawmakers and read by Mohagher Iqbal, also senior MILF leader and a BTA member, during the Thursday session, he said: “As the leader of a political entity born out of the struggle against injustice and oppression, it is my moral duty to speak out to ensure the measures intended to address terrorism will not be used as a means to subvert the fundamental rights and freedom of individuals, in general, and normalize abuse and discrimination against the Bangsamoro, in particular.”

Ebrahim noted in his letter the context enclosed in the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which raises alarm and concerns for the Bangsamoro people, because of its overly vague definition of terrorism, the surveillance of suspects, and interception and recording of communications, and detention without a judicial warrant of arrest.

In Section 2 of the Senate Bill No. 1083, it says that it is a “declared policy of the State to protect life, liberty, and property from terrorism, to condemn terrorism as inimical and dangerous to the national security of the country and to the welfare of the people, and to make any terrorism a crime against the Filipino people, against humanity, and against the law of nations.”

The bill also states that “terrorism is committed by any person who within or outside the Philippines, regardless of the stage of execution” from committing, proposing to commit, or as an accessory, among others, can result in imprisonment without parole.”

Ebrahim said Muslims fear that they would be the hardest hit by the proposed law. “It is our fear that among the hardest hit once the Anti-Terrorism Bill passes into law would be the Bangsamoro,” he stressed, “once again, incidents of violations of human rights will be on the rise and the Bangsamoro people, easily labelled as terrorists would again be subject to discrimination and abuse.”

He also said the power of the Anti-Terrorism Council to order an arrest and to designate persons, groups, organizations, or associations as terrorists “violate the separation of powers and again, the right to due process.” 

“While we agree that a policy framework needs to be enacted to fights the menace of terrorism, we feel that the fundamental guarantees of liberty and the institutions of democracy must be protected. We can do better,” Ebrahim said.

Ebrahim letter

A copy of Ebrahim’s two-page letter officially released June 23 and obtained by the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner, outlined his position on the proposed law.

The letter reads: “As the Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, however, I cannot help but be alarmed by the language and foreseeable consequences of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill. This stems from the long history of persecution, human rights violations and discrimination suffered by the Bangsamoro.”

“Our experience as a people has consistently shown that when agents of the state are given too much discretion, it often leads to abuses, which in the end undermines the credibility of the institutions of government. These abuses are demonstrated in the arrests and detention of people of Islamic faith, profiling of Muslim students by the PNP, illegal raids, bombardment of Muslim communities, and even guilt by mere association. It is an unfortunate reality for Muslims in the Philippines to be commonly tagged and profiled as terrorists.”

He added: “The war on terror zeroed in on Mindanao and, particularly, on the Bangsamoro people. This we have actively witnessed in the all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2000, the declaration of a state of lawlessness in Basilan in 2001 and a state of emergency in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato in 2009, the declaration of martial law and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao also in 2009, and another declaration of martial law in Mindanao following the Marawi siege in 2017.”

MILF rebels clean their weapons in this library photo. (Mindanao Examiner)

But while Ebrahim now speaks about human rights violations and how he opposed the Anti-Terrorism Bill, the MILF during its violent secessionist campaign in the South, killed scores of civilians and soldiers in terror attacks.

The MILF was also accused by the police and military in the past of sheltering international terrorists and killing dozens of police commandos in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town. The elite police unit was on a secret mission to capture Malaysian bomber Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, in his hideout deep inside the MILF territory, but eventually killed him after he shot and wounded two commandos. 

The team was heading back to re-join over 300 other commandos deployed outside the village when MILF forces attacked them, sparking a daylong battle that also left 18 rebels dead.

The MILF signed a peace deal with the Aquino government in 2014 and Ebrahim eventually became the BARMM Chief Minister following a referendum in 2019 in the five provinces in the autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)

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