(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional two portions of the highly contested Anti-Terrorism Law, leaving most of it untouched, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Voting 12-3 in an en banc session on Dec. 7, the justices struck down a part of Section 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for “being overbroad and violative of freedom of expression.”
It specifically referred to the part that an action linked to a protest, advocacy, or dissent could be considered terrorism if it is intended to cause death or physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety.
The Supreme Court justices also declared the second part of Section 25 as unconstitutional by a vote of 9-6. It refers to the line “request for designations by other jurisdictions or supranational jurisdictions may be adopted by the ATC (Anti-Terrorism Council) after determination that the proposed designee meets the criteria for designation of UNSCR (United Nations Security Council Resolutions) NO. 1373.”.. Read More
