GMA: Pass anti-terror bill

With peace and order as one of the principal tacks of her State of the Nation Address (SONA) tomorrow, President Arroyo is expected to ask Congress to pass an anti-terrorism bill that would strengthen the government’s hand in dealing with local and foreign terrorists.

"The position of the government is to take a strong hand against terrorist activities... and one of the measures the President will request... (is) the passage of an anti-terrorism bill," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said yesterday.

Bunye said the anti-terrorism bill would be among the measures the President will ask the 12th Congress to pass during its Second Regular Session which opens tomorrow.

The President herself said in an interview with radio station dzRH that the 22-page SONA she will deliver before a joint session of Congress tomorrow afternoon will focus on peace and order, the high cost of electricity and corruption in government.

"Peace and order is my No. 1 priority," the President said, adding that stronger measures are needed to address crimes such as kidnapping, illegal drugs and smuggling.

Mrs. Arroyo is also expected to stress that there is still no crime of "terrorism" in Philippine statute books and that Congress should prioritize the passage of a measure addressing such concerns.

Nine months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Metro Manila was rocked with terrorist bombings on Dec. 30, 2000 that left 22 dead and hundreds of others wounded.

The authorities later captured two Indonesians, Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi and Agus Dwikarna, who are believed to have been involved in what has since been called the "Rizal Day bombings."

Al-Ghozi and Dwikarna have both been linked to Indonesian Islamist groups that are believed to be supported by the Al-Qaida network of international terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Both men were only charged with illegal possession of explosives, forgery of public documents and immigration law violations. They are now prison sentences ranging from 10-17 years.

Sidelined by politics?

In January, administration Sen. Robert Barbers filed a bill seeking to classify terrorist acts as heinous crimes and as crimes against humanity punishable by death but the bills appeared to have been sidelined by internal squabbling in the Senate.

In his bill, Barbers sought the creation of a special presidential commission that would plan against and respond to acts of terrorism committed in the country.

The measure also sought to allow government agents, pursuant to a court order, to undertake secret searches of homes and conduct electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists.

Government agents would also be allowed, also under a court order, to inquire into peso and foreign currency deposits of suspected local and international terrorists, and to deport or refuse entry to foreign nationals suspected of being terrorists.

Aside from terrorism, the President also said she would ask Congress to strengthen measures against kidnapping, drug trafficking and smuggling.

She reiterated that the campaign against smuggling would include charging smugglers with "economic sabotage," theoretically a capital offense.

"We have already identified these smugglers but Customs commissioner (Antonio) Bernardo said we should not revel (their identities)) because it might alert them," Arroyo said.

She also said that part of the fight against crime was the campaign against corruption in government, adding that she would require each of her Cabinet members to report how they had cut down corruption in their respective agencies.

Power costs in SONA, too

The President said she would also ask Congress for legislation that would reduce electricity rates which she has identified as one of the highest in Asia.

Opposition Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta agreed with the President that one way to squarely address barriers to more economic growth would be to pull down power rates.

"The people expect the President to announce what concrete steps her administration will take to permanently pull down power and water rates when she delivers her SONA on Monday," Oreta said.

"They expect not only a breather but a permanent break from these financial woes that have all the more made it difficult for the average household to stretch the peso," she added.

Oreta said the business community also expects the President to come up with results from her 10-point agenda to lower power rates, as shown by the appeal of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI).

The FPI had earlier warned of more lay-offs if the pending rate-adjustment petition of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is granted by the Energy Regulation Commission.

The business group said higher electricity rates will lead to higher production costs, prompting ailing companies to either downsize their operations or close shop.

Police ready for SONA

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are set to deploy thousands of soldiers and police to guard against any untoward incident when Congress re-opens on Monday.

PNP chief Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and AFP chief General Roy Cimatu said some 8,000 policemen and soldiers have been placed on stand-by for SONA duties on Monday.

The deployment of forces, including intelligence operatives, will not only be centered at the Batasan Complex where the joint session of Congress is scheduled to be held, but also in other key areas in Metro Manila.

Ebdane tasked outgoing Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay to head the police contingents which have been specifically ordered to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with rallyists.

Aside from Metro Manila policemen, reinforcements from the Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon are also to be deployed.

The additional police forces were tapped after militant groups threatened to "storm" the Batasan while the President is delivering her state of the nation address. - With Jaime Laude