Senate to tackle anti-terror bill when Congress opens session on Monday

The Senate will tackle the anti-terrorism bill and four other legislative measures when the third and last regular session of the 13th Congress starts on Monday.

Sponsored by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, the anti-terrorism bill seeks to define "terrorism" and allow the wiretapping of suspected terrorists.

Also set for deliberation are the biofuels bill of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a bill seeking to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act and the poll automation bill of Sen. Richard Gordon.

In the bill, "terrorism" would be defined as "an act committed by any person to inflict widespread fear, anxiety or panic among the populace so as to coerce a government, political authority or a population to comply with a given demand and or destruction to a population, a government or political authority."

The bill also aims to classify as a "terrorist" the following: "any person who, having the ability or capability to do so, threatens to use assassination, kidnapping, hostage-taking, hijacking, bombing, dynamiting, destructive flood, biological or chemical agents, nuclear devices, arson, destruction of main water supply system or reservoir, destruction of the environment, serious disruption of the electric power or communication systems of the country or the destruction of any other strategic infrastructures of the nation or any other form of violence similar or analogous to those enumerated."

Once the bill is passed, convicted terrorists would be meted life sentences: life imprisonment for conspiracy to commit terrorism and 12 to 20 years for proposal to commit terrorism.

An accomplice would be penalized with imprisonment of 12 to 20 years, while an accessory to the crime would be imprisoned for six to 12 years.

The bill also seeks to allow the police or the military to wiretap known or suspected terrorists as long as they secure a written order from the courts.

However, the anti-terrorism bill seeks to charge with the crime of arbitrary detention any police or military personnel who has taken into custody a suspected terrorist and fails to bring him before the proper courts within 15 days.

As a safeguard against torture or coerced confessions, the bill aims to bar affidavits and statements taken under threat or physical and mental torture from being admissible as evidence in court.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. challenged local government executives yesterday to assert their independence and autonomy by fighting for the approval of the 2006 national budget.

"The LGUs will end up as the biggest losers if Congress fails to pass the current year budget, which allocates P166.5 billion for IRA of the LGUs, compared to P151 billion in 2005," he said.

Pimentel said local governments are entitled a P15-billion increase in their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) in this year’s proposed national budget.

Local officials must not insist on bringing back the P5-billion Kilos Asenso and the P3.7-billion Kalayaan Barangay funds, which the Senate had slashed, he added.

Pimentel said the Senate scrapped the Kilos Asenso and Kalayaan Barangay funds because these were created by the administration to enable President Arroyo to reward local executives who are willing to follow her wishes.

"As such, the funds are destructive of the spirit and intent of the Local Government Code, which intends to free them from being pawns of Malacañang and other powerful officials," he said.

"They are plain and simple patronage funds that are meant to boost the President’s buying power of local officials willing to be bought."

Pimentel said the Local Government Code was enacted to enhance the fiscal autonomy of local governments and ensure that local officials do not feel beholden to Malacañang for their financial needs.

Malacañang is taking advantage of its financial clout over local officials to ram down Charter change designed to keep Mrs. Arroyo in power despite the prevailing public sentiments for her resignation or removal, he added.

The administration is using local officials to give the illusion of political support for Charter change, although many of them have misgivings about the proposal, Pimentel said. — Christina Mendez