SC upholds terror law

MANILA, Philippines - Republic Act 9372, the Human Security Act of 2007, is constitutional, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled.

In upholding the anti-terrorism law, the SC granted the petition of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and denied the petition of lawyer Harry Roque Jr. and his group.

Last Monday, the SC reversed the order of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court giving due course to Roque’s petition for declaratory relief.

The Quezon City court had denied the government’s motion to dismiss, ruling that the court did not pass upon the constitutionality of RA 9372 and that the petition of Roque and his group had been properly filed.

The SC held that the Quezon City court had exceeded its jurisdiction in ruling that Roque’s petition had met all the requisites for an action for declaratory relief.

“Consequently, its denial of the subject motion to dismiss was altogether improper,” read the SC decision.

“[I]n the same light that the court dismissed the SC petitions in the Southern Hemisphere cases on the basis of, among others, lack of actual justifiable controversy, the RTC should have dismissed private respondents’ petition for declaratory relief all the same.”