Activists conducting demonstrations and protest rallies will not be treated as terrorists even if they condemn and go against the policies of the government in the same breath that press freedom will outmostly be respected by authorities.

This was assured by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Eduardo Año Sunday, Dec. 12, amid concerns from critics after the Supreme court declared the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) as constitutional.

Año said the ATA is the government’s main tool that will make it focus in running after true terrorist groups that creates havoc, violence and distress in the communities.

He stressed that any organization whose members may be in the government committing terrorist acts will be “labeled as terrorists.’’

On Dec. 10, the DILG cited the Supreme Court (SC) decision declaring most of the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 1479 otherwise known as the “Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020” as constitutional.

“While we await the release of the full decision, we welcome, respect, and acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court that only two provisions of the entire law were struck down. With only two minimal provisions being declared unconstitutional, it shows that the law itself as a whole is legal, , and constitutional,” Año said.

The DILG chief pointed out that the provisions declared unconstitutional in RA 1479 were only “minimal” and would not affect the overall implementation of the law as 37 petitions were lodged against it.

“Hindi tayo tumitigin sa ano mang organization pero yung tinanggal na item dito or provision that will now really differentiate an activist from a terrorist. So ibig sabihin kung activist ka mag rally ka diyan, magdemonstrate ka, mag boycott ka ng trabaho walang problema diyan (We are not favoring any organization but the item here or provision stricken off (by the Supreme Court) that will now really differentiate an activist from a terrorist. So this means if you are an activist you can rally, demonstrate, boycott from work, no problem with those). You are not a terrorist," Año maintained.

With this, Año vowed that the decision of the High Court is a clear and convincing victory for all law-abiding and responsible citizens of the country.

“Rest assured, we will be making the appropriate adjustments to conform to the decision of the Court and continue to implement the ATA law strictly as a means of protecting the Filipino people against any and all acts of terrorism,” he added.

Pertaining to the two disapproved ATA provisions, Año felt that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) will not issue an appeal insisting that they are happy with the High Court’s decision.

He also commended Solicitor General Jose Calida for his expert handling of the case where 35 out of the 37 provisions were ruled by the Supreme Court as constitutional. (Chito A. Chavez)