Duterte’s Anti-Terror Act: Five years of terrorizing the people

It’s been five years since Rodrigo Duterte signed the sweeping fascist Anti-Terror Act (ATA) that effectively criminalized dissent and legalized political repression. Malaya Movement USA along with many other advocacy groups widely criticized the ATA for the dangers it posed to activists and human rights defenders who’d already been subjected to the Duterte regime’s relentless attacks. The ATA along with the Noynoy Aquino-era Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA) are used to target advocates and human rights defenders. 

We vehemently condemn the unjust conviction of current Rep. France Castro, former BAYAN Muna rep Satur Ocampo and others for their work protecting the rights of Lumad children against the grip of the fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines. This case, filed in 2018, is indicative of the fascist policies Duterte put in place that continue to wreak havoc on human rights defenders.

Malaya Movement USA welcomes the recent Supreme Court decision declaring that red-tagging and vilification by association “threaten the Right to Life, Liberty, and Security of those accused,” as a result of a court case for activist and former representative of the party-list Bayan Muna, Siegfred Deduro, who was red-tagged by military officials in 2020.