Ping bares why he isn’t backing down from Carpio and Cayosa: Hindi ako uurong kung tama ako!

I don’t stand down when I know I’m right.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson thus explained Wednesday the reason he is locking horns with legal eagles on the constitutionality of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

“But why am I doing this, and gamely at that? My explanation is simple enough. Somehow, I have this habit of standing my ground when I am backed by hard facts to argue my case. I don’t stand down when I know I am right,” Lacson said at a webinar of the Management Association of the Philippines.

He noted it may appear “downright stupid and a virtual disaster” to be locking horns with retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio, hailed by some of his colleagues in the bench as “the best Chief Justice they never had,” and incumbent Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Atty. Domingo Cayosa.

Worse, he added, “it is not a three-cornered debate, but two against one who is not even a lawyer.”

Lacson was referring to the stand of Carpio and Cayosa that Section 29 of the anti-terrorism bill may be unconstitutional because it gives too much leeway to the Anti-Terrorism Council.

But Lacson maintained Section 45 of the same bill allays such concerns as it specifies the ATC has no judicial or quasi-judicial powers.

Also, he said Section 29 ensures safeguards to avoid abuses by requiring a written notification to be immediately given to the judge of the court nearest to the place of arrest, with copy furnished to the Anti-Terrorism Council. “We have proposed that the same notification be also provided to the Commission on Human Rights – a requirement not present under the Human Security Act of 2007,” he added.

“Let me be clear at the outset: the Anti-Terrorism Bill does not allow encroachment by the executive (particularly the Anti-Terrorism Council) on the court’s exercise of judicial powers, such as the issuance of warrants of arrest; nor does it propose to amend Rule 113, Section 5 of the Revised Rules of Court by adding another circumstance in the conduct of a valid and lawful warrantless arrest. This is contrary to Justice Carpio and other critics’ oft-repeated claims that Section 29, which I think is the most assailed provision of the proposed measure, allows the Anti-Terrorism Council, a body composed of officials from the Executive Department to give a written authority to police and military personnel to arrest without warrant any person on mere suspicion of being a terrorist. Nothing can be further from the truth,” he added.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)