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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5146
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000465 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PREL KCRM RP
SUBJECT:  NEAR PASSAGE OF MAJOR COUNTER-TERRORISM LEGISLATION 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary.  Passage of long-awaited counterterrorism 
legislation moved closer to adoption with the approval on February 8 
by a bicameral committee of an agreed-upon version.  The lower House 
will have to vote on it when Congress resumes in June, and the 
President, who expressed delight at this development, is expected to 
sign it into law.  The bill would significantly improve the 
Philippine government's arsenal of tools against terrorists - 
notably, modernized electronic surveillance provisions - and provide 
stiff penalties, while providing numerous human rights protections 
but its eventual enforcement likely will face problems.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  In a surprising move, a bicameral committee of the two 
Houses of Congress on February 8 adopted in full the version of a 
counterterrorism bill that the Senate had approved only on February 
7 after years of deliberation.  (The House had passed a very 
different version in April 2006.)  Despite efforts by House Speaker 
Jose de Venecia, on behalf of the government; to bring the bicameral 
version to a vote of approval by the lower house on the same 
evening, a lack of quorum prevented its final adoption before 
Congress adjourned for the beginning of the May 14 campaign season. 
Congress will resume on June 4.  Congressional and government 
sources predict that the lower House will quickly approve the 
bicameral bill and send the new law to President Gloria Macapagal 
Arroyo for signature.  The Philippine government had long certified 
this as "priority" legislation. 
 
New tools 
------------ 
 
¶3.  (U)  The 62-section, 49 page legislation -- now entitled the 
"Human Security Act of 2007" -- has many notable new tools to aid in 
Philippine counterterrorism efforts, including: 
-- creation of an Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) to replace the 
current Anti-Terrorism Task Force; its members will be the Executive 
Secretary, the National Security Advisor, and the Secretaries of 
 
SIPDIS 
Foreign Affairs, Justice, National Defense, Finance, and the 
Interior and Local Government.  The National Intelligence 
Coordinating Agency will act as the Secretariat; 
--  authorization of electronic surveillance upon a written order of 
the Court of Appeals upon the request of the ATC (updating the 
long-outdated Anti-Wiretapping Act of 1965); 
--  authorization to examine bank deposits, accounts, and records, 
upon written orders from the Court of Appeals upon request from the 
ATC; 
--  seizure and sequestration of assets of terrorist suspects; 
--  use of continuous trials on a daily basis to ensure speedy trial 
in terrorism cases; 
 
Protections 
------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  To satisfy long-standing human rights concerns expressed in 
both Houses, the draft legislation also has many significant 
protections, including: 
--  an affirmation that the "exercise of the constitutionally 
recognized powers of the executive department of the government 
shall not prejudice respect for human rights which shall be absolute 
and protected at all times;" 
--  communications between lawyers and clients, doctors and 
patients, journalists and their sources and confidential business 
correspondence will not be subject to electronic or other 
surveillance; 
--  Court of Appeal orders for electronic surveillance are only 
valid for thirty days, subject to only one additional thirty day 
extension; 
--  if, during this period, no case is filed, police must notify the 
subject; 
--  officials may not "delete, expunge, incinerate, shred, or 
destroy" records based on electronic surveillance or bank records; 
--  suspects may be held only for three days (reduced from 15 days 
in earlier drafts) without being charged; 
--  before detention, law enforcement officials must present a 
suspect to a judge to verify that the suspect has not been 
"subjected to any physical, moral, or psychological torture;" 
--  detainees must be informed of the nature and cause of arrest, 
and retain rights to remain silent and to have competent and 
independent counsel, preferably of their choice; 
--  the government must ensure free legal assistance if the 
detainees cannot afford to hire counsel; 
--  an absolute ban on torture or coercion in investigation and 
interrogation, with any testimony that results from such practices 
"absolutely not admissible and usable as evidence;" 
--   government must pay damages of 500,000 pesos per day  that 
suspects have been "detained or deprived of liberty or arrested 
without a warrant," if acquitted; 
--  government must pay damages of 500,000 pesos per day if assets 
were seized if acquitted or if charges are dismissed; 
--  the requirement of proof of "probable cause" before examination 
of bank records; 
 
MANILA 00000465  002 OF 002 
 
 
--  the Commission on Human Rights shall give "highest priority" to 
investigate possible violations of civil and political rights in the 
implementation of this act, and to prosecute responsible public 
officials and law enforcers. 
 
Definitions 
------------- 
 
¶5.  (U)  After years of debate, the two Houses have agreed on a 
definition of terrorism that cites violations of relevant articles 
of the Revised Penal Code and related Presidential Decrees and other 
laws in order to sow and create a "condition of widespread and 
extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in order to coerce 
the government to give in to an unlawful demand." 
 
¶6.  (U)  The legislation also clarifies that, while crimes under 
this act are primarily related to those committed within the 
territorial "domain, interior waters, maritime zone, and airspace of 
the Philippines," it will also apply to acts: 
--  planned by persons physically outside the territorial limits of 
the Philippines in order to take place inside the territorial limits 
or on board Philippine ships or aircraft; 
--  committed within Philippine Embassies, consulates, or other 
diplomatic premises; 
--  committed against Philippine citizens or persons of Philippine 
descent even outside the Philippines, when their citizenship or 
ethnicity was a factor; 
--  committed directly against the Philippine government even if 
outside the Philippines. 
 
Penalties 
---------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  Those found guilty under the act for commission of an act 
of terrorism are subject to 40 years imprisonment, without parole. 
Conspirators are also subject to 40 years imprisonment, but with the 
possibility of parole.  Those who merely cooperate in the commission 
or conspiracy of terrorism are subject to 17-20 years imprisonment. 
Accessories - excluding spouses, parents, children, siblings, or 
other close relatives - may be subject to 10-12 years imprisonment. 
 
¶8.  (U)  Officials who subject suspects to torture in any form will 
face penalties of 12-20 years imprisonment.  Officials who allow 
those convicted under this act to escape will face penalties of 
between 12-20 years imprisonment, or 6-12 years for escapes by 
detainees. 
 
Reviews 
--------- 
 
¶9.  (U)  The two Houses will appoint five members each to a Joint 
Oversight Committee, which will provide semi-annual reports to both 
Houses.  Courts dealing with terrorism cases must report every six 
months to Congress and the President on the status of cases. 
 
President's reaction 
------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (U)  President Arroyo described the vote of the bicameral 
conference as "an institutional landmark of the 13th Congress at a 
time when the world looks upon the Philippines as a strong global 
player in the fight against terror."   She added that "all 
peace-loving Filipinos are looking forward to its quick approval ... 
and I will wait for it, pen in hand, at my desk." She commented 
that, as "we have more legal teeth in this fight, we shall continue 
to sharpen the intelligence and operational capabilities of the 
Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police (PNP), modernize and 
further professionalize them, and broaden the domestic and 
international alliances that will give us the edge to win and 
prevail." 
 
Comment 
----------- 
 
¶11.  (U)  While Congress has not yet formally enacted this Act into 
law, this dramatic development brings the Philippines very close to 
a long-desired goal of adopting more effective counterterrorism 
legislation, with the likelihood of formal adoption in June. 
Emboffs will meet with legislators and relevant law enforcement 
officials over the next weeks to seek their views on the 
effectiveness - and challenges - of these draft provisions.  Notably 
missing is the ability of law enforcers to access telephone records 
through pen registers and trap-and-trace mechanisms, a feature that 
was present in most earlier drafts. Like many good pieces of 
legislation in the Philippines, enforcement will likely prove 
problematic.  The specter of compensation in arrest cases that do 
not result in conviction may be particularly discouraging to law 
enforcement authorities, whose budgets would be directly affected. 
 
KENNEY