EDSA Shrine honoring those who stood against tyranny in 1986. Photo: J Gerard Seguia/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images/CNN inoy baby boomers might be wondering: are we headed back to the dark days of martial law? A time when kleptocrats reigned supreme, when both free speech and human rights were thrown under the bus. Back then, one would hear rumors about the Marcoses and their ultra-lavish lifestyles. There were stories like how Imelda Marcos could order American department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue to temporarily close their doors to the public so she and her entourage of Blue Ladies, could shop in private. There would also be many whispered rumors of abductions and killings of those deemed to be "enemies of the state." News back then was mostly state propaganda; people were told only what the government allowed them to hear. Citizens eventually became helpless bystanders, watching from the sidelines as an evil regime pillaged, looted, and destroyed what was once a progressive and—compared to many of its neighbors—prosperous country. It would take 14 years for the Philippines to extricate itself from the Marcos regime's tentacles. That day finally arrived on February 25, 1986, when the People Power revolution sent the Marcos clan packing, to Hawaii. Today, Pinoys are once again at a crossroads. Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in both the House and Senate have managed to push through the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and send it to the president for signing, a day short of their sine die adjournment. Now all the president has to do is sign it into law. A recent Reuters article notes that "Lawyers and human rights activists in the Philippines have raised the alarm over a new anti-terrorism bill pushed by ... Duterte, warning of draconian and arbitrary provisions that could be abused to target his detractors." Aljazeera, another news network, points out that "among the most contentious provisions include the warrantless arrest and 14-day detentions of suspected "terrorists," and the creation of an anti-terror council that would determine what is terrorism and order arrests without a warrant - a function usually reserved for the courts." On Thursday, June 4, students at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, staged a march despite a ban on mass gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Daily Inquirer noted that "hundreds of human rights and political activists held a protest march on Thursday, this time against the proposed anti-terrorism law, warning that it would be used by ... Duterte to suppress critics in the guise of fighting terrorists." According to the Philippine Star, the UP protesters were joined by law professors from the Far Eastern University (FEU). "Led by Dean Mel Sta. Maria, professors of the FEU Institute of Law, called on the members of the Congress to recall the Anti-Terrorism bill. 'There are many provisions of the law that in our study will violate the Constitution,' they said in Filipino." Are some sectors just making a mountain out of a molehill? Maybe not. As an example, take the recently passed Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which took effect on March 25 of this year. This Act was a fairly innocuous law designed to help the government battle the COVID-19 pandemic. However, an article from the Philippine Star noted that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet was concerned that some "Asian nations were suppressing freedom of expression and tightening censorship during the coronavirus crisis." Bachelet noted "In the Philippines, arrests have been made under new COVID-19 special powers legislation which criminalizes the alleged spread of 'false information.'" She pointed to the heavy penalties for "spreading 'false information' on social media and other platforms ... This led to the arrest of artist Maria Victoria "Bambi" Beltran in April over a satirical Facebook post about the coronavirus situation in Sitio Zapatera in Cebu City." Aside from Beltran, dozens of individuals also received "invitations" from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) because of their online posts. The UN human rights chief also called out the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its efforts to extradite a Philippine citizen working in Taiwan for "making 'nasty and malevolent' social media posts criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte's handling of the coronavirus crisis." Taiwan, of course, rightly refused Malacañang's extradition request. If a law as benign as the Bayanihan Law can so easily be abused, then maybe there should be serious apprehension about the soon-to-be-signed Anti-Terrorism bill. A group of congressmen known as the Makabayan bloc, were concerned that the bill "will give President Duterte and his junta of former military and police generals unprecedented powers to suppress dissent, silence critics and activists, and curtail the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens, on the pretext of fighting terrorism," the Inquirer article added. "Makabayan will take all legal moves, including filing a petition in the Supreme Court, to question its constitutionality, said Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate. Forced to endure tyrannical rule once before, Filipinos will likely resist any restrictions on their rights and liberties, even when done in the guise of fighting terrorism. As the great American President Abraham Lincoln once said, "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Duterte, who seems to take his cues from Chinese President Xi Jinping, should step back and look at how the CCP is perceived by both the Taiwanese and Hongkongers. As free societies, both groups easily see through to the lies and dishonesty of the CCP, an ability that their counterparts from mainland China do not possess. Filipinos have likewise lived with freedom and democracy for generations. It is unlikely they will give up their rights and freedoms without a fight. Published 6/6/2020