MANILA, Philippines (Corrected 11:23 a.m.) — Just a day after the anti-terrorism law took effect, 44 activists and citizens filed another petition against it on Sunday, sayingthe law is unconstitutional and can be used to curtail civil liberties. Mananzan, among the petitioners, has also been tagged by a national task force for supposedly having ties to communist rebels. "The fear that the bill can be abused or the law can be abused is not unfounded. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, a former human rights lawyer, also said the anti-terrorism law does not have "draconian" — or excessively harsh — provisions"There is no draconian provision there. — Franco Luna with a report from Kristine Joy Patag(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article reported that this petition is the ninth against the anti-terrorism bill.

Source: Philippine Star July 19, 2020 02:48 UTC