“The Anti-Terrorism Act is a human rights disaster in the making,” Phil Robertson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said. The Anti Terrorism Act, expected to be signed by President Rodrigo of the Philippines, defines terrorism in a broad way as to include actions that “intimidate general public”, “create an atmosphere or message of fear” or “seriously destabilize or destroy the fundamental political, economic and social structures of the country." The punishment for those who defy this law is life in prison WITHOUT any chance of parole. Not only that, but speeches, banners, writings, or symbols that allude to “terrorist activities” will also be considered as a crime. "By this broad definition, starting a fight in a bar could technically be classified as an act of terrorism," said Human Rights Watch. The people of the Philippines have clearly shown their opposition towards this terror bill as they started protests. The international community have even joined them and voiced their concerns over this, bringing awareness to social media by trending #JunkTerrorBill.
Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/06/04/20/groups-protest-against-anti-terror-bill
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