Big Gun
The Anti-Terrorism Bill which is currently being rushed in the Senate should be expected to further consolidate the martial-law scenario that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has managed to create. Because it defines “terrorism” so broadly as to include even legitimate and legal dissent, it would target all critics of the Arroyo administration and should be expected to escalate political killings in the guise of pursuing the U.S.-led war on “terror.” It will be like a big gun trained on the broad anti-Arroyo opposition, especially those from the Left. The bill is being pushed in the Senate by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, a key Martial Law figure who is ironically now chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Human Rights; and in the House by Speaker Jose de Venecia, a tested Arroyo loyalist.
