SC: Prolonged detention under ATA to follow strict standards for warrantless arrests

Activist groups marched from University of the Philippines Diliman to the Commission on Human Rights on June 4, 2020 to protest the passage of the "Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020."

AFP / Ted Aljibe

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court ruled that Section 29 of the feared Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which allows prolonged detention of up to 24 days with written authority from a council, should not be struck down as invalid.

In its ruling made public on February 15, the SC said it will pass upon arguments raised against Section 29 as petitioners asserted that the fear of arbitrary arrest of suspected terrorists without judicial intervention or warrant “infringes on freedoms of expression, assembly and association among other constitutional rights.”

Specifically, the section reads:

The provisions of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code to the contrary notwithstanding, any law enforcement agent or military personnel, who, having been duly authorized in writing by the ATC has taken custody of a person suspected of committing any of the acts defined and penalized under Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of this Act, shall, without incurring any criminal liability for delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities, deliver said suspected person to the proper judicial authority within a period of fourteen (14) calendar days counted from the moment the said suspected person has been apprehended or arrested, detained, and taken into custody by the law enforcement agent or military personnel. The period of detention may be extended to a maximum period of (10) calendar days if it is established that (1) further detention of the person/s is necessary to preserve evidence related to terrorism or complete the investigation; (2) further detention of the person/s is necessary to prevent the commission of another terrorism; and (3) the investigation is being conducted properly and without delay.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/16/2161215/sc-prolonged-detention-under-ata-follow-strict-standards-warrantless-arrests