FYT's video: WATCH: Dagan Run JunkTerrorBill demonstrators dispersed arrested in Cebu City

CEBU CITY (FYT, June 2020) - Police officers in Cebu City broke up a crowd and arrested 7 protesters who joined the growing call to junk the Anti-Terrorism Bill. “After searching protesters for quarantine passes, police in full riot gear disperse and chase the peaceful assembly at UP Cebu,” Tug-ani, the official student publication of the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu said in a report on Friday morning, June 5. “Dagan!” (Run) protesters can be heard shouting as police chased them into UP Cebu where they sought refuge. Seven activists were arrested after the dispersal: Jaime Paglinawan of BAYAN Central Visayas, Bern Cañedo of UP Cebu University Student Council, Nar Athena Mae Porlas of Anakbayan UP Cebu, Dyan Paula Gumanao of Kabataan Partylist Cebu, Janry Ubal of Food Not Bombs Cebu, UP alumni Al Ingking, and Joahanna Veloso of the National Union of Students of the Philippines. A similar indignation rally was also held in UP Diliman on Thursday. More than 700,000 people have already signed a petition on Change.org calling on the public to defend human rights in the country: https://www.change.org/p/junk-the-anti-terrorism-bill-and-u… ✊ WHY ARE THEY PROTESTING? The new anti-terrorism bill pushed by President Rodrigo Duterte amid the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a growing protest online and across the country. Activists, journalists, celebrities, and beauty queens have amplified the public clamor to reject the proposed measure for its vague and arbitrary provisions that could be abused by authorities to suppress free speech and other civil liberties. Awaiting Duterte’s signature, the measure will authorize the government to wiretap suspects, arrest them without warrants, and detain them without charge for 14 calendar days, extendable by 10 days, among other contentious provisions. A United Nations report released on June 4 detailed widespread human rights violations and persistent impunity under the Duterte administration. "A heavy-handed focus on countering national security threats and illegal drugs has resulted in serious human rights violations in the Philippines, including killings and arbitrary detentions, as well as the vilification of dissent," the UN Human Rights Office report noted. 👊 DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION'S RESPONSE Malacañang said on Thursday, June 4, that Duterte will not automatically sign the bill into law. "That is still subject to final review by the President to ensure that it is compliant with our Constitution," according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 6875 or the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 on Wednesday, June 3. The Senate approved a similar version of the bill in February. Roque on Friday also dismmissed the UN report, saying that "rehashed claims of impunity are unfounded." He added that "law enforcers operate on strict protocols and transgressors of the law are made accountable." Official figures indicate that the Duterte administration's campaign against illegal drugs have already claimed more than 8,600 lives, with other estimates placing the death toll at more than triple that number. - FYT