Senator Panfilo Lacson rejected the proposal of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to make being a communist illegal again in the Philippines.
DILG Sec Eduardo Año proposed to revive the anti-subversion law to counter the communist organizations to recruit university students and make them a rebel.
However, Lacson said that making a stronger measure that would address the radicalization of students is better than reviving a law that already repealed during the Ramos administration.
“That’s [restoring the anti-subversion law] not under consideration. Na-decriminalize na ang Anti-Subversion Law. Anyway,ito naman will address ang aspect ng minors being recruited to join a terrorist group,” Lacson said.
“It encroaches on the fundamental right to a peaceful assembly, to protest. I don’t think I will support that,” he added.
Lacson said that there’s nothing wrong for the students to join organizations like Anakbayan or Kabataan party-list.
However, he pointed out that is possible to make joining the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army illegal.
“Kung magjo-join lang naman sa organizations like Kabataan party-list or Anakbayan, I don’t see any problem with that. Except of course that they are also violating the law for recruiting minors,” Lacson said.
The revival of the anti-subversion law was proposed after Senator Ronald Dela Rosa started an investigation over the missing minors who allegedly recruited by progressive groups.
Parents of the missing children shared their story to the public to help the lawmakers and university officials to prevent the brainwashing of other students.
However, some of the missing students already appeared in public and asked the help of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to protect them.
They denied that they are missing and explained that they only left their homes and families because they wanted to focus on activism.