Arroyo: Anti-terror law is 'defending way of life'

Delivering her strongest pitch yet for the controversial anti-terror law officially named the Human Security Act (HSA), President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said here that the new measure is not just about crushing terrorists in the country but "about defending our way of life."

Arroyo, speaking at the closing of the Mindanao Peace and Security Summit here, said the HSA was vital in preventing terrorist attacks on vital installations, singling out Mindanao's power infrastructure.

"I am hereby ordering the increased security of vital power and transportation facilities in Mindanao," she said. "Let us begin the implementation of the Human Security Act by using it as a tool to prevent multi-billion-peso hydroelectric dams and power grids from being whacked by terrorists."

She said knocking out these facilities caused more than just inconvenience.

"The deeper reality is when there is no power, there is no work, and therefore, the Human Security Act is about defending our way of life," she said.

At the same time, Arroyo offered assurances that civil and human rights will be guaranteed and that violators of these rights will be dealt with by law.

Arroyo said all those, including government agencies, tasked with implementing the law must ensure that the rights of citizens are respected.

"Hand in hand with the need for economic prosperity is the need to strengthen our institutions of government to ensure that civil rights and social justice are available to all Filipinos, not just a privileged few," she said.

Various groups, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, have expressed concern that the law might be used to quell dissent but Arroyo has said there is no stopping the HSA from taking effect on July 15.

In a declaration, participants of the summit expressed support for the HSA and pledged to help in the information drive on the law.

Arroyo also stressed that the military "must continue on its path to reform."

"They must become even more professional every day at the same time they fight to eliminate the armed terrorist threats to the nation from religious extremists or communist terrorists," she said.

Arroyo condemned anew political killings, including those of members of media.

"The political terrorists who live outside the boundaries of human justice and who have marked the stability of our nation and the rule of law for extinction live by no moral code," Arroyo said. "We must band together as a people and as public servants to stop this violence."

While reiterating her belief that 99 percent of the military and the police are good, she reminded them that "fidelity to the Constitution is a sacred duty."

"These public servants have a moral obligation to uphold the Constitution and to protect the innocent. For this reason, any violent crime that a member of the law enforcement or military community may commit against innocent people is even more wrong and must be stopped. No one is above the law," she said.

"We are entering a new era of civil and human rights. The front line of this effort is built on lifting up the poor and liberating them from poverty," she said.

At the same time, she hinted of what could be in store for communist rebels, saying communities will also be protected from harassment, kidnapping, and plunder "that are so often part of the communist terrorist[s] who flog a failed ideology."

"Our government will protect the political rights of any person who wishes to participate in our democracy, however we might disagree on philosophy and approach," she said.

"We cannot stand idly by, however, and let the purveyors of violence cloak their agenda behind the innocent men and women they hold hostage to their failed ideology. We will wrestle with these failed terrorists to the ground and free the nation to live in peace and harmony," Arroyo said.

She also said "sweeping legislation" will be proposed to Congress to help end the killings, which have earned the administration increasing criticism from the international community, and remove the stain of political violence from the nation.

This legislation, she said, will guarantee "swift justice" through more funding for special courts to prosecute rights violators.

The rights of victims will also be strengthened through more money for law enforcement and tougher penalties will be imposed for anyone committing a crime with a firearm.

Arroyo directed adviser for the peace process Jesus Dureza to make sure the provisions in the declaration of the summit are accomplished. She also instructed Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. to find a way to meet the 30 percent proposed increase budget for Mindanao.