House HR panel chair cautions vs. applying anti-terror law to Teves

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE chair of the House of Representatives committee on human rights on Friday expressed concerns over the possible “misapplication” of Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 202.

At the same time, Manila Rep. Bi-

DEPUTY Minority Leader and Basilan Rep.

Mujiv Hataman has sought a congressional inquiry into the “frequent and incessant” power outages in his province, a large part of which he believes can be attributed to the operations and management of the local power cooperative.

Hataman filed House Resolution 1157 urging the appropriate committee at the House of Representatives to look into the Basilan Electric Cooperative (BASELCO), whose franchise to operate will be revisited by Congress when it expires in 2028.

He said power outages have really caused huge economic losses in our province.

In fact, the Basilan lawmaker said, the delivery of goods and services to Basileños, including envenido Abante Jr. urged the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to look into the designation of Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. and 12 others as “terrorists” to ensure that the anti-terror law is properly applied and utilized effectively to prevent terrorism. public services and government programs, have been affected by the frequent power outages.

“Imagine the operations of hospitals, dialysis centers, birthing clinics, and other health institutions in a situation where almost every two to three hours, there is a power failure,” Hataman, a human rights advocate, expressed.

According to HR 1157, BASELCO’s franchise to operate will expire in 2028, and “there is a need for Congress to decide whether or not to renew its franchise for another 50 years … or to look at other options such as the creation of a separate electric cooperative for Isabela City or granting the franchise to a private Distribution Utility.” Maricel V. Cruz

“While we in Congress support all government efforts to address terrorism and to prevent acts of terror, it is our responsibility to ensure that the laws we pass, including RA 11479, are used properly and for the purposes for which they were intended,” said Abante.

The legislator stressed: “We want justice for the late Gov. Roel Degamo and the innocent civilians slain when he was brutally and brazenly assassinated––and I believe Rep. Teves should come home and answer allegations that he masterminded this heinous crime.”

GEARING UP FOR SCHOOL. Customers are seen buying school supplies in Divisoria, Manila, on Friday. The Department of Education has announced that the opening of classes in public schools for School Year 20232024 will be on August 29. Norman Cruz