“The anti-terror laws engendered widespread government impunity that is diametrically opposed to its constitutional mandate, especially the protection of the economic, social, civil and political rights of its citizenry.” This was one of the major statements made by Liza Maza, a former member of the House of Representatives and spokesperson for the Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG), during the #TayoMismo Social Development Celebration on June 30, 2026, organized by the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO).
Maza said that the humanitarian and economic support of the civil society organizations, that have been at the forefront of delivering much-needed services to the communities, were dismissed by the state’s Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) labelling them as “terroristic acts”. And with the aid of another government agency, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), red-tagged CSOs’ bank assets were locked, funds of which have been earmarked for the CSOs’ continued support to these economically-impoverished communities.
“The twin terror laws target organizations and individuals who are critical of the anti-development programs/projects of the government. And these are being implemented by the government’s National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to fit into its counter-insurgency program,” Maza continued.
Maza concluded that the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the Terror Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA), as well as the NTF-ELCAC, must be repealed and abolished. She also mentioned of the CSOs’ vigilance to block the passage of new “terror laws,” such as the Anti-Disinformation Bill (House Bill 9465), the Foreign Influence and Interference Bill (House Bill 1068), and the Terror Grooming and Radicalization Prevention Bill (Senate Bill 1366).
The CODE NGO’s event included other panelists from the Mamamayang Liberal Partylist (Michael Non) and the Commission on Human Rights (Atty. Jasmin Navarro-Regino), who, together with CPDG’s Maza, “dove deep into the discussion of shrinking civic space, escalating attacks against human rights defenders, the misuse of laws, and the collective strategies needed to protect democratic participation and strengthen civic action,” according to a statement by CODE NGO. ###