“We are grateful to the President and Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces for his certification as urgent of the Anti-Terrorism bill,” said Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman.

“The passage of the proposed legislation into a law would be of immense contribution to the success of the AFP’s counter-terrorism campaigns as it amends or introduces new provisions to the Human Security Act,” he said.

“It may not immediately wipe away the menace, but it shall provide big strides toward winning the war against it beginning from the definition as to who are terrorists to penalizing other act or acts that are contributory or leading to the eventual commission of the felony,” he added.

Arevalo said “the new proposed legislation gives more teeth to the existing law and eliminates some provisions that tend to curtail rather than aid security forces to defeat terrorism.”

“Chief of which is the imposition of a P500,000 fine each day that a suspect is detained but later exonerated from the charges of terrorism,” he said.