Philippines
The Philippines has detailed counterterrorism provisions in its domestic law. A new law was adopted in 2020. It contains a carve-out for the exercise of certain fundamental rights.
The Definition of Terrorism in Domestic Law
The 2020 Terrorism Act defines terrorism as follows:
any person who, within or outside the Philippines, regardless of the stage of execution:
(a) Engages in acts intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, or endangers a person’s life;
(b) Engages in acts intended to cause extensive damage or destruction to a government or public facility, public place or private property:
(c) Engages in acts intended to cause extensive interference with, damage or destruction to critical infrastructure;
(d) Develops, manufactures, possesses, acquires, transports, supplies or uses weapons, explosives or of biological, nuclear, radiological or chemical weapons; and
(e) Releases dangerous substances, or causes fire, floods or explosions
when the purpose of such act, by its nature and context, is to intimidate the general public or a segment thereof, create an atmosphere or spread a message of fear, to provoke or influence by intimidation the government or any international organization, or seriously destabilize or destroy the fundamental political, economic, or social structures of the country, or create a public emergency or seriously undermine public safety, shall be guilty of committing terrorism.S. 4, 2020 Terrorism Act.
Terrorism "shall not include advocacy, protest, dissent, stoppage of work, industrial or mass action, and other similar exercises of civil and political rights, which are not intended to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety".
Adherence to Global and Regional Terrorism Treaties
The Philippines is a State Party to most of the main United Nations treaties on terrorism.
| Treaty | Adherence |
|---|---|
| 1973 Convention on Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons | State Party |
| 1979 Hostage-Taking Convention | State Party |
| 1997 Terrorist Bombings Convention | State Party |
| 1999 Terrorist Financing Convention | State Party |
| 2005 Nuclear Terrorism Convention | Signatory |
The Philippines is also a State Party to the main regional treaty on terrorism concluded within the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
| Treaty | Adherence |
|---|---|
| ASEAN 2007 Treaty on Counter Terrorism | State Party |
Laws and Penalties for Terrorist Offences
The penalty for terrorism is life imprisonment without parole.S. 4, 2020 Terrorism Act.
In 2022, the International Commission of Jurists published a critique of the application of antiterrorism laws in the Philippines. The organization accused the authorities of using terrorism labels to attack human rights defenders in a process termed "red-tagging".
Counterterrorism Capacities and Policies at Domestic Level
The Philippines has counterterrorism capacities in both its army and its police force.
Glossary
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