THE Anti-Subversion Law, Republic Act 1700, was enacted way back in 1957 – at the height of the New People’s Army (NPA) rebellion – making it a crime to be a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). In 1976, President Marcos issued Presidential Decree 885 expanding the ban to include groups “organized for the purpose of overthrowing the government.”
After the 1986 People Power Revolution led to the end of the Marcos government and the election of President Corazon Aquino in 1987, she issued Executive Order 167 repealing the Marcos decree. In the same year, a new Constitution – which is what we have today – was ratified. It contains in Article 2, Section 4, the provision: “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.” The Anti-Subversion Law itself was repealed by Congress when it passed RA 7636 in 1992.
President Ramos was elected in 1995 and began peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). President Arroyo carried on her own talks with the CPP but not much progress was ever attained. Then President Duterte, right from the start of his administration in 2016, launched talks with the CPP, which achieved considerable progress – until they broke down over continued attacks by the New People’s Army (NPA) in the hinterlands of the country.
Last week, the Anti-Subversion Law was in the news again, when Secretary Eduardo Año of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) called for its reinstatement in order to deter, he said, the recruitment by leftist groups among the youth, some of whom had gone on to join the ranks of the NPA in the mountains.
There has been general opposition to the proposal among the political leaders of the country, including Senators Franklin Drilon and Panfilo Lacson. “The anti-subversion law was buried a long time ago for it was proven that such a policy, aside from being prone to abuse and a tool to harass, undermined some of our basic constitutional rights,” Drilon said.
In countries around the world, the Communist Party has given up armed rebellion as a means to achieve its ideals in favor of political engagement. In our country today, membership in the party and in allied organizations is not illegal. What is illegal is rebellion and terrorism, the use of arms in raiding remote barrios in the country.
The government must step up its efforts to end the NPA rebellion, which has now lasted over 70 years. But support for and membership in organizations like Bayan Muna and Kabataan party-list, as Senator Lacson has pointed out, should be accepted as an expression of a political stand that is a right protected by the Constitution.
