PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has legal basis to order the arrest of left-leaning organizations and communists' sympathizers, if they are proven to have connived with the rebels in committing acts of rebellion and terrorism punishable under the Human Security Act.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the communists' legal fronts may not be directly involved in atrocities committed by communist rebels, but their ties mean they are also part of the group's revolt against the government.
"His (Duterte) legal basis (to arrest communists and their legal fronts) would be their conspiracy to commit both rebellion and acts of terrorism under the Human Security Act," Roque told reporters in Malacañang.
"The President is a public prosecutor. He has said that conspiracy is sufficient basis to accuse them of both rebellion and acts of terrorism because in a conspiracy, the act of one is the act of all even if they did not physically take up arms. If they are part of a conspiracy to commit acts of terror or acts of rebellion, they can be held liable under the theory of conspiracy," he added.
Under Section 3 of Human Security Act of 2007 or Republic Act 9372, a person commits a crime of terrorism when he gets involved in piracy, rebellion, coup d'etat, murder, kidnapping, and crimes involving destruction.
Duterte announced Wednesday that he sought the arrest of all individuals showing sympathy to the communist rebels he now labels as "terrorists."
The Commander-in-Chief believed that the communist party and its legal fronts are in collaboration to fight the government.
"Your legal fronts -- I know, do not fool me -- you are helping each other, conspiring to topple or whatever [my administration], or to sow terror," Duterte said in a speech in Nueva Ecija, referring to the communist party.
"We will treat you as a criminal. Period. And we will arrest everybody connected [to you], including legal fronts. File a case, launch a revolution, do what you want, I don't care," he added.
Roque said security and intelligence officials would still brief the President regarding the posssible filing of charges against the communists' sympathizers.
"The lawyers of course will take care of this. In conspiracy, there must be an agreement for a common purpose and a common design and for overt acts also to reach that common purpose. I'm sure, He will be guided by security and intelligence agencies of the government," he said. (VoxPop Philippines)
