The Church will be persecuted just for helping minority groups, an influential Catholic group told the Supreme Court in the 30th petition against the anti-terror law filed on Wednesday, August 26.

In their petition, the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) told the Court that the broad definition of terrorism under the law would brand even missionaries and the Christian faithful as terrorists.

“As the Christian faithful aids those perceived to be terrorists, the Christian faithful may themselves also be branded as terrorists even if clearly they are not,” said the petition.

This is the so-called guilt by association feature of the anti-terror law, which was also pointed out in the earlier petitions.

Section 10 punishes “any person who shall recruit another to participate in, join, commit, or support terrorism or a terrorist group. Section 12 punishes any person who provides material support to any terrorist individual or terrorist group.

The petition argues that the Church always has a preferential treatment for the poor, and in its evangelical and missionary functions, aids members of marginalized sectors of society.

The same sectors have been red-tagged by “overzealous law enforcement agents or military operatives,” said the petition.

“The Church does not distinguish who it helps out, for as long as they are part of the marginalized sectors of society, helping the poor may be construed to mean giving assistance to terrorists,” said the petition.

The petition makes an example of Father Joey Evangelista of the Missionaries of Jesus who is active in the establishment of schools for indigenous peoples (IPs) in Mindanao.

Evangelista said he has been surveilled by the military, and that members of the army have been asking his acquaintances about him and if they ever had an encounter with a member of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA).

“Just because of Father Evangelista’s mission work for the IP, he is now being suspected as a rebel, destabilizer and/or terrorist,” said the petition.

“If the anti-terrorism act of 2020 is not struck down, Father Evangelista and people like him would be exposed to potential arrest as a suspected terrorist. This is even if he is not,” said the petition.

The petition also mentioned the case of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), a group of nuns, which the military did not only red-tag as alleged fronts of communist rebels, but also targeted by asking the European Union to withdraw financial aid for the group.

The ASMRP is an influential Catholic group which was at the forefront of community resistance during Martial Law under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Several publications described the ASMRP as a vital communication channel that always worked to get the word out amid a repressive dictatorship.

The Supreme Court has scheduled the petitions for oral arguments by end of September, although Solicitor General Jose Calida has moved to cancel them, citing logistical and safety concerns over holding a gathering amid quarantine. – Rappler.com