Published February 2, 2021, 7:49 PM
The Supreme Court (SC) held a four-hour oral arguments on Tuesday, Feb. 2, on 37 petitions which sought the nullification of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 under Republic Act No. 11479.
But only the petitioners, represented by six lawyers, were able to present their arguments which mostly reiterated those in their petitions.
The lawyers reiterated their pleas to nullify ATA and to uphold the constitutional provisions on citizens’ rights against arbitrary detention, safeguards on due process, separation of powers, and right to free speech and expressions, among others.
Only three justices – Associate Justice Rosmari D. Carandang, Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe and Associate Justice Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen – were able to interpellate the lawyers of the petitioners.