Think For Yourself

"There's this Anti-Terror Bill that’s being passed in Congress right now. Really? Now?” My friend cannot hide the disgust in her voice as I was talking to her about the current political ongoings in my home country, the Philippines. Like any angsty teenager, she was expressing her dismay with the government and how the fact that with the existing pandemic crippling the nation the government is still finding ways to make things worse.

So I asked her what this Anti-Terror Bill is that she’s talking about. She practically told me her criticisms with the bill, one of which was that it “allowed law enforcers to just abduct anyone who’s thought of as terrorists.”

I then got to thinking, “Really? Is the Philippine government really this chaotic?” “Did you read the whole bill?” I asked. “Not the whole thing, just a small part.” She replied.

I also asked my cousin if she was following Philippine politics, and she said yes, so I questioned her as well on her knowledge of the current affairs in the nation, specifically the Anti-Terror Bill. And like my friend, she was also criticizing the government on the passing of the bill.

“So what, anyone, whether they’re just sitting down enjoying their coffee or conversing with a friend can be abducted and detained by law enforcers without a warrant?” exclaimed my cousin.

“Did you read the bill?” I asked. “Yes, but only a few pages. I didn’t finish it.” She told me.

I also asked both of them as to where they got their sources for these insights. Both of them said social media. And so begins my deep curiosity with this peculiar bill.

I went ahead and took the liberty of finding out the points and claims both sides of the argument were making, the side of those opposed to the bill and the lawmakers, and those who believe that there is nothing to be upset with the bill about.

I also took it upon myself to ask a UNTV News Reporter on the objective truth of the bill and a worker for the Philippine Consulate on the matters at hand.

And finally, after going through both sides of the argument, I even went ahead and read all 63 pages of the bloody bill. That’s how obsessed I was in finding out the truth, was this bill really conjured from the cauldron of hell like a lot of people were saying?

Both international and local celebrities were posting their agitations with the bill on social media, leftist political parties are making this a trend across all news media outlets expressing that this is a preposterous legislation, claiming that the government has officially taken from the Filipino citizens their freedom of speech and how they can’t even protest without being called a terrorist.

But looking at both sides of the equation, as well as having read the entire bill, not one word in there gives the slightest hint for dubitations.

As for the claim that the government has taken the Filipinos right to protest and their liberty to practice their political rights? I’ll let the actual bill speak for that.

Provided, That, terrorism as defined in this Section 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.

—Page 9, Section 4, Line 5 of The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

At first, I didn’t want to write this article, for the reasons that I may be too young, or in no position to talk about this. But it saddens me to see many of today’s Filipino youths, especially those my age be swayed maliciously by corporate media and big social media influencers to the point where their high admirations for such entities blinds them that they don’t even think for themselves.

In this digital age, at the drop of a dime, one can feed himself countless amounts of information and already be in the know of the events currently taking place on the other side of the globe. But as all things go, there are pros and cons to having instant access to information, one of which being the uncertainty and validity of said information. 

The point I’m trying to make is this, we’re living in the digital era where information can come to you in milliseconds, but on the flip side information nowadays spreads so fast like wildfire one can’t distinguish which is correct and reliable information and which isn’t.

We cannot just rely on what one person, one news outlet, says, especially when we know deep down that they are in absolutely no position to talk about the topic they are currently discussing.

“To find yourself, think for yourself.”
—Socrates