The ominous declaration of newly installed Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay to use the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) to regulate social media aggravates and validates the fear that the new law is weaponized to suppress freedom of expression and the right to dissent.

All of the petitions before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the ATA raised as a common ground the assault to free speech by prior restraint and subsequent punitive sanction by the vague criminalization of the “threat, proposal and inciting to commit terrorism”, all of which stifle the articulation of free expression and dissent.

The Gapay statement extends the infringement of free speech to social media in general despite the absence of a specific provision in the ATA on regulating the internet platform.

The inclusion of the regulation of social media as proposed by Gapay in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the ATA does not have any legal basis because the IRR cannot modify or amend the law.

Although both Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana and Malacañang rejected Gabay's proposal, there is no certainty that the abandonment of the proposal is for real because of the Duterte administration’s usual fickleness.

The best relief from any abusive enforcement of ATA is for the new anti-terrorism law to be declared unconstitutional in its entirety by the Supreme Court.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN