Showbiz contemporaries Angel Locsin, Bea Alonzo, and Anne Curtis pose together during the 2017 ABS-CBN Christmas concert. Instagram: @angellocsin_updates
MANILA — Angel Locsin, Anne Curtis, and Bea Alonzo are the lastest high-profile celebrities to join the online movement against the controversial anti-terrorism bill of the Duterte administration.
The A-list actresses, who each have millions of followers on social media, used the hashtag #JunkTerrorBill in their respective post on the topic.
Curtis enlisted the help of her Twitter followers on Wednesday to find a full copy of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, whose proposed sweeping powers like warrantless arrests and wiretapping of suspected terrorists have alarmed rights groups.
Curtis said she wanted to be informed thoroughly first before forming an opinion — which she did share on Thursday, as she expressed concern over "broad and vague" provisions of the bill.
She said these "leave room for different interpretations which could potentially take away each person's basic rights of freedom of speech and acts of even peaceful protests."
Critics have said that the bill, which was certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte, can be used to target even legitimate dissent against the administration.
"I ask you to read the bill yourself," Curtis wrote. "Take your stand and use your voice to express how you feel."
Locsin and Alonzo, Curtis' showbiz contemporaries, similarly indicated their stand with the hashtag #JunkTerrorBill. In their respective Instagram page, they also linked to a Change.org petition against the bill's passage into law.
Malacanang, in response to criticisms, said on Wednesday the Anti-Terror Bill won't suppress free speech. The Palace also defended President Duterte's move to certify the bill as urgent amid the coronavirus crisis, saying it had been pending in Congress for four years.