STATEMENT OF SEN. AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, JR.
On President Arroyo's plan to revive the Anti-Subversion Law

There is no other reason for her wanting to revive the Anti-Subversion Law (ASL) except to consolidate more authoritarian powers in her hands.

The ASL was repealed because, among other things, an oppressive government could get its critics convicted under it through the very undemocratic principle of guilt by association.

Her wish to revive it then is one more proof that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has lost her democratic moorings as she walks into the sunset of her term as president. In her hands, the ASL once revived could mean a thousand torments for every man or woman who disagrees with her, demonstrates against her, or supports her political opponents.