The Human Security Act (R.A. 9273) went into effect yesterday, amidst anxiety on the part of many as to how it will be implemented. So as not to further add to the din, allow me to give my two cents worth after which I will keep silent on the subject for the nonce and observe how things unfold.

The argument against the HSA is that it will threaten our basic civil liberties and will be used by the Arroyo administration against its political enemies. This concern is well founded. There are many worrisome provisions in it, some of which I discussed earlier.

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“Let no one be in any doubt. The rules of the game are changing.” – Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair in the aftermath of the July 2005 bombings in London.

So is the new Philippine Anti-Terrorism Law about to change the rules of the game ? Lets look at the some of the features of Human Security Act of 2007 (“HSA”). It covers all the bad guys, from pirates to litterbugs, who are “capable of sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace” (Section 3, which defines “Terrorism”). This is a pretty broad definition. But its qualified by the following phrase: “in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand”. Thus, a terrorist must have a political agenda. So while Manny Pacquio in a tutu might cause extraordinary fear and panic, he won’t qualify as a terrorist unless he a political objective in mind.

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The Philippine Anti-Terrorism Law, Republic Act No. 9372, euphemistically called “The Human Security Act of 2007”, is about to go into effect by mid-July.

Already the subject of much debate, it will be an even hotter issue by the time it is implemented on the ground. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales has already caused a stir by his pronouncements that he expects media practitioners to be the legitimate targets of “surveillance” and “interception and recording of communications” (as provided for in Section 7 of R.A. 9372).

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I received the following text message yesterday from a friend: “This is the lucky year. This weekend is 07-07-07 if you don’t send this to 7 ppl you will have bad luck. You only have 7 mins. (don’t send back)”

Of course, such chain text messages is just another ploy on the part of the telecom companies to drum up more business by taking advantage of the gullibility of their subscribers. As if the tens of millions of pesos in text charges they get per day is not enough, they have to find new and creative ways to divest us of our hard-earned money.

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Burger King has re-defined the meaning of customer satisfaction by giving free arm/hand massages to its customers. Coming from a court hearing this morning, I passed by the Burger King outlet along Quezon Avenue, near the Welcome Rotonda in Q.C., for a quick bite. As i sat down with my burger, a friendly lady in red approached me and asked if I wanted a hand and arm massage. Her Burger King name plate read ‘therapist’. Well why not ? A freebie is a freebie.

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