Indigenous people known as Lumad wearing protective masks and traditional dress hold slogans as they join a rally against the anti-terror law at the University of the Philippines in Manila, Philippines, on July 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

       MANILA (Kyodo) -- The Philippine Supreme Court ruled Thursday that two parts of the controversial anti-terrorism law approved by President Rodrigo Duterte last year are unconstitutional, in a move that supports freedom of expression in the country with reported human rights violations.

       The apex court struck down a part of Section 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, which says protests and exercise of civil and political rights could be considered terrorism, for "being overbroad and violative of freedom of expression."

       Part of the law stipulates that protests and the exercise of civil and political rights could be considered terrorism if intended to cause death or physical harm to a person.

       The court also maintained a part of Section 25 of the law is unconstitutional. It says the government's Anti-Terrorism Council can designate a person or group as terrorist based on the request of another country and the criteria set by the U.N. Security Council resolutions.

       But the court upheld the rest of the law, including provisions that allow the government to freeze assets of suspected terrorists and carry out warrantless detention of them.

       The Anti-Terrorism Law is considered the most contentious legislation in the Philippines, with 37 petitions calling for its abolition filed by civil rights activists who fear the law could be used to stifle dissent.

       In the Philippines, the Duterte government's anti-drug war reportedly led to wide-scale abuses of power and killings believed to number in the thousands.

       The presidential office has no immediate reaction on the ruling while the activists hailed it a "partial victory." They want more parts, if not the entire law, nullified.

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