Taylor Swift, local celebrities join plea to junk anti-terrorism bill

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) — International pop star Taylor Swift has lent her voice and influence to bring attention to appeals to junk the anti-terrorism bill in the Philippines.

The Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter took to social media to raise awareness on global human rights issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the anti-terrorism bill that is inching closer to becoming a law in the Philippines.

The 'You Need To Calm Down' singer on Tuesday posted a link on her Instagram page that can drive her 133 million followers to a page that consolidates petitions, donations, and resources for the Black Lives Matter protests. At the bottom of the page, there's an option to learn more about the pleas to "Junk Terror Bill."

"When you’re done: Educate yourself. This doesn’t go away once the topic isn’t trending," the shared page reads.

Once the "Junk Terror Bill" is clicked, netizens are directed to a page of petitions, email protests, and more information on the bill that will allow the Philippine government officials to detain suspected terrorists even without an arrest warrant.

Here at home, more local celebrities are joining the call to scrap the anti-terrorism bill, despite lawmakers earlier saying it is as 'good as passed.'

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach posted the hashtag #JunkTerrorBillNow with a link to the "Junk the Anti-Terrorism Bill and Uphold Human Rights" petition started by Defend UPLB, that has generated more than 400,000 signatures as of writing.

Actress Liza Soberano also shared the petition saying, "please do not take away our voices our basic human rights."

Kathryn Bernardo, James Reid, and other local celebrities also expressed support for scrapping the bill on social media on Wednesday.

Actor Enchong Dee made a joke on his Twitter account on Tuesday, saying he should protest now while the anti-terrorism bill is not yet passed, since afterwards, they may jail him if they feel like it.

Meanwhile, singer-actress Agot Isidro, who is a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, posted "only cowards are afraid of dissent."

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 6875, which essentially adopted the Senate version of the bill that senators passed in February.

Netizens have been calling against the passage of the measure, with the hashtag #JunkTerrorBillNow trending in the Philippines on Wednesday, along with the line 'ACTIVISM IS NOT TERRORISM.'