The Anti-Subversion Act of 1957, officially designated as Republic Act No. 1700, is a Philippine law which outlawed the Communist Party of the Philippines of 1930 (''Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930''), the

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Communism, communist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to Philippine resistance against Ja ...

, and any organizations succeeding these two organizations including the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is desi ...

, the

National Democratic Front of the Philippines The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) (Filipino: ''Pambansang Demokratikong Hanay ng Pilipinas (PDHP)'') is a coalition of revolutionary social and economic justice organizations, agricultural unions, trade unions, indigenous ...

, and the

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...

, on the grounds that these groups is involved in a "conspiracy to overthrow the government and imposed a totalitarian regime". It also prohibited association with these groups.

History

The Anti-Subversion Act of 1957, or the Republic Act (RA) No. 1700, was signed into law by then President

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

on June 20, 1957. It was enacted into law during the peak of the

's Communist rebellion in the 1950s. It was meant for the

Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish i ...

(PKP-1930) and its leaders are punishable by

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

under the law. However no PKP leader was formally executed under the Anti-Subversion Act. The legislation was superseded during the Martial Law period under President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

. Marcos issued Presidential Decree (PD) 885 in 1976 and PD 1835 in 1981. Through PD 885, Marcos expanded the Anti-Subversion Act by including organizations that were meant for the purpose of overthrowing the national government. The Anti-Subversion Act was revived by President

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

in 1987 through Executive Order 167 which also repealed the two presidential decrees issued by Marcos. The law was repealed again in 1992 by President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

through RA 7636 which meant that

subversion Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms. Sub ...

is no longer a crime, but

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

remained illegal.

Revival

In 2019,

Department of the Interior and Local Government The Department of the Interior and Local Government ( fil, Kagawaran ng Interyor at Pamahalaang Lokal), abbreviated as DILG, is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public saf ...

Secretary

Eduardo Año Eduardo Manahan Año (; born October 26, 1961) is a Filipino public official and retired general of the Philippine Army who served as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2018 to 20 ...

proposed the revival of the Anti-Subversion Act in a bid to end the

communist rebellion in the Philippines {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Communist rebellion in the Philippines , partof = the Cold War and the Insurgency in the Philippines , image = Communist hotspots in the Philippines.png , caption ...

in response to reports of students being recruited by front organizations of Communist rebels. The proposal was criticized due to potential of the government to abuse the law by lumping dissenters and critics with New People's Army rebels.

References

{{Communism in the Philippines 1957 in law Philippine legislation Terrorism laws Anti-communism in the Philippines Presidency of Carlos P. Garcia

History

Revival

See also

References