Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged senators on Friday to pass the anti- terrorism bill after the house of representatives gave green light to the proposed law.

The anti-terror law will give the government more legal powers to fight against terrorists, Arroyo said in a statement issued by her spokesman.

"We appeal to the Senate to finish the job as a supreme act of patriotism to save lives from the scourge of evil," Arroyo said.

"With enough legal teeth, we can effectively restrain the mobility and capability of terror cells here and beyond our shores in cooperation with our allies," she said, adding that having a law against terrorists would affirm the country's status as a global player in the fight to curb terrorism.

At the same time, Arroyo thanked the house of representatives for rushing to pass the bill in its second reading before its last session day this year on Wednesday.

The anti-terror bill defines terrorism as "premeditated, threatened, or actual use of violence, or force" or "other means of destruction" to create or sow "a state of danger, panic, fear or chaos to the general public, group of persons or segments thereof, or of coercing or intimidating the government to do or abstain from doing an act," she noted.

The bill seeks to penalize terror acts with life imprisonment or death. The proposed law also includes provisions allowing suspects to be held for up to three days without a warrant.

Source: Xinhua