Supreme Court issues TRO on Anti-Cybercrime Act

MANILA, Philippines- The Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously voted for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the enforcement of the controversial Cybercrime Prevention Act. All 14 justices were present.

A series of protest actions have been staged in front of the Supreme Court premises on Padre Faura Street in Manila, including one today while the justices were in an en banc session.

The protesting groups, which are primarily against a provision in the law that criminalizes libel in cyberspace and grants the Justice department powers to block–without court order–access to data and potentially take down sites on a mere prima facie finding of violations of RA 10175, cheered when they heard the news, but remained adamant that the law be repealed.

Republic Act 10175, dubbed by critics as “e-Martial,” was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III on September 12, the month of the 40th anniversary of the September 21, 1972 imposition by former President Ferdinand Marcos of Martial Law.

As many as 15 petitions to stop the enforcement of the law have been filed with the Supreme Court. Besides the petitions and the journalist-led rallies, a group of “hacktivists” calling themselves Anonymous Philippines also defaced a number of government sites, in protest of the new law. The government appealed to hackers to spare such sites, which include vital information needed by the public. The hackers, however, disowned the defacement of certain sites like Project NOAH that provides vital weather data.

Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Teodoro Casino Jr., who on Monday filed the 15th petition, said there was no question in the law’s goal of addressing cybrecrime, which has now become rampant.

Casino, however, said the law’s libel provisions that give the government surveillance power over the activities of a person using the Internet infringe on the netizen’s privacy and freedom of expression.

The TRO was issued as the high tribunal deliberated en banc on 15 petitions from various groups and personalities from the media, lawyers’ and free-speech advocates’ sectors, all seeking a halt to implementation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Earlier petitions were filed by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) assisted by FLAG lawyers, the Philippine Bar Association, the Ateneo Human Rights Center and a bloggers’ group, among others.

Earlier on Monday, two other petitions were filed, one by Casiño’s fellow Bayan Muna solon Neri Javier Colmenares and lawyer Edsel Tupaz, and another by the National Press Club.

The most contested provisions across all petitions are in Sections 4,5,6,7, 12 and 19, or the so-called “take-down” provision that most constitutionalists deem the most dangerous to civil rights. It grants the Justice department the power to block access to data, and potentially shut down web sites, on a mere prima facie finding of a violation of RA 10175. This, even without a court order.

Constitutional rights infringed

The PBA petition said among the constitutional rights infringed by the law are those against double jeopardy and bill of attainder, besides the provision that automatically makes the penalties on e-libel and other violations one degree higher, compared to libel in the traditional media.

Casiño, who has just filed his candidacy for senator, told reporters that their petition to nullify the law is similar to the previous pleas against the law’s “e-libel” provisions, Section 19 or the “take down clause,” and the authority given to the Department of Justice to apprehend suspectede cyber criminals even without warrants of arrest.

According to the lawmaker, even people who text and call using cellular phones with Information Communications Technology or ICT device could be accused of e-libel.

Dubbed by critics as “e-Martial Law,” the act was signed by President Benigno Aquino III last September 12 days before the commemoration of the 40th year of the September 21, 1972 imposition of Martial Law by President Ferdinand Marcos.

In its 61-page petition, PiFA and Casiño appealed to the high court to require the government to cease and desist from implementing the law while the petition is pending.

The act violates the freedom of speech, expression and of the press, unreasonable searches and seizures, right to privacy, due process, equal protection of the law, among others, according to the petitioners.

They added that the law “is constitutionally infirm on its face for being vague and overbroad,” a criticism shared by most other petitioners.

source: interaksyon.com

'Black days' continue as SC fails to act on TRO pleas vs 'e-Martial Law'

MANILA, Philippines - Black days will continue among thousands of Filipino netizens as several groups protesting against the Cybercrime Prevention Act failed on Tuesday to have the Supreme Court stop the law's implementation, which will begin on Wednesday, October 3.

The high court did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Republic Act 10175, dubbed by critics as "e-Martial," which President Benigno Aquino signed last September 12, the month of the 40th anniversary of the September 21, 1972 imposition by former President Ferdinand Marcos of Martial Law.

The seven petitions against R.A. 10175 "are up for further study" by the high court,  according to Maria Victoria Gleoresty Sp. Guerra, acting chief of the Supreme Court's Public Information Office.

Several protest-actions led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, the Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance, and social media groups dubbed "Black Tuesday" were staged in front of the Supreme Court premises on Padre Faura Street in Manila while the justices were in an en banc session. 

The groups were primarily against a provision in the law that criminalizes libel in cyberspace.

Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Teodoro Casino Jr. said there was no question in the law's goal of addressing cybrecrime, which has now become rampant.

Casino, however, said the law's libel provisions that give the governmenmt surveillance power over the activities of a person using the Internet infringe on the netizen's privacy and freedom of expression. 

Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. on Tuesday said that his group "was disppointed" with the high court's inaction on  the petitions.

"The fight is not over though since no outright denial has been made," Reyes said in a statement.  However, Reyes said that without a TRO from the high court, "the new law takes effect tomorrow."

"We call for continued vigilance and the aggressive exercise of our freedoms. Keep posting, keep blogging, stay active on the issueon and offline," he added. 

Black protest, amendments

The "black protest" has continued in cyberspace. Facebook users changed their profiles into black. Social media users also posted on Facebook a status update containing a black horizontal bar followed by a text that read: “[status update blocked.] (by RA . 10175).”


The blacked-out status updates have already gone viral and are being posted today by practically every Facebook user who is against the law.

As protests were staged in front of the Supreme Court, several lawmakers on Tuesday began the initiative to amend the cybercrime law in Congress by proposing to take out someits provisions.

Filing House Bill 6613, Casino and Rep. Raymond Palatino of Kabataan partylist sought to repeal thelaw's controversial sections, which many critics say will impinged on thebasic rights of Internet users.

“Nais naming tanggalan ng pangil ang batas na tumatama sa basic rightto freedom of expression ng mga mamamayan,” Casino said at a newsconference.

The bill proposed to repeal the following:

Section 4(c)(4) of Chapter II (Punishable Acts)Libel. The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through acomputer system or any other similar means which may be devised in thefuture.

Section 5 of Chapter IIOther Offenses. The following acts shall also constitute an offense:(a) Aiding or Abetting in the Commission of Cybercrime. – Any personwho willfully abets or aids in the commission of any of the offensesenumerated in this Act shall be held liable.(b) Attempt in the Commission of Cybercrime. — Any person whowillfully attempts to commit any of the offenses enumerated in thisAct shall be held liable.

Section 6 of Chapter IIAll crimes defined and penalized by the Revised Penal Code, asamended, and special laws, if committed by, through and with the useof information and communications technologies shall be covered by therelevant provisions of this Act: Provided, That the penalty to beimposed shall be one (1) degree higher than that provided for by theRevised Penal Code, as amended, and special laws, as the case may be.

Section 7 of Chapter IILiability under Other Laws.  A prosecution under this Act shall bewithout prejudice to any liability for violation of any provision ofthe Revised Penal Code, as amended, or special laws.

Chapter IV - Covering Enforcement and Implementation.

source: interaksyon.com

10 things you probably didn’t know about Martial Law

When it comes to memories of Martial Law, the most striking ones are the stories of the heroes of the underground, the innocents who were tortured, Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, and the EDSA revolution that set Philippine society free.

The stories here are not those stories. Rather, these are the snippets that may be on the brink of being forgotten by many, but deserve to be remembered still. These little-known stories of how art and culture—both highbrow and pop—still thrived in a time of strict authoritarian rule are, if anything, a testament to the indomitable spirit of the people of that time.

1. Ninoy, Imelda, and the CCP

As it turns out, the enmity between then-senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and then-First Lady Imelda Marcos that peaked during Martial Law was already brewing before then, particularly their debate over the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the late ‘60s.

The story of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Imelda’s relentless drive to bring her vision of the arts to life is no secret, but what some don’t know is that her pet project peeved Aquino, who thought the structure and its glamorous proponent were insensitive to the many who lived in squalor while it was being built.

Aquino’s deep disdain for this project led him to deliver one of his most famous speeches, “A Pantheon for Imelda” in 1969, where he called her a Filipino Eva Peron. This was short of outright calling her husband Ferdinand, in comparison to Argentina’s Juan Peron, a dictator. According to Sterling Seagrave in the book “The Marcos Dynasty,” this angered then-President Marcos, who said it was unmanly of Aquino to involve his wife Imelda in their political brawl.

2. Political PETA

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), now known for staging poignant comedies and sidesplitting satires, actually had a more political past. At the height of Martial Law, the company staged protest plays such as Lito Tiongson’s “Walang Kamatayang Buhay ni Juan Dela Cruz Alyas…” which alluded to Marcos as a military ruler and depicted the underground fight for freedom.

According to University of the Philippines Art Studies professor Brenda Fajardo, the company also taught theater to communities all across the country so that during the Martial Law era, “theater became a potent vehicle for political expression.”

3. Lino Brocka the freedom fighter

Brilliant director that he is, it’s hard to see Lino Brocka as anyone other than a filmmaker. But in the time of Martial Law, Brocka did more than just write, shoot, and direct. Because his stark, social realist work showed too much of the harsh realities that the government wanted to hide, Brocka’s films such as Macho Dancer and Bayan Ko were labeled subversive and censored.

In 1983, Brocka co-founded the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), a group that fought censorship and advocated socially relevant art. According to the website of the artists’ group Tudla, Brocka’s anti-government stance extended even after Martial Law because he believed that the Cory Aquino administration didn’t bring the change he sought.

4. Freddie Aguilar, the Martial Law era’s Phillip Phillips

Folk singer Freddie Aguilar of the long hair and the guilty child anthem “Anak” actually started his career in a singing competition: the Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, which was the “American Idol” of that generation.

Aside from introducing the world to Aguilar, the festival, which ran from 1977 to 1985, is also responsible for bringing videoke staples like “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika”, “Umagang Kay Ganda,” and “Ewan,” to the collective Filipino consciousness.

5. ‘Bagong Lipunan’ song

In a faint echo of the Two Minutes Hate in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984,” the government required that the song “Bagong Lipunan” follow the National Anthem at flag ceremonies while Marcos was in power. Composed by National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon, part of the song went “Bagong bansa, bagong galaw, sa Bagong Lipunan.”

6. The Blue Ladies

Even the Imeldific Iron Butterfly needed to be schooled in the ways of high society, which is why she surrounded herself with her posse of socialites, collectively known as the “Blue Ladies.”

The Blue Ladies, according to Carmen Navarro Pedrosa in her book, “The Rise and Fall of Imelda Marcos,” were wives of powerful men who needed political connections for their business. Among them were talk show host Elvira Manahan, and Imelda Ongsiako Cojuangco, wife of then-PLDT president Ramon Cojuangco. Pedrosa wrote that unlike Imelda, her Blue Ladies were confident and at ease in their positions of power, and they helped out Imelda by educating her in “the ways of the women of the world.”

7. Imelda, a lesbian?

A few years after her husband’s illicit affair with American starlet Dovie Beams exploded by way of sex tape (which at that time was all audio, no visuals), Imelda fostered a close friendship with Italian socialite Cristina Ford, wife of motor magnate Henry Ford II. According to Seagrave, the two women were so close that rumors of a hot lesbian romance spread like wildfire, much to the dismay of Ferdinand Marcos.

8. No anime!

Martial Law didn’t spare even the children, who were deprived of their favorite cartoon, “Voltes V,” when Marcos had it and other anime shows like “Daimos” and “Mazinger Z” banned from broadcast a year after they premiered in the Philippines.


His excuse was that the cartoons were too violent for children, but, according to the “Voltes V” trivia page on the Anime News Network, “many Filipinos believe Marcos was afraid that ‘Voltes V’s storyline involving an aristocratic empire and its oppressed masses reflected his dictatorship in the country.”

9. Partying, ML style

Everyone, not just impetuous teenagers, had to abide by a curfew during Martial Law. The dreaded Metrocom, or metropolitan police, detained anyone on the road between 11 p.m. to four a.m. Thus, parties had to end before 11 p.m. and if they didn’t, they turned into sleepovers, which, according to partygoers of that time, was actually something they looked forward to.

10. Ikabod Bubwit

In the Martial Law years, the rodent of the moment was Ikabod Bubwit, a witty, tailless mouse whose experiences echoed those of the ordinary Filipino. Through the satirical strip, artist Nonoy Marcelo reimagined Philippine society as Dagalandia, complete with the same autocratic leaders and sociopolitical problems that the country was experiencing at the time. According to the Philippine News Agency, Time Magazine even featured Marcelo in its Sept. 12, 1988 issue, recognizing his "oblique technique to criticize the repressive Marcos regime." –KG/YA, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com