Image retrieved from The Indian-Muslim Observer
(Preface: I, myself, had some sort of hesitation pushing through with this blog post, simply because of the repercussions that may result, especially now that RA 10175 is enacted. After reading the full copy of the law, I'm confident I'm not doing any wrong, that I'm not defaming anybody with this post and I hope at least some of my readers would agree with me.)
A lot of commotion has been risen towards a new bill signed into law by the Philippine President, Noynoy Aquino, just recently. This new law is RA 10175 or the "Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012". Before I wrote this blog post, I made sure I first read the full copy or transcript of the controversial law, so I could objectively give my opinion on it. For those who'd like to do the same, a full copy of the RA 10175 or "Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act" is available to be read online in the Official Gazette of the Office of the Philippine President, link available here: Gov.Ph: RA 10175.
I tell you, when I read the law, it had all the makings of a great law. In many ways, and in a line of thought that may be contradicted by many of my compatriots, RA 10175 is a step forward for this nation. For a long while now, the country has had a lot of problems when it comes to cybercrime, especially those relating to child pornography in the web as well as cyberbullying and identity theft. We've also had a barrage of these cybersex dens plague our cities for a while now. Finally, our nation's law now has teeth to battle these crimes and were given suitable punishments.
However, somewhere along the lines, the law made a weird U-turn and turned into something preverse.
One provision stood out for me as I read RA 10175 and it was this:
SEC. 19. Restricting or Blocking Access to Computer Data. — When a computer data is prima facie found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act, the DOJ shall issue an order to restrict or block access to such computer data.
If you've yet to realize the ramifications of this simple line, let me help you. Let's first define what "prima facie" is. In the world of law, that Latin term connotes that something is true until proven otherwise. Therefore, unless proven otherwise, anyone found to be in violation of the act is guilty of the violation, period.
So what does this entail? Let's backtrack to section 4(c)(4) of this law:
(4) Libel. — The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.
What does this provision bring to the table now? Let's take a look at this quick and simple explanation from abogadomo.com (actual link: Abogadomo.com - Libel Laws of the Philippines):
Under Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Libel is defined as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending to discredit or cause the dishonor or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead. Thus, the elements of libel are: (a) imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another; (b) publication of the imputation; (c) identity of the person defamed; and, (d) existence of malice.
Now we can put the puzzle together. What section 19 of RA 10175 says is that if you are found to be discrediting someone or something, whether this imputation is real or not, as long as you published it online, then you are guilty of libel under this new law unless proven otherwise. Let's make that more concise: Once the DOJ finds you defaming someone / something in the net, even if this act of defaming is imaginary, then you're guilty until its found out you're not after all.
If you take a look at this in hindsight, you now realize, "Wait, isn't that curtailing the freedom of speech?" My answer: Yes, yes it is.
The Facebook analytics company, SocialBakers, states that there are almost 30 million Filipinos on Facebook. There are also more than 75,000 bloggers in the Philippines, according to the Blog Herald as of 2005. Now, what does the new RA 10175 law mean for these people? Simply put, a gag order has just been issued against them. Once they publish words that may hurt a known person through blogs or social media, then the axe of the law can be used against them.
Right now, we Filipinos should do everything we can to spread the word about this crippling provision in the law. Contact your local legislator through their online social media pages, sign petitions advocating the revision or junking of the law, so that our lawmakers may at least consider tweaking the law to some extent that would be less curtailing to the millions of Pinoy netizens out there.
We need to raise our voice against this matter now, for if we don't, we may not have a voice any longer in the future.
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well said..
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