By
YUJI VINCENT B. GONZALES
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme
Court on Tuesday issued a 120-day temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Cybercrime
Prevention Act of 2012, setting the oral arguments on Jan. 15 next year.
The TRO, which stopped for four
moths the implementation of the widely protested cybercrime law that took
effect last October 3, also called on respondents to comment on the verdict within
ten days. Respondents are headed by President Benigno Aquino, Justice Secretary
Leila de Lima, and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, among others.
In an Inquirer report, Palace deputy
spokesperson Abigail Valte said that “the
administration will always respect the legal processes that are issued by the [Supreme
Court].”
Sen. Edgardo
Angara, author of the measure and chairman of the Senate committee on science
and technology, welcomed the TRO and even called it a “necessary pause.”
“It will
give time to the Supreme Court to study the merit and give also the critics
time to re-examine their position,” Angara
said.
The issuance of the resolution
coincided with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) drafting of the law’s implementing
rules and regulations which were openly questioned and slammed by various
sectors.
Meanwhile, Sen. Teofisto Guingona
III, lone senator who disapproved then bill and fourth of 15 petitioners who
questioned its constitutionality in the High Tribunal, said that the TRO is the
“first victory of the people and of freedom of expression,”
the Inquirer report added.
The
cybercrime law is drawing jeers from the online community, media organizations,
lawyers, and other social groups for its libel provisions that supposedly
curtail freedom of speech and expression. Most controversial points include
double jeopardy, longer penalty than “traditional” libel which can last up to
12 years, and DOJ’s authority to shut down websites which the agency perceive
to be malicious.
“Let me just
point out the fact that we need a Cybercrime Prevention Act. Except for certain
problematic provisions, this law is necessary. That’s why it is unfortunate
that the overly vague and oppressive provision on libel was inserted into the
law at the last minute,” said Guingona in his opinion piece published on the
Rappler website.
Sen. Miriam
Defensor Santiago, in her speech before Adamson University students last Oct.
7, said she expects that the Supreme Court would declare the law as unconstitutional
because of its “vague” provisions.
“Simply
repeating things, you made a comment, you liked, you shared, you’re already
guilty, because you’re aiding and abetting. You can interpret it that way.
That’s why I’m saying it is too vague,” read an Inquirer report.
Sen. Francis
“Chiz” Escudero, one of the authors of the measure, admitted he oversaw some specific
provisions when approved the law and is willing to push them for amendments.
“I’ll take
out the criminal liability but the civil liability provision will be intact,
meaning no jail penalty,” Escudero said.
House
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, on the other hand, said in another Inquirer report
that he quite expected the latest turnout of events—senators who signed the law
and now seeking for amendments—as majority of them are re-electionists.
“They should
have been awake when the bill was being discussed so they would have known [the
implications] and they should have foreseen [them],” Belmonte said in the
report, describing RA 10175 as a “terrific law” that must be “[given] a chance
to work,” as he cited other provisions.
The law
faced heavy opposition from the cyberworld as netizens changed their Facebook
profile pictures to black images, shared photos and status updates in protest
of the measure to the extent of calling it “e-martial law,” and using Twitter
hashtags like “#NoToCyberCrimeLaw, #FreedomOfSpeech, and #BlackTuesday.”
Over the
past few weeks, hackers who call themselves as members of “Anonymous
Philippines” have been defacing government websites, which include Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas, Senate, and Official Gazette, in protest of the
cybercrime law which they called as “the
most notorious act ever witnessed in the cyberhistory of the Philippines.”
““We have
won the battle. A TRO has been issued but the war has just begun. We won't stop
until it is junked,” a supporter of the Anonymous tweeted.
