SAY NO!! to Cybercrime Libel Penalty

PETITION

We, the undersigned declare our support for the following initiatives that seek to overturn the "cyber libel" criminal provision of Republic Act 10175:

1) The Restraining Order filed by ELLEN TORDESILLAS, ATTY. HARRY ROQUE, ALEXANDER ADONIS and others urging the Supreme Court to declare Sections 4 (c) [4], 5, 6, 7 and 19 of the RA 10175, unconstitutional and a violation of the Bill of Rights which states that “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances"...that Section 6 of R. A 10175 violates the equal protection clause, of the constitution since it arbitrarily increases the penalty imposed on “cyber libel” punishable with from six months and one day to 12 years as compared to the penalty for ordinary libel which is punishable with six months and one day to four years. Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/opinion/14205-an-appeal-to-the-sc-to-stop-cybercrime-law UP law professor Harry Roque said, the Philippines was one of a shrinking number of countries where defamation remained a crime punishable by prison...it goes against the trend in many advanced democracies such as the United States and Britain where defamation is now punished with fines rather than imprisonment. Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/14981510/outrage-over-philippine-cybercrime-law/

2) The Restraining Order filed by SENATOR GUINGONA who told the Supreme Court that, “Without a clear definition of the crime of libel and the persons liable, virtually any person can now be charged with a crime — even if you just re-tweet or comment on an online update or blog post,” Source: http://globalbalita.com/2012/09/29/outrage-over-philippine-cybercrime-law/

3) The Supreme Court Petition docketed GR#203306 filed by ATTY. BERTINI CATALUNA CAUSING and others who told the Supreme Court that, their petition is transcendental because the subject matters—libel online, “unsolicited advertisement” and the sweeping provision upgrading the penalties for crimes under Revised Penal Code and special penal laws committed by the use of internet—will affect the lives of the Filipinos, young and old, minor and adults, journalists or otherwise, professionals and non-professionals, schoolchildren and out-of-school youths, overseas Filipino and those at home, natural and juridical persons, software developers or just plain hobbyists, the generation of today and of the future. Source: e-mail received on Wed 9/26/12 from Atty Berteni Causing

We, the undersigned join the following in voicing their sentiments about RA# 10175:

1) The call on fellow OFWs by MIGRANTE, an international migrants' rights group to register their strong opposition against RA #10175. Regional coordinator JOHN LEONARD MONTERONA said that, since many OFWs are fond users of various social networking sites as a medium to air their legitimate grievances against the government or any of its agencies and officials, it is not farfetched that some of the OFWs will be unfairly or maliciously charge of cybercrime law violations. Source: http://beforeitsnews.com/middle-east/2012/09/ofws-too-are-target-of-cybercrime-law-junk-the-cybercrime-law-2444524.html

2) REP. RAYMOND PALATINO said that, "The main concern should be the protection of internet users. Legislation should maintain the openness or the free, public character of the internet. There must be transparency and law enforcers must be accountable for their actions. Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/15/12/solon-raises-fears-over-anti-cybercrime-law

3) PROFESSOR LUIS TEODORO, who serves as deputy director of the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said, the new law actually strengthens an 82-year-old libel law that has been described by the United Nations Human Rights Council as “draconian” and “excessive”. “At a time when the global trend is to decriminalise libel, the new cybercrime law is very regressive and takes us several steps backward,” Teodoro told IPS. Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2012/09/30/filipino-netizens-reject-cybercrime-act/

4) The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) said that, the enactment of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 betrayed President Aquino’s commitment to transparency and freedom of expression. Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2012/09/30/filipino-netizens-reject-cybercrime-act/

5) RAISSA ROBLES said that, “this section on libel has grave implications for freedom of speech on the Internet. People who post on Facebook, Twitter and write comments in news websites can be sued for libel in much more insidious ways than those in the traditional news media.” Source: http://www.asianjournal.com/editorial/5-editorial/17333-freedom-of-cyber-expression.html

6) Noemi Dado said that, "teenagers unwarily retweeting or re-posting libellous material on social media could bear the full force of the law...Not everyone is an expert on what constitutes libel. Imagine a mother like me, or teenagers and kids who love to rant. It really hits our freedoms ...law sent the wrong signal in a country that overthrew the military-backed Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship just 26 years ago".

VOX POPULI, VOX DEI

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE... RA# 10175 takes effect Oct 3, 2012!!