Huge protests needed to prod House to repeal cyber law — lawmaker

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez. congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines — It may take more rabble rousing for amendments on the controversial Cybercrime Prevention Act to happen, House minority leader Danilo Suarez said on Wednesday.

In a media forum with the media, he said that widespread protests against Republic Act No. 10175 may prompt legislators to seriously scrutinize amendments being proposed to the new law.

“If protests boil over lawmakers will be forced to act,” he said.

Kabataan Partylist Representstive Raymond Palatino and Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Teddy Casino have recently filed a bill seeking to repeal contentious provisions of the newly implemented law amid protests by netizens, coupled with attacks from “hacktivists.”

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. earlier said that they would respect and look into the bill but echoed House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II’s statement that widespread hacking on government websites are proof that Internet use should be regulated.

But with the limited time left for the 15th Congress before its members launch their campaigns, Suarez said it would take a huge people’s rally to prod lawmakers to act to repeal the law.

He admitted that lawmakers should have scrutinized the law better before it was approved, pointing out that the minority bloc did not have enough members to slow down the approval of the bill at the House of Representatives.

But while the people should enjoy their freedom of expression, Suarez said that it must still be done responsibly. He used American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.’s “shouting fire in a crowded theater” to make his point, saying that although people had the right to speak “there should be limitations.”

He also said that the anti-cybercrime law can be implemented even while its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) are being crafted, saying it was important to have a law in place.

“There’s already a law. The issue is not only the IRR. What is important is what’s in the law,” Suarez said.
“If the law is clear, the law will prevail even without the IRR but it may also be prudent to wait (until the IRR is crafted),” he said.

The minority leader is mulling filing a resolution seeking to amend RA 10175 at the House of Representatives but not before he speaks with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) about the questionable provisions of the law.