The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines welcomes the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order on the implementation of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
It is the right thing and the very least that the high court can do, confronted with a blatantly unconstitutional and repressive law.
We congratulate the members of media, bloggers, netizens, human rights groups, people’s organizations, progressive legislators and the many others who have defiantly stood up, spoke and fought against this latest assault on our hard-won freedoms.
But the battle to defend our basic rights is far from over. The 120-day TRO gives a brief respite but the protests must continue.
We call on the Supreme Court to render a final decision declaring the law unconstitutional. We call on the legislators to do the right thing and finally pass a law to decriminalize libel.
Above all, we call on our colleagues in media, free expression advocates, human rights activists and the general public to remain vigilant until this repressive law is finally junked. We call on everyone to be constantly ready to resist all possible threats to our democratic rights.
—ROWENA PARAAN,
secretary general,
National Union of Journalists
of the Philippines,
nujphil@gmail.com