Pinoy bloggers in Kuwait say no to Cybercrime Law
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By Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau
KUWAIT - Clad in black shirts, members of the Filipino Bloggers in Kuwait (FBK) joined other netizens in the Philippines and across the globe to protest the implementation of the Republic Act (RA) No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The group aired their appeal to strike down some controversial provisions of the law and restrain the Philippine government from implementing these provisions.
A big number of Filipino Internet users in Kuwait have gone “black” since Wednesday in protest of the new Cybercrime Law in the Philippines by using a plain black photo as their profile picture.
“Unang-una maapektuhan po kami rito dahil ang mga pananaw po bilang isang OFW, yon lang po ang way of sharing po namin sa mga kababayan namin na nasa Pinas. Kung ito’y maisasatupad pa, paano na po iyong mga hinaing po namin para sa aming mga OFW at sa kababayan natin?” said Gracia Amor, President of the Filipino Bloggers in Kuwait.
Amor admitted that though the law aims to go after cyber criminals, there are certain provisions that need to be amended, especially under Section 4 (c) (4) which criminalizes libel not only on the Internet but also on "any other similar means which may be devised in the future."
“Just imagine, grabe ang parusa, one may face a jail term of up to 12 years. This is preposterous,” she stressed.
“I don’t have any problem with the law itself because this is like a protection to any cybercrime occurrence but there are certain provisions or clauses that question the constitutionality of the law such as the insertion of the libel clause which some of the lawmakers admitted that they have overlooked. How can they have overlooked it? They should have done first their homework diligently,” pointed out Ana Maria Escobar, another blogger in Kuwait.
She also cited the double jeopardy clause in section 7 of the law. “I feel the need to express my view and opinion on this because imposing such unconstitutional restrictions would prevent me from exercising my right to express in the society that I live in,” she pointed out.
“Personally, I strongly oppose any law that suppresses our basic right at isa ang RA 10175. Our Philippine forefathers have fought hard for this basic right, the freedom of expression that we are enjoying today and implementing this Cybercrime law is like a death sentence to our freedom of expression,” said Evaristus Pantaleon Reyes, another Filipino Blogger.
Meanwhile, Eljan Elleze, the administrator of the Pilipino sa Kuwait Facebook group with over 34,000 members has embarked on a campaign and changed the cover and profile photos of the page to “Say No to Cybercrime Law. Change your profile to black now.” Majority of its members have followed suit.
“Sa Pilipino sa Kuwait page, maraming mga hinaing, mga bagay na dapat pagbigyan ng pansin. Once na na-post sa page yan, nabibigyan ng atensyon, against ako sa cybercrime law na ito.,” stated Elleze.
The Filipino Bloggers in Kuwait (FBK) urged the lawmakers to amend the law or totally trash it.
The group aired their appeal to strike down some controversial provisions of the law and restrain the Philippine government from implementing these provisions.
A big number of Filipino Internet users in Kuwait have gone “black” since Wednesday in protest of the new Cybercrime Law in the Philippines by using a plain black photo as their profile picture.
“Unang-una maapektuhan po kami rito dahil ang mga pananaw po bilang isang OFW, yon lang po ang way of sharing po namin sa mga kababayan namin na nasa Pinas. Kung ito’y maisasatupad pa, paano na po iyong mga hinaing po namin para sa aming mga OFW at sa kababayan natin?” said Gracia Amor, President of the Filipino Bloggers in Kuwait.
Amor admitted that though the law aims to go after cyber criminals, there are certain provisions that need to be amended, especially under Section 4 (c) (4) which criminalizes libel not only on the Internet but also on "any other similar means which may be devised in the future."
“Just imagine, grabe ang parusa, one may face a jail term of up to 12 years. This is preposterous,” she stressed.
“I don’t have any problem with the law itself because this is like a protection to any cybercrime occurrence but there are certain provisions or clauses that question the constitutionality of the law such as the insertion of the libel clause which some of the lawmakers admitted that they have overlooked. How can they have overlooked it? They should have done first their homework diligently,” pointed out Ana Maria Escobar, another blogger in Kuwait.
She also cited the double jeopardy clause in section 7 of the law. “I feel the need to express my view and opinion on this because imposing such unconstitutional restrictions would prevent me from exercising my right to express in the society that I live in,” she pointed out.
“Personally, I strongly oppose any law that suppresses our basic right at isa ang RA 10175. Our Philippine forefathers have fought hard for this basic right, the freedom of expression that we are enjoying today and implementing this Cybercrime law is like a death sentence to our freedom of expression,” said Evaristus Pantaleon Reyes, another Filipino Blogger.
Meanwhile, Eljan Elleze, the administrator of the Pilipino sa Kuwait Facebook group with over 34,000 members has embarked on a campaign and changed the cover and profile photos of the page to “Say No to Cybercrime Law. Change your profile to black now.” Majority of its members have followed suit.
“Sa Pilipino sa Kuwait page, maraming mga hinaing, mga bagay na dapat pagbigyan ng pansin. Once na na-post sa page yan, nabibigyan ng atensyon, against ako sa cybercrime law na ito.,” stated Elleze.
The Filipino Bloggers in Kuwait (FBK) urged the lawmakers to amend the law or totally trash it.
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