A Quezon City court has granted the motion of online news outlet Bulatlat to rescind a 2022 order by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) restricting access to its website and those of 26 other alternative news organizations.
In a 23-page decision issued on Nov. 18, Judge Catherine Manodon of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 104 declared ‘void’ the NTC memorandum dated June 8, 2022, ruling that it was issued ‘without legal authority.’
Alipato, Bulatlat’s publisher, filed the complaint for nullification a month after the NTC issued the memo.
The NTC memo was issued in response to a letter from former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who had asked the agency to block the websites of Bulatlat and Pinoy News Weekly, both of which report on issues affecting marginalized sectors.
In ruling in favor of Alipato Media Center, Inc., the RTC said the NTC had no authority to block, restrict, or ‘limit access’ to websites because its mandate covers only the regulation, supervision, and adjudication of ‘matters relating to telecommunications services and facilities.’
These matters include the approval of rates, issuance of certificates of public convenience, and settlement of disputes between operators and subscribers, the court noted.
The court also said the NTC could not invoke Section 46(m) of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as the legal basis for its memo against Bulatlat, as any action restricting access to online media would require due process, including a hearing or the issuance of a notice.
‘To interpret Sec. 46(m) as granting such power would unduly expand the scope of the law and sanction acts beyond the statutory limits,’ the RTC said. ‘The NTC treated the letter from defendant Esperon as something it had to follow as a ministerial task.’
The RTC also affirmed through witness testimonies that access to Bulatlat was indeed restricted, even when readers used different internet service providers and devices.
‘Their testimonies show that even if a complete blockage did not occur, the assailed memorandum still resulted in a real and perceivable sense of restriction, as certain users were intermittently or persistently unable to access the site,’ it said.
The court added that the NTC’s action violated the freedoms of the press, speech, and expression guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution.
‘In this case, the blocking of various websites. falls squarely within the ambit of prior restraint because it constitutes ‘government censorship of publication,’ noting that defendants NTC and Esperon failed to justify the existence of any ‘clear and present danger’ posed by the Bulatlat website, the RTC said.
‘No competent proof was presented to show the plaintiff’s publication or operation posed an imminent threat to national security or public order,’ it added.
In a statement on Wednesday, Bulatlat said the ruling was a ‘big win’ for press freedom but emphasized that it would remain vigilant.
‘The local court’s decision unblocks all the 27 websites, making this a victory against state censorship, and against the use of ‘anti-terrorism’ rhetoric to justify the violation of free speech and expression,’ it said.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), which represented Bulatlat, said the ruling is a ‘clear statement on the limits of administrative power and the continuing need to guard against censorship disguised as regulation.’
‘Bulatlat’s reporting, like that of any media organization, may be contested, criticized, or challenged in the arena of public debate. What the Constitution does not allow is for the state to shut down that discourse,’ NUPL said in a statement.
It urged the public to view the court’s decision as a reminder that the press must be treated as an institution ‘that can report and publish without fear of being taken down.’ /mcm