'Hindi krimen magbalita': Pag-block ng gobyerno sa red-tagged news websites pinalagan
MANILA, Philippines — Umani ng kritismso ang pag-block ng National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) sa dalawang news websites at 26 pang iba sa layuning "kontra-terorismo" ng gobyerno — pero ayon sa mga journalist at aktibista, atake ito ng estado sa malayang pamamahayag.
Nagmula ito sa request ni National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. sa NTC na i-takedown ang 28 websites sa dahilang "may kaugnayan at sinusuportahan" daw nito ang rebeldeng Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
Kaso, damay din dito ang alternative media sites ng Bulatlat at Pinoy Weekly, na siyang mga lehitimong organisasyon ng mga peryodista na naglalabas ng balita, lathalatin at opinyon. Hindi rin designated bilang terorista ng Anti-Terorism Council ang dalawa.
See list of websites now blocked by telcos due to NTC order. It includes organizations like Bayan, Bulatlat, Pamalakaya that have NOT been designated as terrorist groups but now judged guilty by association and penalized w/o due process. Not even clear what law they violated. pic.twitter.com/LvBPxEIsNV
— Teddy Casiño (@teddycasino) June 22, 2022
"Bulatlat, the longest-running and award-winning online media outfit and the authority in human rights reporting in the Philippines, condemns this brazen violation of our right to publish, and of the public’s right to free press and free expression," sabi ng Bulatlat sa isang pahayag, Miyerkules.
"Since June 17, our subscribers using Smart/PLDT as their ISP informed us that they cannot access our website, prompting us to reach out to the IT company to inquire about the incident."
Maliban sa Bulatlat at Pinoy Weekly, damay din sa naturang pagkakatanggal ang websites at blogs ng:
- Save Our Schools Network
- Hiyaw
- UMA Pilipinas
- Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
- Pamalakaya Pilipinas
- AMIHAN National Federation of PEasant Women
- Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
- Arkibong Bayan
- International League of People's Struggle
- Counter Punch
- International Action Center
- Monthly Review
- People's March
- Taga-Ilog News
- Partisa News
- People Resist News
- josemariasison.org
- ndfp.org
- liberation.ndfp.org
- cpp.ph
- pwrcinfo.wordpress.com
- rctundfp.wordpress.com
- compatriotsndf.wordpress.com
Ika-20 ng Hunyo nang magsulat ang Bulatlat sa NTC at Department of Information and Communications Technology para paimbestigahan ang isyu. Hindi pa rin daw sila sinasagot hanggang ngayon.
"This is prior restraint against protected speech. It is downright unacceptable as it is based on Esperon's mere hearsay," sabi pa ng Bulatlat.
"We raise the alarm that such arbitrary action sets a dangerous precedent for independent journalism in the Philippines."
Kadalasang nagsusulat ang naturang news website pagdating sa isyu ng mga magsasaka, katutubo, maralitang lungsod, human rights violations atbp. sa nakalipas na 21 taon.
Matagal nang nire-red tag at nakararanas ng cyber attacks ang mga nasabing progressive media organizations, katulad na lang noong 2021 noong ma-trace ito sa military intelligence unit.
Patuloy naman daw ang pagbabalita ang Bulatlat at ikukunsidera ang lahat ng legal remedies, habang inilalathala ang kanilang mga artikulo sa ibang URL na www.bulatlat.org. Nagpasalamat din sila sa Reporters Sans Frontiers sa pagtatayo ng dagdag na mirror site upang mapuntahan pa rin ng publiko.
Epekto ng Anti-Terror law
Kinundena rin ng National Union of Journalists of the Philippines ang nangyaring atake, lalo na't "arbitrary" raw ang pagkakadagdag ng Bulatlat, Pinoy Weekly atbp. sa listahan ng NTC dahil sa "pagsuporta" sa CPP-NPA-NDFP.
"It is precisely the threat that the anti-terror law would be used as an all-encompassing tool to run after any form of dissent that prompted the NUJP to also file a petition before the Supreme Court," wika ng NUJP kanina.
"What we feared, and what the government assured would not happen, has happened."
It is precisely the threat that the anti-terror law would be used as an all-encompassing tool to run after any form of dissent that prompted the NUJP to also file a petition before the Supreme Court.
— NUJP (@nujp) June 22, 2022
What we feared, and what the government assured would not happen, has happened. pic.twitter.com/6DQXokGV5h
Sa Section 25 ng Anti-Terrorism Act, pwedeng ideklara bilang terorista ng Anti-Terrorism Council ang mga indibidwal o gropo basta't may "probable cause" kahit hindi sila korte. Dahil dito, matagal nang kinatatakutan nang marami na gagamitin ito para sikilin ang mga kritiko ng gobyerno.
Dagdag ng NUJP, hindi krimen ang peryodismo. Bagama't kritikal ang pagbabalita ng mga nabanggit sa gobyerno at mga polisiya nito, peligrosong ipag-isa raw ito sa affiliation o suporta sa mga rebeldeng komunista.
"We call on the NTC and the [National Security Council] to reconsider the inclusion of news sites and of the websites of activist groups in their list," patuloy pa ng NUJP.
"We also call on the members of the journalist community, on press freedom and freedom of expression advocates, and on the public to join us in condemning this blatant violation of press freedom and of the basic idea of the free flow of information and of ideas."
Throwback sa Martial Law?
Kinastigo naman ng Bayan Muna party-list ang naturang hakbang, lalo na't tila wala raw itong pagkakaiba sa diktadura ni dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — ama ni president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
"This is another throwback to martial rule era and a blatant violation of the constitutionally- guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and of the press," wika ni House Deputy Minority leader at Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate.
"Naghahabol ba ng deadline ang outgoing National Security Adviser o gustong manatili pa ito sa pwesto o influence nito sa susunod na administration kaya ginagawa ito?"
Sa ilalim ng pamumuno noon ni Marcos Sr., lubhang naapektuhan ang freedom of the press at saplitang kinuha at kinontrol gaya na lang ng ginawa sa ABS-CBN.
Panawagan nila sa korte, muling tignan ang mga "anti-demokratikong" probisyon ng Anti-Terror law at ibasura ito.
Disyembre 2021 lang nang ideklara ng Korte Suprema na unconstitutional ang ilang bahagi ng Republic Act 11479. Sa kabila nito, pinanatili pa rin ang ilang probisyon.
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