Disini v. Secretary of Justice
Disini v. Secretary of Justice | |||||
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Court | Supreme Court of the Philippines en banc | ||||
Full case name | |||||
Jose Jesus M. Disini, Jr., Rowena S. Disini, Lianne Ivy P. Medina, Janette Toral and Ernesto Sonido, Jr., vs. the Secretary of Justice, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Executive Director of the Information and Communications Technology Office, the Chief of the Philippine National Police and the Director of the National Bureau of Investigation | |||||
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Decided | February 18, 2014 | ||||
Citation | 727 Phil. 28 | ||||
Case history | |||||
Prior action(s) | None, Supreme Court was first instance of all fifteen consolidated petitions | ||||
Subsequent action(s) | Motion for reconsideration denied April 22, 2014 | ||||
Case opinions | |||||
Majority: 12 Roberto Abad (ponente), Maria Lourdes Sereno (also filed concurrence), Antonio Carpio (also filed concurrence), Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Portugal Perez, Bienvenido Reyes, Arturo Brion (also filed concurrence, but dissented at time of reconsideration), Lucas Bersamin, Martin Villarama Jr., Jose Catral Mendoza (joined Brion's concurrence) Dissented: 1 Marvic Leonen Abstained: 1 Estela Perlas-Bernabe Recused: 1 Presbitero Velasco Jr. | |||||
Court membership | |||||
Chief Justice | Maria Lourdes Sereno |
Disini v. Secretary of Justice, 727 Phil. 28 (2014), is a landmark ruling of the Supreme Court of the Philippines handed down on February 18, 2014. When the Congress of the Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 the bill was immediately controversial, especially its strict penalties for the new crime of "cyberlibel",[2][3] an upgraded form of the already existing criminal libel charge found in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.[4]
In the end, the Court declared that most of the law, including the cyberlibel provision, was constitutional.[5] The ruling's abridgement of free expression has been widely criticized by critics of the law,[6][7] including then attorney Harry Roque.[8] The decision reached in Disini paved the way for the anti-fake news provisions of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.[9]
Petition
[edit]Several petitions were almost immediately submitted to the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the Act upon its signing,[10] including the petition of Jose Jesus M. Disini, Jr. on September 25,[11][12] a Harvard-educated lawyer and law professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law from whose name the title of the case derives.[13]
Initial deferment and protests
[edit]On October 2, the Supreme Court initially chose to defer action on the petitions, citing an absence of justices which prevented the Court from sitting en banc.[14] The initial lack of a temporary restraining order meant that the law went into effect as scheduled on October 3. In protest, Filipino netizens reacted by blacking out their Facebook profile pictures and trending the hashtag #NoToCybercrimeLaw on Twitter.[15] "Anonymous" also defaced government websites, including those of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the Intellectual Property Office.[16]
Temporary restraining order
[edit]On October 8, 2012, the Supreme Court decided to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO), pausing implementation of the law for 120 days.[17] In early December 2012, the government requested the lifting of the TRO,[18] which was denied.[19] The TRO consolidated all fifteen petitions filed up to that point into one case.[17]
Oral arguments
[edit]Over four hours of oral arguments by petitioners were heard on January 15, 2013, followed by a three-hour rebuttal by the Office of the Solicitor General, representing the government, on January 29, 2013.[20] This was the first time in Philippine history that oral arguments were uploaded online by the Supreme Court.[21]
Ruling
[edit]On February 18, 2014, in a ruling penned by justice Roberto Abad, the Supreme Court ruled 12–1–2 that most of the law was constitutional, although it struck down other provisions, including the ones that violated double jeopardy.[5][1] In total, §4(c)(3), §5 (only in relation to §4(c)(2), §4(c)(3), and §4(c)(4)), §7 (only in relation to sections §4(c)(2) and §4(c)(4)), §12, and §19 were struck down by the Court as unconstitutional.[1]
Notably, "likes" and "retweets" of libelous content, originally themselves also criminalized as libel under the law, were found to be legal,[22] and this was the only instance in which the court modified the interpretation of section 4(c)(4).[1] Only justice Marvic Leonen dissented from the ruling, writing that he believes the whole idea of criminal libel to be unconstitutional, and assailing the Court for not finding so.[23]
Of note also was the Court's justification for the higher penalties given to cybercrimes, such as prisión mayor (six to twelve years in prison) for cyberlibel:[1]
There exists a substantial distinction between crimes committed through the use of information and communications technology and similar crimes committed using other means. In using the technology in question, the offender often evades identification and is able to reach far more victims or cause greater harm. The distinction, therefore, creates a basis for higher penalties for cybercrimes.
The Court's ruling also puts the burden of proof for whether or not there was malice on the defendant rather than the petitioner, even if the petitioner is a public figure.[7] In his dissent in part, justice Antonio Carpio called this provision "clearly repugnant to the Constitution."[24]
Motion for reconsideration
[edit]While motions for reconsideration were immediately filed by numerous petitioners, including the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, they were all rejected with finality on April 22, 2014.[25][26] However, justice Arturo Brion, who originally wrote a separate concurring opinion, changed his vote to dissent after reconsidering whether it was just to impose higher penalties for cyberlibel than for regular libel.[27]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Disini v. Secretary of Justice, G.R. Nos. 203335, et al. (Supreme Court of the Philippines February 18, 2014 )
- ^ Gonzales, Iris (November 2, 2012). "Filipino law is 'cyber authoritarianism'". New Internationalist. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ Jennings, Ralph (April 24, 2020). "Rare Cyber Libel Case Tests Fragile Media Freedoms in Philippines". Voice of America. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ La Viña, Tony (March 4, 2014). "Ending criminal libel". Manila Standard. Retrieved June 5, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Merueñas, Mark (February 18, 2014). "Internet libel in cybercrime law constitutional – SC". GMA News. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Patajo-Kapunan, Lorna (October 16, 2017). "Decriminalizing libel". BusinessMirror. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ a b Dean Tony La Viña (February 27, 2014). "The future of libel". Rappler. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Roque, Harry (March 2, 2014). "High court on libel: Lost in overbreadth". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Patag, Kristine Joy (March 25, 2020). "During state of emergency, 'Bayanihan' Act allows imprisonment for 'false information'". The Philippine Star. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Canlas, Jonas (September 27, 2012). "Suits pile up assailing anti-cybercrime law". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012 – via PressReader.
- ^ Jose Jesus M. Disini (September 25, 2012). "Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition, with Prayer for a Temporary Restraining Order". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Retrieved June 5, 2020 – via Scribd.
- ^ Torres, Tetch (September 26, 2019). "Constitutionality of cybercrime law questioned before SC". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Jose Jesus M. Disini". UP College of Law. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ Torres, Tetch (October 2, 2012). "SC defers action on petitions vs cybercrime law". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
- ^ "#NoToCybercrimeLaw protest goes viral". Rappler. October 2, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Websites hacked in protest vs new law". Rappler. September 26, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ a b Torres, Tetch (October 9, 2012). "SC issues TRO vs cyber law". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ^ Phneah, Ellyne (December 11, 2012). "Philippine govt asks court to lift injunction on Cybercrime Law". ZDNet. ZDNet. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ Phneah, Ellyne (February 5, 2013). "Philippines extends suspension of cybercrime law". ZDNet. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Petitions challenging Republic Act No. 10175". Supreme Court of the Philippines. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013.
- ^ Judiciary Annual Report 2013 (PDF). Manila: Supreme Court of the Philippines. 2013. p. 46.
Later on, the Court approved another first -- the uploading of the audio recording of the proceedings of the oral arguments of the cases starting with the cases on Cybercrime Law.
- ^ Acosta, Persida (February 17, 2020). "Liking a libelous post". The Manila Times. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Disini v. Secretary of Justice, Opinion dissenting in part and concurring in part by Leonen, J. Archived June 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Disini v. Secretary of Justice, Opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part by Carpio, J.
- ^ Judiciary Annual Report 2014 (PDF). Manila: Supreme Court of the Philippines. 2014. p. 31.
In a later signed resolution, the Court denied all the motions for reconsiderationof its decision dated February 18, 2014. (GR No. 203335, GR No. 203299, GR No.203306, GR No. 203359, GR No. 203378, GR No. 203391, GR No. 203407, GR No.203440, GR No. 203453, GR No. 203454, GR No. 203469, GR No. 203501, GR No.203509, GR No. 203515, and GR No. 203518, April 22, 2014)
- ^ Disini v. Secretary of Justice (Ruling on Motion for Reconsideration)
- ^ Disini v. Secretary of Justice (Ruling on Motion for Reconsideration), Dissent by Brion, J.
External links
[edit]Selected briefs
[edit]For petitioners
[edit]- Jose Jesus M. Disini Jr.; Rowena S. Disini; Lianne Ivy Pascua-Medina (September 25, 2012), Jose Jesus M. Disini Jr., et al. v. Secretary of Justice, et al. (Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition), Disini & Disini Law Office, G.R. No. 203335 – via Internet Archive
- Jose Manuel I. Diokno; Pablito V. Sanidad; Ricardo A. Sunga III; Theodore O. Te (October 3, 2012), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, et al. v. the Executive Secretary, et al. (Petition for Certiorari, Prohibition and Injunction with Application for Immediate Restraining Order and Other Extraordinary Legal and Equitable Reliefs), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines; Free Legal Assistance Group, G.R. No. 203453 – via Internet Archive
For government respondents
[edit]- Francis H. Jardeleza; Rex Bernard L. Pascual; Sarah Jane T. Fernandez; Marsha C. Recon; et al. (December 3, 2012), Louis "Barok" C. Biraogo v. National Bureau of Investigation, et al. (PDF) (Consolidated Comment with Partial Manifestation), Makati: Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines, G.R. Nos. 203299, et al. – via
Wikimedia Commons
Rulings
[edit]- Jose Jesus M. Disini Jr., et al. v. Secretary of Justice, et al., Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 18, 2014, G.R. Nos. 203335, et al.
- Jose Jesus M. Disini Jr., et al. v. Secretary of Justice, et al. (Ruling on Motion for Reconsideration), Supreme Court of the Philippines, April 22, 2014, G.R. Nos. 203335, et al.