Media org asks QC court to junk NTC order blocking access to its website

Alipato Media Center, Inc. on Friday asked the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to junk National Telecommunications (NTC)'s memorandum ordering internet service providers (ISP) to block access to Bulatlat.com.

Alipato Media Center, Inc. said the NTC memorandum, issued on June 8 upon the request of then National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, is illegal and violates due process.

"The issuance by the NTC of its 08 June 2022 Memorandum is ultra vires. Nothing, express or implied, in EO No. 546 dated 23 July 1979, the instrument creating the NTC, and RA 7925 dated 01 March 1995 or the "Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines," which designated it as the principal administrator of the mentioned statute, clothes the NTC with the power to block the websites listed in the said Memorandum, including Bulatlat.com, without securing a court order," the complainant said.

"Being ultra vires, the NTC's order to Philippine ISPs to block Bulatlat.com, the other websites listed in the letter-request of Defendant Esperon, which formed an integral part of the questioned Memorandum, is illegal. As such, it stands to be nullified by this Honorable Court," it added.

Likewise, Alipato Media Center, Inc. invoked Article 3, Section 4 of the Philippine Constitution which guarantees freedom of the press and expression, and that there is no real, imminent, clear and/or present danger that would pass the standard of strict scrutiny to justify the blocking of access to Bulatlat.com because it has not just committed, is not actually committing, and is not attempting to commit a crime.

"Its website has not been used, is not being used, and is not intended to  be used in the commission of a crime," the complainant said.

"It also does not contain any incitement to imminent lawless action, pornography, and false or misleading advertisement. Neither does it espouse a danger to national security," it added.

Esperon's request to block access to Bulatlat.com and 20 other websites was based on three resolutions issued by the Anti Terror Council designating certain organizations and individuals as terrorists.

These resolutions, however, do not identify Alipato Media Center, Inc., Bulatlat.com, and its staff as terrorists or terrorism groups.

"It bears noting that Plaintiff is not a designated terrorist entity, not to mention that the blocking of a website is not sanctioned by the Anti-Terrosim Act as one of the consequences of being designated as a terrorist. Besides, the NTC has no power, as stated above, to order the blocking of a website of an entity alleged to be "affiliated to" or "supporting terrorists and terrorist organizations" without judicial imprimatur," the complainant said.

"By ordering the blocking of Plaintiff's website, defendant NTC illegally deprived plaintiff of a platform where it publishes its news articles, views and opinions. The blocking measure imposed through Defendant NTC's 08 June 2022 Memorandum constitutes censorship and prior restraint or subsequent punishment, as the case may be, on the past, present, and future news as well as editorial content of Bulatlat.com," it added.

The complainant then said that by mechanically adopting the unilateral conclusion of Esperon that the websites including Bulatlat.com are "affiliated to and are supporting" designated terrorist and terrorist organizations, the NTC memo imputed them without competent, credible and admissible evidence.

"By issuing and continuing to enforce its 08 June 2022 Memorandum, Defendant NTC, at the behest of Defendants NSC (National Security Council) and Esperon, not only impedes, but also totally prevents Plaintiff from pursuing its corporate purpose and exercising its clear and unmistakable right to publish such news, analyses, investigative reports, and commentaries," the complainant said.

"As it stands, the Plaintiff's news lineup becomes stale as everyday national affairs evolve at a fast pace. Thus, the injury caused to the Plaintiff by the blocking of Bulatlat.com by virtue of the subject Memorandum issued by Defendant NTC, at the behest of Defendants NSC and Esperon, is irreparable, pointing to the urgent need  for the injunctive reliefs prayed for," it added.

The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, Kodao Productions, Rappler, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) all expressed support for Alipato Media Center's legal move.

"An attack on one is an attack on all. PCIJ stands in solidarity with journalists and news sites being harassed, red-tagged, and silenced by the government," the PCIJ said.

"Journalism is not terrorism. CMFR stands in solidarity with Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly as the former files a petition to nullify the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) order blocking their websites along with those of other progressive organizations," CMFR added.—AOL, GMA News