The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) opposed a bill filed before the House of Representatives seeking to decriminalize libel.
“Decriminalizing libel will result in an unbridled exercise of freedom of expression that will no longer allow for any form of legal restraint,” task force spokesperson for legal affairs Flosemer Chris Gonzales said.
“Anything in excess will result in chaos,” he added.
On Friday, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel filed House Bill (HB) 1769 seeking to decriminalize libel through amendments to the Revised Penal Code.
Castro said penalizing libel and cyber libel “cast a chilling effect over the exercise of free expression online.”
But Gonzales insisted rendering libel ineffective is opening the door to chaos and excesses in the exercise of free speech and press freedom.
“Libel prevents excesses in the exercise of freedom of expression and of freedom of the press,” he said.
He added that the proposed bill “per se, is not beneficial to the Filipino people.”
“It may, however, be beneficial to those who have pending petitions before the appellate courts after they have been found guilty for committing the crime of libel. But aside from these people, no one else is bound to benefit from the decriminalization of libel,” Gonzales said.
The country’s penal laws that include libel, Gonzales said, are essential to the preservation of and maintenance of orderly conduct in a democratic society.
He added that libel punishes abuses committed by any citizen and by journalists who go overboard in the discharge of their functions while protecting the innocent from being maligned and vilified by those who have the means to do so.
“We want to have a media that is responsible, decent, and truthful. A media that is not biased, slanted, and works only to promote the interests of a group with ulterior motives,” Gonzales said.
“We want accountability for those who purvey fake news and untruthful statements particularly if it is prejudicial to the Filipino people,” he added.
