Filtered By: Scitech
SciTech

Bishop wants to give anti-cybercrime law a chance


Amid protests from many media and rights groups, a Catholic bishop is willing to give the newly signed anti-cybercrime law a chance to work out. Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon said freedom of expression—which critics accuse the law of having the potential to violate—is not absolute and comes with responsibility. "Let’s give it a chance. After all, freedom has its consequent duty and responsibility," said Baylon, who chairs the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' Episcopal Commission on Youth. “The challenge now is to implement the spirit of the law and not the letter so that ultimately, the Cyber Crime Prevention Act of 2012 will not be an avenue to violate civil liberties,” he added. Many groups had criticized the newly constituted Republic Act 10175, or the Cyber Crime Prevention Act of 2012, for its provisions that some say could violate the freedom of speech. The law lists online libel as one of its punishable acts. For his part, Baylon admitted it is “hard” to draw the line between curtailing the right to information and free speech and penalizing those who abuse the media and Internet to assail one's credibility. “Both pros and cons have a point. But above all else, we should also recognize that it is also a human right to be protected from people who use the internet to advance their malicious intention,” he said. He said the law's intent may have been to protect not just celebrities and politicians but also ordinary Filipinos from cyber-bullying and online libel. On the other hand, Baylon urged the government to make certain the new law's implementing rules and regulations (IRR) clear its gray areas to address the concerns raised by journalists, bloggers, social media users and netizens. “The IRR should clearly set the limits of the human right and freedom: where freedom ends and where responsibility starts. The IRR should make sure that the new law will be just and humane,” he said. Baylon also reminded netizens to abide by one of the Web's principal rules: “Think before you click." — BM, GMA News

Tags: cybercrime, cbcp
LOADING CONTENT