QC court denies Bulatlat's bid to unblock website

A Quezon City court on Wednesday denied Bulatlat’s request for a temporary restraining order against a memorandum ordering internet service providers to block access to its website, according to the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL).

"Wala pang written order ang Court. The resolution was made in open court. Basis was, allegedly, the website bulatlat.com is still 'accessible'," Minerva Lopez, NUPL assistant secretary general, told GMA News Online.

Lopez said the parties were ordered by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 306 to file a memorandum within three days while the next hearing is set for August 2.

"We were not given a date as to when the written order will be available. We were just advised that it will be sent via email," she said.

Last week, Alipato Media Center, the publisher of Bulatlat, asked the court to junk the National Telecommunications' (NTC) memorandum ordering internet service providers (ISP) to block access to Bulatlat.com and 20 other websites that are allegedly linked to "communist terrorists."

This was based on three resolutions issued by the Anti-Terrorism Council designating certain organizations and individuals as terrorists. These resolutions, however, do not identify Alipato, Bulatlat, and its staff as terrorists.

Atty. Frank Lloyd Tiongson, one of the organization’s lawyers, maintained that the Anti-Terrorism Council is not given the power to order the blocking of websites.

“We pointed out under the Anti-Terrorism Act itself where the power of the Anti-Terrorism Council comes from ay hindi naman sila binibigyan ng kapangyarihan to order the blocking of a website without the imprimatur of the court,” he said.

(We pointed out that under the Anti-Terrorism Act itself, where the power of the Anti-Terrorism Council comes from, they are not given the power to order the blocking of a website without the imprimatur of the court.)

Further, he said that then-National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon’s conclusion in his letter addressed to the NTC appears to be “rather whimsical.”

“Because there was no basis at all… they are citing the ATC resolutions, we have pointed out before the Court that there is no indication that Bulatlat.com, Alipato Media Center is the designated entity,” he said.

For its part, Bulatlat said the memorandum has caused "irreparable damage to our constitutional rights since our website remains inaccessible to significant segments of our audiences." —KBK, GMA News