PAGKONTROL SA ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’ HINDI PASOK SA ANTI-TERRORISM ACT

BINIGYANG-DIIN ni House Committee on National Defense and Security vice-chairman at Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon na walang anumang probisyon sa ilalim ng nilagdaan ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte na Republic Act no. 11479 o ang Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, na naglalayong kontrolin ng pamahalaan ang paggamit ng social media.

Paggigiit ng Muntinlupa City lawmaker, ang pagsasailalim sa social media sa masusing regulasyon ng estado ay hindi ninanais at intensiyon ng mga mambabatas na silang pumanday ng nilalaman ng naturang batas.

“There is no provision in the law which provides for the authority to regulate social media, precisely because it is not the intention of the legislators to cross the line of protecting freedom of expression and right to privacy. The idea of regulating social media was already discussed in the many technical working group meetings and committee hearings and the proposals to include them in the law were not considered.” ang  pahayag ni   Biazon.

Ginawa ng kongresista ang pahayag bilang reaksiyon sa paglalahad ni newly-installed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay sa naisin nito na maisama sa bubuuing

Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) ng RA 11479 ang pagkontrol sa paggamit ng social media partikular para ma-monitor umano ang aktibidad ng iba’t-ibang terrorist groups sa bansa.

“To insert it into the Implementing Rules and Regulations would be a contradiction to the intention of the framers of the law who had already purposely left it out, as well as a circumvention of the rule that the IRR should not go beyond what is provided by the letter of the law. The members of the committee formulating the IRR should be mindful of this matter and be guided accordingly,” ang tugon pa ni Biazon sa nasabing pahayag ng bagong AFP chief.

Dagdag pa ng House panel vice-chairperson, kung ang nais ng katatalagang pinuno ng sandatahang lakas ay mamonitor ang terrorist activities o proganda ng mga kalaban ng pamahalaan gamit ang social media, mayroong probisyon ang RA 11479 hinggil dito.

“There is no need for a power to regulate social media, which would mean that all users of social media, a majority of which are not terrorist suspects, would be vulnerable to breaches of privacy or restraint on freedom of expression,” pahayag pa ng kongresista. ROMER R. BUTUYAN