84 Dictating the Internet: increasingly expressed views critical of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.294 Subject to section 142 of the Revised Penal Code and section 6 of the CPA, they face more than six years’ imprisonment for alleged “incitement to sedition”. Among those targeted by the criminal complaints were four bishops, three priests, a former education secretary, senators, former senators, and senatorial candidates of the opposition Liberal Party, to which the Vice President also belongs, and officials of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) – which had provided legal assistance to victims’ families in cases involving potentially unlawful killings perpetrated under the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs”.295 The criminal complaints were filed in relation to videos which had circulated on YouTube alleging links between the President and the drug trade in the Philippines. The complaints alleged the 36 individuals had “incited sedition” through alleged involvement in the creation and distribution of these videos.296 Notably, just before these complaints were filed, the UN Human Rights Council had, in July 2019, adopted a resolution expressing grave concern over the potentially unlawful killings and disappearances which had arisen from the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs”.297 In September 2019, prosecutors from the Department of Justice concluded a preliminary investigation into the case.298 294 Lian Buan, ‘CIDG sues Robredo, LP, bishops for sedition over Bikoy videos’, Rappler, 18 July 2019 (‘Rappler, 18 July 2019’), Available at: https://www.rappler.com/nation/235729-cidg-suesrobredo-liberal-party-bishops-sedition-over-bikoy-videos; Human Rights Watch, ‘Philippines: Drop Sedition Cases Against Duterte Critics’, 23 July 2019, Available at: https://www.hrw.org/ news/2019/07/23/philippines-drop-sedition-cases-against-duterte-critics 295 They included former education secretary Brother Armin Luistro; priests Father Flaviano Villanueva, Father Albert Alejo, Father Robert Reyes; Bishops Honesto Ongtioco, Teodoro Bacani Jr, Pablo Virgilio David, and Socrates Villegas; Senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros; former senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Bam Aquino; and Otso Diretso senatorial candidates Chel Diokno, Florin Hilbay, Gary Alejano, Romulo Macalintal, Samira Gutoc and Erin Tañada. In the Philippines, the President and Vice President are elected separately. See Rappler, 18 July 2019. 296 Raissa Robles, ‘In Philippines, mysterious whistle-blower claiming Duterte’s family took millions in drug kickbacks unveils his identity’, South China Morning Post, 6 May 2019, Available at: https:// www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3009090/mysterious-whistle-blower-videosclaiming-philippine; Jason Castaneda, ‘Duterte goes for broke with opposition sedition charge’, Asia Times, Available at: https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/07/article/duterte-goes-for-kill-withopposition-sedition-charge/ 297 See ICJ, ‘The resolution on Philippines has been adopted – what now?’, 19 July 2019, Available at: https://www.icj.org/the-resolution-on-philippines-has-been-adopted-what-now/; ICJ, ‘ICJ joins call for UN investigation into Philippines ‘war on drugs’ killings’, 19 June 2018, Available at: https:// www.icj.org/icj-joins-call-for-un-investigation-into-philippines-war-on-drugs-killings/ 298 Tetch Torres-Tupas, ‘DOJ wraps up probe on sedition raps vs Robredo, 35 others’, Inquirer.net, 12 September 2019, Available at: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1163946/doj-wraps-up-probeon-sedition-raps-vs-robredo-35-others; See also Lian Buan, ‘DOJ starts probe into Robredo, LP lawmakers in Bikoy complaint August 9’, Rappler, 26 July 2019, Available at: https://www.rappler. com/nation/236211-doj-start-sending-subpoenas-robredo-lp-lawmakers-bikoy-complaint