ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship PANDEMIC POLITICS: COVID-19 IMPACT ON ONLINE FREEDOM In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine when agencies ordered employees to refrain Government enacted RA No. 11469 in March from making public critical comments on social 2020. Also known as the Bayanihan to Heal as media.87 As a result, the Philippines witnessed One Act, the legislation grants the president an increase in online and media censorship. additional authority to further criminalise online expression. The law passed determined several media and civil society groups to warn about the serious danger it poses to freedom of expression, mainly due to its failure to define false information.82 Although Section 6(f) of the Act expired in June 2020, at the time it penalised individuals and groups for the creation, perpetuation and spreading of ‘false information’ about the pandemic on social media and other platforms–especially if said information is In April 2020, filmmaker Maria Victoria Beltran was threatened with arrest and was eventually detained after she made a satirical social media post calling Sitio Zapatera in Cebu the nucleus of COVID-19.88 During the same month, an editor of a university campus newspaper was threatened with the charge of cyber libel after he criticised on social media the Government’s response to COVID-19. Joshua Molo was then forced to publicly apologise.89 clearly promoting “chaos, panic, anarchy, fear or confusion.”83 Those found guilty could serve up to two months prison time, as well as be fined with sums ranging from PHP 10,000 ($208) to 1 million pesos ($20,755), or both. The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act expired in Jun. 2020 and was subsequently replaced in September 2020 by RA No. 11494, also known as the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.84 However, the provision in the original law regarding the penalisation of those who spread false information was not renewed.85 The government attempted to dictate the narrative around the COVID-19 pandemic and, in doing so, restricting online freedom. Individuals were reportedly forced by authorities to publicly apologise for posting critical content on social media.86 There were also instances The Philippines 231