ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship 6. The Philippines DIGITAL SPACE & ONLINE FREEDOM STATUS OF THE COUNTRY DEMOCRATIC STATUS OF THE COUNTRY YEAR (according to the Freedom In The World index) PRESS & MEDIA FREEDOM STATUS OF THE COUNTRY (Digital Space Status) (according to the World’s Press Freedom Index) 64/100 136/180 (56,46) 2020 59/100 2021 56/100 65/100 138/180 ( 54,36) 2022 55/100 65/100 147/180 (41,84) 2023 58/100 (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE PARTLYFree) FREE (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE (Partly (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE Scores 100-70 DIFFICULT Difficult (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE VERYSerious SERIOUS Very 132/180 (46,21) 61/100 (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE FREE DIFFICULT Difficult (Partly PARTLYFree) FREE PARTLY FREE Scores 69-40 DIFFICULT Difficult NOT FREE Scores 39-0 GOOD SATISFACTORY PROBLEMATIC DIFFICULT VERY SERIOUS 85–100 points 75–85 points 65–75 points 45–65 points 0–45 points Fig. 6.1: Summary of freedom ratings for the Philippines, 2020-2023.1 6.1 Legal Framework Freedom of Expression is Guaranteed but Illegitimately Restricted: The 1987 Constitution peaceful picketing. These provisions serve two main purposes: firstly, they prohibit prior restraint, meaning government restrictions before publication or dissemination, and secondly, they prohibit subsequent punishment that excessively curtails expression. In The Philippines, the 1987 Constitution provides Exceptions to the rule against prior restraint are for freedom of expression. Section 4, Article III recognised in cases involving sensitive information states that “[n]o law shall be passed abridging the during wartime, obscene publications, incitement to freedom of speech, of expression or of the press, or violence, or attempts to overthrow orderly governments the right of the people peaceably to assemble and by force.3 However, any system of prior restraint petition the government for redress of grievances.” is met with significant scepticism regarding its According to one of the drafters of the Philippine constitutional validity.4 On the other hand, the Constitution, the provisions on speech, expression, and rule against subsequent punishment is subject to press encompass various forms of communication, exceptions determined by courts when the right to including oral, written, recorded, symbolic, and even free speech conflicts with other government interests. 2 216 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia