ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship outside of the digital space; it entails a maximum In 2013, the cyber libel provision within the Cybercrime period of prisión correccional–which ranges from Act had its constitutionality challenged by 15 groups four years, two months and one day to six years–and of petitioners at the Philippines High Court. Two years a minimum period of prisión mayor, i.e. from six years later, the Supreme Court dismissed the challenges, and one day to eight years. The use of information ruling that the cyber libel provision, as well as most and communications technology or infrastructure in other provisions contained within the Act, were indeed the commission of the crime determines the severity constitutional.13 The Supreme Court decision stirred of this penalty. As held by the Philippines Supreme controversy and has been contested by human rights Court in Disini et al. v. The Secretary of Justice et al., advocates, who note that – much like the crime of “[by] using [the] technology in question, the offender offline defamation – penalties prescribed for cyber often evades identification and is able to reach far libel are overly broad, and could affect the right to more victims or cause greater harm.” freedom of expression and access to information. “ 12 Initiatives have been taken to push for the decriminalisation of libel. Representatives from The criminalisation of journalists for libel impedes public interest reporting and is incompatible with the right to freedom of expression. Criminal libel law has no place in a democratic country and should be repealed. 14 - Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression 218 the Makabayan Bloc in Congress, for instance, filed House Bill No. 1769, which includes the repeal of several provisions in the RPC. According to the authors of the bill, “the repeal of the libel law, without derogating the right of a person to enjoy privacy, dignity, good reputation and a peace of mind, will be a big step towards democracy in [the Philippines].”15 The bill remains pending at the Committee on Revision of Laws. Moreover, newly elected senator Raffy Tulfo who was targeted by several libel cases, stated that one of his priority bills will deal with the decriminalisation of the act.16 No such bill has been put forward to date by Tulfo and his position is that it is okay to decriminalise libel but it should only apply to practitioners from established news organisations who practise code of ethics and editorial standards.17 Sedition Under the RPC and Anti-Terror Law to Stifle Dissent Incitement to sedition is a crime under Article 142 of the RPC. It penalises those who “incite others … by means of speeches, proclamations, emblems, cartoons, banners or other representations.”18 Article 154 penalises a range of online speech categories, notably “any person who by means of printing, lithography, or any other means of publication shall publish or cause to be published as news any false news which may endanger the public order, or cause Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia