Enrile: Wait for SC decision before amending Cybercrime law

MANILA -- Bills seeking to strike out contentious provisions of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 may be fully tackled once the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the law seen by critics as a threat to civil liberties.

Reacting on the Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the action only shows that the justices want to study the 15 petitions “very well” as this does not stop Congress from amending Republic Act 10175.

“In my case, I would suggest that we wait for the Supreme Court to make a decision so that we will know what defects that they want us to correct. We are not infallible people,” he said in a chance interview.

Voting unanimously, the High Court on Tuesday decided to stop the law’s implementation for four months or until February 2013 while oral arguments has been set on January 15, 2013.

The Court did not provide details as to why it issued a TRO but lawmakers and observers opined that this will give Congress an opportunity to amend the law, particularly the controversial online libel and the power of the Department of Justice to block or restrict access to websites without a court order.

Some of the senators who have filed amendatory bills are Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Edgardo Angara and siblings Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said it is better for the justices to strike down the measure altogether so that “Congress will not have the duty of amending certain provisions in part or in whole and thus producing a disjointed bill.”

“This will be a very, very auspicious case for us,” she said.

Angara, principal author of RA 10175, and Enrile disagreed.

"I think, ultimately, the SC will uphold the law. They may find some provisions vague or maybe unnecessary, they may strike down those provisions but I don’t think they will ever strike down the entire law," Angara said.

The Senate is one of the government agencies tasked to comment on the petitions within 10 days. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)