FREEXP.CON 5

Theme: “MAGPAHAYAG, MAKISANGKOT AT MAGING BAYANI PARA SA KARAPATANG PANTAO!”

BACKGROUND

The right to freedom of speech and expression – the right to speak out, to debate, to criticize, to disseminate information on matters of public importance – is one of the most basic of human rights. It is guaranteed under Article 19 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Yet the right to speak out, to inform, to report, and to engage in open debate is now being curtailed. This right including other fundamental human rights is under attack by the government and private citizens and groups, and on many fronts including the digital sphere.

Today, the challenges in continuously exercising and defending the right to free speech and expression are unsurmountable under the current political dispensation. There is certainly a systematic and widespread machination to undermine the right to free speech and expression that is being carried by the government and its political allies with the use of punitive laws to control, discredit, punish and silence its critics. Misleading information and hate-driven commentary have been spreading via social media platforms for quite a long time and these are now manipulating public opinion, warping meaningful discourses, and polluting the public moral fabric.