INPUTS
TO HRC RESOLUTION 32/13: THE PROMOTION, PROTECTION AND ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN
RIGHTS ON THE INTERNET 29 JANUARY 2017
1. The Commission on
Human Rights of the Philippines (herewith the Commission)i submits to the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, its inputs on the situation
and obstacles faced by women (and vulnerable and marginalized groups) in the
Philippines to access the internet, and measures taken to bridge the gender
digital divide in the country.
2. This submission took into consideration
local and international reports from government, civil society, the media, and
international non-government organizations. This submission also utilized the
Commission’s own documentation of independent monitoring activities and
statements on technology and human rights, which were subjected to the internal
deliberations of the Commission En Banc.
Access
to information and communications technology (ICT) in general and the internet
in particular
3. The Philippines
consistently ranks among the top 10 countries with the least gender disparity
in the Asia Pacific, based on World Economic Forum data.” Significantly, the
country is one of the very few States in the region where women have almost equal
participation in the technical field as men, and where women, although only
marginally, outnumber men in having access to the internet. However, it is also
in the Philippines where information and communications technology (ICT)
adoption is not regarded by people as an immediate priority due to rampant
poverty.”
4. Freedom House rated
the Philippines as “free” in its Freedom on the Net 2016 report. Internet
freedom in the county improved since there was no recurrence of internet
shutdowns.”
5. Connection speeds in the Philippines remain
among the slowest in the world although the government attempts to provide
thousands of free Wi-Fi hotspots with the aim of connecting 99 percent of the
population.v The country also has the most expensive internet subscriptions in
the Asian region.”
6. In 2015 the World Wide Web Foundation in
collaboration with the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) prepared gender
audits to help countries assess their actions to overcome the gender digital
divide. The report on the Philippines identified the primary obstacles faced by
women in the country with respect to ICT to wit:
Internet Access
& Women’s Empowerment - While in urban areas the gender gap in
Internet access is
closing, our Women’s Rights Online study showed that few women in poor areas of
Manila have used the Internet to look for important information on their rights
(18%) or voice their opinions online (8%)
Affordability - In 2015,
the Philippines committed resources to establish free nationwide Wi-Fi in public
places. A new national broadband plan is due to be adopted within the next
year. However, the Philippines has the second lowest Internet speed in the
region at 3.2 Mb per second.
Digital Skills & Education - The
Department of Science and Technology provides digital skills and education
training at its Technology for Education Centers. However, 79% of the country’s
public primary and secondary schools lack Internet connectivity.
Relevant Contents &
Services - The government makes some information about reproductive and sexual
health rights and services available online, but it is often not easy to
locate. Additionally, just 5% of women have access to mobile financial services
Online Safety - Specific
laws are in place for victims of online violence to seek recourse. Law
enforcement officers have undergone training on investigating cyberviolence
against women, and a few cases have resulted in arrests. A robust data privacy
law was enacted in 2012.vii
7. Women living in rural
areas spoke of challenges standing in the way of increased ICT accessibility,
including:
a. The lack of power in
many villages which compels women to walk for hours to the nearest town to
charge their mobile phones; and
b. The periodic
evacuations due to ongoing clashes which has created communities that are
always on the move, settling in makeshift structures, thus making it difficult
to equip schools, for instance, with computers and internet connectivity
c. General discomfort
with unfamiliar technology, especially among rural residents.
d. Hesitation to try a
peculiar-looking device, even if it is meant for public use, without someone
first teaching them how it works.viii
8. In low-income areas
where women are more prone to sexual exploitation and trafficking, rights
groups worry that women may be learning to use the Internet for purposes that
make them more vulnerable to online and offline abuse. Digital skills training
must thus not only be about how one can connect to the Internet, but also
include ways by which women can use it productively for selfdevelopment.ix
9. In a study conducted
by Google, women in the Philippines cited lack of time, skills and income as
the biggest obstacles to Internet use.x
Online
violence, cyberbullying
10. In a statement
regarding human rights violations online, Micheline Rama of DAKILA – Philippine
Collective for Modern Heroismxi reiterated their stand that human rights online
are the same as human rights offline, thus abuses occurring online should also
have the same repercussions as those happening offline.xii The internet can
also be a place to gather information, participate in discourse, express
ourselves and our opinions, and more. However, it can also be used for human
rights abuses against people of all ages, gender, identities and political
affiliations from all over the country.xiii This statement came out during the
height of the presidential campaign in 2016, when human rights activists and
ordinary “netizens” were being harassed and bullied online for expressing their
political opinions and criticisms about the presidential and vice- presidential
candidates. While anyone can be prone to online violence, women are
particularly targeted with hate speech, death and rape threats. The case of
Renee Karunungan is one example. Karunungan, a writer and human rights
activist, filed a criminal case at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and an
election offense case at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) after she
received a torrent of hateful and threatening comments and messages for her
facebook posts explaining why she had chosen not to vote for a certain
candidate.xiv Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) noted that
“no one has the right to hurt or threaten others in the real world…same with
the virtual world, you cannot violate the rights of others."xv , xvi
Laws
and policies related to ICT and internet governance
11. Over the years,
several national laws designed to protect the rights of women and children were
passed, but a review of these policies showed that the term “information and
communications technology” (ICT) has not been categorically defined in Philippine
statutes.xvii Nonetheless, in the last decade the Philippines has attempted to
bridge gaps in existing legislation through amendments or the creation of new
laws.
12. In 2009, the
Philippines enacted Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women which affords
better protection of women’s rights. The law mentioned numerous times the role
of technology as means to fulfill their rights to a life with dignity. It
specifically recognizes technology in women’s right to livelihood and states
that women shall be provided with “updated, useful information and
gender-sensitive technologies for production, processing, and marketing of food
productsxviii.” It likewise demands the State ensure “right to livelihood,
credit, capital and technology.”xix,xx Although Government efforts to maximize
the use of ICT for development and delivery of services are laudable, there is
still a considerable lack of commitment to advance gender equality and
empowerment through the internet and ICT.
13. In 2016, legislators
introduced the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill,xxi , xxii which seeks to
guarantee equal protection of rights of persons with diverse sexual
orientation, gender identity and expressions (SOGIE) and penalize perpetration
of discriminatory practices against them. Under the bill, “it shall be unlawful
to deny a person of his freedom of opinion and expression based solely or
partly on Protected Attributes. This includes “freedom to seek, receive, and
impart information and ideas of all kinds through any medium.”xxiii
14. Following a mapping
of online gender-based violence in the Philippines conducted by the FMA, it was
found that there have been more than one hundred and sixty (160) cases of
online genderbased violence cases in the country since 2012. These include
incidents of online harassment, cyber bullying, digital stalking, identity
theft, verbal sexual assault, threats and abusive comments, and uploading of
photos and videos on intimate nature without consent.xxiv
15. In response to the
increasing incidence of sexual harassment, misogynist attack and unwanted
remarks against women both online and offline, in 2016, Senator Risa Hontiveros
filed three bills dubbed as the ‘Tres Marias bills’ which are The Anti-Rape
Act, Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill, and the Gender-Based Electronic Violence
Bill. The said measures seek to strengthen the existing Anti-Rape Law,
criminalize peer-to-peer sexual harassment and impose penalties on perpetrators
of misogynistic and homophobic attacks on social media and other multimedia sites.
xxv , xxvi
16. In September 2012,
the Cybercrime Prevention Act (R.A. 10175) was passed to address the growing
cybercrime incidences in the country. The act authorizes state enforcers to
collect traffic data and requires service providers to cooperate and assist in
law enforcement by preserving data for six months and disclosing information to
aid investigation.xxvii Online libel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act
imposes penalties harsher than offline libel. Human rights activists opposed
this law as this is a rights violation that the Supreme Court failed to rectify
when it considered its constitutionality in 2014. It is believed to be
violative Article 19 paragraph 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) on freedom of expression.
17. Human rights
activists and gender advocates lobbied against the law as it lacks reiteration
of women’s rights and focuses mainly on cyber-libel and freedom of speech.
According to them, the provision on “cybersex”xxviii laid down under the law
endangers women’s rights as elements of the crime are not well-defined, too
vague and overbroad. The law allegedly fails to consider the transnational
nature of cybersex where site owners or operators are outside the jurisdiction
of the Philippines, therefore causing women found in local cybersex dens to be
the ones arrested and put behind bars.xxix
18. As a countermeasure
to the law, the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago introduced a crowdsourced
billxxx entitled the Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom (MCPIF) in
2014 which sought to repeal the Cybercrime Prevention Act. The bill, among
others strengthens the right of free expression, protects privacy rights of
users and aspires towards internet access for all. It likewise seeks to address
the overbreadth and vagueness of provisions set forth in RA 10175.
Initiatives
to bridge the gender divide
19. The Department of
Science and Technology (DOST) is initiating a Free Wifi Internet Access in
Public Places Project, which aims to connect 14 cities and 994 municipalities
to the web. The project aims to raise connectivity in the Philippines to 99% in
a few years.xxxi
20. The DOST likewise set
out plans to limit the list of websites people can access, blacklisting sites,
and designating site coordinators. This alarmed a number of advocates as it
might be interpreted as a “form of censorship.” As of 2015, No systematic
government censorship of online content has been documented in the Philippines,
and internet users enjoy unrestricted access to both domestic and international
sources of information. xxxii
21. Telecentre.org
Foundation, in partnership with the DOST-ICTO, aims to provide women,
especially those in disadvantaged communities, an avenue to become part of the
ICT industry and make them aware that they can strive for a career in this
field by way of digital literacy. Through this campaign, women in different
ages are taught various levels of digital literacy, ranging from how to use the
computer to more advanced ICT-related lessons, all of which are geared for the
empowerment and improvement of their lives.
22. Apart from the
Telecentre Women campaign, the ICT Office, through its eSociety division, is
also making strides in reaching out to communities in rural areas and teaching
them about digital literacy by establishing Tech4ED centers.xxxiii
23. In a statement by
internationally-recognized gender expert, Dr. Carolyn Sobritchea during
Information and Communications Technology Office’s (DOST-ICTO) kick-off
activity in celebration of National Women’s Month, she cited the following
steps for gender development in ICT:
a. Strict
implementation of ICT related laws and administrative guidelines
b. Continue with
current efforts to document cases of violation of ethical and legal norms and
standards c. Continue with efforts to make the ICT community more gender
sensitive through public education and other forms of advocacy work
24. In November 2015, The
FMA in partnership with the Department of Information Communications and
Technology (DICT) and other civil society organizations launched the Philippine
Declaration on Internet Rights and Principles. The Declaration focused on 10
areas: (1) internet access for all; (2) democratizing the architecture of the
internet; (3) freedom of expression and association; (4) to privacy and
protection of personal data; (5) gender equality; (6) openness and access to
information, knowledge and culture; (7) socioeconomic empowerment and
innovation; (8) education and digital literacy; (9) liberty, safety and
security on the internet; and (10) internet and ICTs for environmental
sustainability.xxxiv