Jonathan Frederic De Santos

The National Telecommunications Commission. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file photo

Article (news)

Ched Rick Gatchalian

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176415681336420200219-national-telecommunications-jc-1317.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The National Telecommunications Commission. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file photo"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The National Telecommunications Commission. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file photo</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — A Quezon City court has voided a National Telecommunications Commission memorandum ordering internet service providers in 2022 to block access to 27 websites for alleged links to &quot;terrorists&quot;.</p><p>Independent news outfit Bulatlat, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/06/23/22/bulatlat-says-no-due-process-before-blocking-of-website">among those blocked</a> and which questioned the order in court, welcomed the decision and called it &quot;a victory against state censorship&quot;.</p><p>In a decision by Judge Catherine Manodon and issued on November 18, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 104 deemed that the NTC had no legal basis to issue the memorandum.</p><p>It also said “its issuance constitutes an unconstitutional prior restraint in the form of a content-based restriction which violates the constitutional guarantees of free speech and expression.&quot;</p><p>The court said NTC&#x27;s order imposes censorship and blocked access to alleged questionable content without judicial determination and a court order.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/08/03/22/bulatlat-presents-more-witnesses-unable-to-access-website"><strong>&#x27;Still censored&#x27;: Bulatlat presents more witnesses unable to access website after NTC blocking order<br/></strong></a></div><p>“The local court’s decision unblocks all the 27 websites, making this a victory against state censorship, and against the use of &#x27;anti-terrorist&#x27; rhetoric to justify the violation of free speech and expression,” Bulatlat said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>USING ANTI-TERRORISM ACT AS BASIS</strong></div><p>In 2022, NTC ordered the blocking of 27 websites of groups that the NTC and National Security Council claimed were affiliated with or supported communist rebel groups designated as terrorist by the Anti-Terrorism Council.</p><p>Bulatlat filed a petition and <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/08/11/22/bulatlat-gets-court-order-to-stop-ntc-blocking">secured a writ of preliminary injunction</a> to stop the block order on its site.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/08/11/22/bulatlat-gets-court-order-to-stop-ntc-blocking"><strong>&#x27;Collective win&#x27;: Bulatlat gets court order to stop NTC blocking</strong></a></div><p>NTC had argued that the block order was in compliance with a provision in the Anti-Terrorism Act directing government agencies to &quot;render assistance&quot; to the ATC.</p><p>But, the court said, &quot;[t]o interpret Section 46(m) as granting such power would unduly expand the scope of the law and sanction acts beyond the statutory limits of administrative competence.”</p><p>In a statement, the National Union of People&#x27;s Lawyers, whose lawyers respresented Bulatlat, said the court found the order as &quot;a form of prior restraint that violated the constitutional guarantees of press freedom and free expression.&quot;</p><p>NUPL added said the government had the burden to justify the block order but failed &quot;as none of the defendants presented competent proof that Bulatlat’s reporting, or the operation of its publisher, Alipato Media Center, Inc., posed any imminent threat to national security or public order.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SHUTTING DOWN &#x27;DRAWS THE LINE&#x27;</strong></div><p>NUPL Secretary General Josalee Deinla stressed that Bulatlat or any other media organization&#x27;s reporting can be criticized or challenged in public debate, but limiting or preventing access to their content would draw a &quot;clear, bright line.&quot;</p><p><strong></strong>She said that &quot;the State may not, by prior restraint, prevent protected speech from being heard, nor dress up content-based restrictions as &#x27;regulations&#x27; that quietly dictate what the public may or may not access.&quot;</p><p>She said the court&#x27;s decision has &quot;restored&quot; the limits on government censorship.</p><p>NUPL also called for a permanent injunction against the memorandum, the official lifting of blockages on other websites, and the continuous vigilance against other supposed tactics that can be used to dissent critical voices.</p><p>Earlier this year, social media giant Meta disabled the Instagram pages of Bulatlat and one of its editors for allegedly violating “community standards on fraud and deception.” </p><p>Bulatlat said the suspension stemmed from an article about the behavior of Israeli tourists in Siargao published July 27, 2025.</p><p>Although the independent media newsroom appealed the decision, Meta said the account is no longer visible and will be permanently deleted.</p>

<p>Independent news outfit Bulatlat welcomes the decision of a local court in Quezon City, which declares void the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) June 8, 2022 memorandum ordering internet service providers to block it and several other websites.</p>

Independent news outfit Bulatlat welcomes the decision of a local court in Quezon City, which declares void the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) June 8, 2022 memorandum ordering internet service providers to block it and several other websites.

Court rules NTC blocking of Bulatlat, other sites violates free speech

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Court rules NTC blocking of Bulatlat, other sites violates free speech

Ched Rick Gatchalian,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 26, 2025 07:36 PM PHT

Read More:

Bulatlat

NTC

National Telecommunications Commission

National Union of People's Lawyers

NUPL

Block order

Censorship

Press Freedom

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