by Glen Palaca Hubahib, Esq.
Freedom of expression:
The term freedom of speech and expression started in Athens then to the Enlightenment period in England, France and Sweden. Then as a First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
George Orwell statue at BBC London inscribed with the words “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”
“The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law” (Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen – French Revolution). It is recognized as International Human Rights Law and enshrined in the Philippines constitution.
Dissent and the demand for information have a significant impact on the quality of governance (Worldwide Governance Indicator, WB) and the direction of the country. Hence, the Group of 7 nations who are tolerant of their people’s views and of the press have more responsive leaders and economic prosperity.
However, in the present day the quality of discourse is affected by the neutrality and business interest of the ownership of radio, television, social media platforms. For example, Washington Post ownership is associated with Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Blue Origin; Fox News with Rupert Murdoch, a prominent Republican Party supporter; MSNBC with Microsoft until the latter’s divestment; Twitter and renamed X after Elon Musk of Telsa and Space X bought it.
Not to be outdone, President Trump leveraging his supporters, launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, after he was on the receiving end of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, etc. At one point Truth Social was valued at $2 Billion. Not bad for a new company.
It is not different in the Philippines. The old power and economic elite who lord it over in the early 1900s until today are associated with broadsheet, radio and television. Thus, pressing issues of the day are sometimes not printed and discussed. When it does, it is watered down and buried in inside pages.
Thanks to Facebook, You Tube and TikTok because, now, our ordinary citizens have sources of information that are democratized and they can also participate in the discussions through comments, likes and shares. Hence, the war zone of information is in the social media. The new warrior is not a writer or a journalist but a “techie” who understands programming and algorithms to suppress a post or propagate the post.
Games of Bilyonaryo. Lopez vs Pangilinan. An Anti-Trust issue if this happens in the United States
Current immigration news from uscis.gov/newsroom:
Making America Safe Again – Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS are fulfilling President Trump’s promise to Make America Safe Again by removing violent criminal illegal aliens.
USCIS mandate electronic payments – On Oct. 28, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will only accept electronic payments for paper-filed forms. Payments may be made either via credit card or debit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, or ACH debit transactions from a U.S. bank account using Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH transactions.
DHS Strengthens Integrity in Nation’s Immigration System, Returns to Commonsense Legal Immigration Levels – “The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation, “said USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser. “Unchecked mass migration floods the American labor market, depressing wages and taking jobs away from hardworking Americans, while straining healthcare, education, and housing systems. The Trump administration continues to execute policies to ensure legal immigration advances American interests first and only the most deserving attain the privilege of U.S. citizenship.”
Erratum –In our Nov 2 article, paragraph 2, page 3. It should read “Philippine annual revenue is around Php 4 trillion ($67.7 billion) and would borrow Php 3 trillion ($50.8 billion) more to finance a 2025 budget laden with bloated and non-existent projects.”
[Note: Glen Palaca Hubahib is admitted to practice law in California and the Philippines. He also holds Electrical Engineering and MBA degrees. The article is for information only and is not a legal advice. Send your comments to the author at hubahibg@gmail.com.]