Marcos urged to include Site Blocking Bill in legislative priorities

MANILA, Philippines — As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to deliver his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona), a consumer advocacy group has urged his administration to include the Site Blocking Bill in one of its legislative priorities to provide a safe and secure digital economy for the country.

CitizenWatch PH co-convenor and former lawmaker Atty. Kit Belmonte said that the government’s demonstration of site blocking through Shared Blocking Management Database is a success. He explained that the database is a portal that enables regulators to work with Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and the National Telecommunications Commission in prohibiting illegal online activities.

With this, Belmonte said that the institutionalization of the site blocking will allow the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to swiftly crack down on pirated and illegal websites.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Blocking of sites with pirated content pushed

“What is needed now is to complete the legal framework by extending the same capability to intellectual property enforcement. The Site Blocking Bill will empower the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to act more swiftly against piracy websites that continue to exploit creators, investors and consumers,” Belmonte said in a press release on Wednesday.

While Belmonte acknowledged the IPOPHL’s progress in strengthening intellectual property enforcement, he said that its site-blocking capability still needs to have explicit statutory authority.

He then emphasized that the proposed bill is aligned with Marcos’ administration agenda to innovate and strengthen the digital economy and transformation.

Article continues after this advertisement

“The administration has consistently championed digital transformation, ease of doing business, and a more competitive economy. Supporting the passage of the Site Blocking Bill would be a logical extension of that vision. It will strengthen online consumer protection, encourage innovation, protect our creative industries and reinforce the rule of law in the digital space,” he added.

He also said that the passage of the bill will provide confidence to investors, inventors, software developers, researchers and creative professionals that their ideas will be protected by the law. /cb