Thread by @rapplerdotcom

Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen live now on the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) online forum. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Is there a crackdown on the free press?

Leonen: First I want to pay tribute to those who are risking their lives in doing their jobs as truth bearers, also to those who are detained for doing their jobs. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: Of course I cannot comment on the political climate, but (on the free press) I can say that the Constitution is robust. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: Courts are very aware of the balance between the freedom of the press and national interest, and we have had the occasion of laying down doctrines, putting freedom of the press as a primordial value, even more than other values. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: There is a lot of panic out there and mistakes can be committed, and you have highlighted that, and cases may be filed soon and that's where we can draw a demarcation line between rights and power. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen points out that while the petition to free prisoners on humanitarian grounds have not been resolved yet, 9,731 inmates have been freed in the quarantine due to several circulars of the Supreme Court. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan The prior circular ordered releases of prisoners that qualify under a 2014 guideline – whose cases are unmoving because of unavailable witnesses, and prisoners who have been detained longer than their minimum jailtime. The latest circular reduces bail for poor prisoners.

@lianbuan Leonen: One of the things that the virus has taught us is to trust science, to trust validation again. In ruling in any free press case, there must be distinction on what kind of post it was, i will distinguish between press and a person who just posted. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: Constitution cannot be used against private interest like Twitter; freedom of the press under the Constitution is asserted against the government, not against a private establishment. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: The doctrine that the antidote to bad speech is good speech is good as far as legal doctrines go, but the problem is how do we get to the good speech? How do we make sure the good speech is heard over all the bad posts out there? This needs to be addressed in new normal.

@lianbuan Leonen: Congestion of jails is not only the responsibility of the courts, but also of the executive and the legislature. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen on the postponement of the 2020 Bar: This is the first time since the World War II that the Bar Exams are suspended. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan We received reports that bail hearings, as well as plea bargain hearings have been canceled due to quarantine. Leonen said the Supreme Court is adjusting, awaiting reports of compliance to the order to courts to resolve matters of liberty, via video conferencing or otherwise.

@lianbuan Leonen on humanitarian release of prisoners: It's very dangerous for the Court to think too much outside the box, because we would be putting at risk several rights, but I understand the humanitarian concerns. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: We are not the executive, we are not the legislature, and we are careful about setting precedent (on the petition on the humanitarian release of prisoners). | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan What book has he read during ECQ?

Leonen: I re-read the Constitution | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen on online gambling: PD 1602 punishes small forms of gambling like cara cruz and our MeTCs are witnesses to the many prosecution under this; on the other hand, big gambling like POGOs are treated differently. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: We have to continue calling attention to these kinds of discrepancies, and we in the judiciary have no choice but to implement the laws, but it's something we should address to politicians. | via @lianbuan

@lianbuan Leonen: Is gambling really an addicition, is it really a vice? These are policy questions of course that I cannot answer and should be addressed to our policy makers. | via @lianbuan