Former Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) chairperson Prospero “Popoy” De Vera and Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow Jose Ramon Albert have criticized the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) over their decision to block Discord and lift the restriction shortly afterward.
In separate social media posts, the two technocrats questioned whether officials had studied the consequences of blocking a platform used for work, education, and online communities before ordering Internet service providers to restrict access.
“What is wrong with our bureaucrats? Dali-daling gumagawa ng policy, ipinagmamalaki ang ginawa, tapos babawiin at magso-sorry? Hindi pinag-aralan? Hindi nag-consult?” De Vera wrote.
De Vera, a former University of the Philippines professor, said policymaking and the policy process were standard subjects at the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance.
“With so many technical staff and so many resources at its disposal, it is embarrassing to say ‘we did not know or anticipate’! Tapos ‘pasensiya lang’ (may kasama pang kindat)?” he said. “Mr. President, please give us better leaders.”
Albert, a former secretary general of the National Statistical Coordination Board, said the quick reversal exposed a failure to assess both the ban’s impact on legitimate users and its likely effectiveness against offenders.
“A ban imposed and reversed within the same day is not policy; it is improvisation,” he wrote.
He said officials should have asked how many users would lose access, whether people could bypass the block with a VPN, and whether offenders would simply move to another app.
Albert also criticized proposals to require social media platforms to obtain legislative franchises, saying they would give politicians control over which services could operate in the country.
He called instead for stronger digital forensics, faster data sharing with platforms and cross-border cooperation to identify and prosecute offenders.
“Good regulation should be risk-based, proportionate, and technology-neutral, and it should be thought through before it is announced, not after the backlash,” Albert said.
He urged Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to remove the officials responsible.
“They have done more harm than good and I fear for the country’s future while these fellows are in charge of their offices,” he wrote.
The DICT and CICC lifted the Discord restriction on Sept. 24 after talks with the platform. Some Philippine Internet service providers had already begun implementing the blocking order.
The CICC had demanded that Discord and Reddit establish a Philippine presence or appoint local representatives amid concerns about online child sexual abuse and violent extremism.
At a briefing announcing the reversal, CICC executive director and DICT undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso invoked “parens patriae“, the State’s duty to protect its citizens, to defend the government’s action.
The episode has also raised questions about the agencies’ authority to block an entire communications platform without a court order.
