Civil Protection | Gov’t moves forward with crime for ‘rumor spreading’

The government has moved forward with the idea of penalizing the spreading of false rumors during typhoons or other civil protection-related crisis with imprisonment for up to three years.

The bill defines the crime as “against safety, order and public peace during sudden incidents of public nature,” and it is normally punishable with imprisonment for two years, or a fine equivalent to 240 days. However in instances when conduct causes social panic and affects the operations of the authorities, it can be escalated to three years of imprisonment.

This is one of the measures within in the final proposal of the bill that aims to create a basic law of civil protection. The analysis of the bill was concluded by the Executive Council which presented the final draft last week.

The new bill proposes to finally establish a legal framework for the measure first announced by the government after the occurrence of Typhoon Hato in 2017. It will extend the mandate of the authority and the Chief Executive (CE) to act in cases of calamity.

Among the announced measures is giving the CE the power to order the closure of casinos and the evacuation of people from houses located in endangered areas.

These measures are not only triggered in cases of emergencies and natural catastrophes such as typhoons, but also during other kinds of public incidents that pose a risk to either public health or safety.
The bill also clearly defines the level of responsibility during such events from public and private, as well as individual people, establishing punishments for disobedience in cases where entities and people fail to comply with their duties.