1/4/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly free speech is fundamental in a democratic and republican State.[3] Freedom of expression is enshrined in Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, which states: SECTION 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the for redress of grievances. This essential right springs from the constitutional touchstone that "[s]overeignty resides in the people and all authority emanates from them."[4] This is why the extent of freedom of expression is broad. It protects almost all media of communication, whether verbal, written, or through assembly. The protection conferred is not limited to a field of interest; it does not regard whether the cause is political or social, or whether it is conventional or unorthodox.[5] To have a proper understanding and evaluation of this fundamental freedom, it is necessary to know how and why freedom of expression occupied a core value in our society, along with the influences that shaped the contours of our free speech clause. Prior to being enacted in the present Bill of Rights, our free speech clause was worded differently in the 1899 Malolos Constitution: ARTICLE 20. Neither shall any Filipino be deprived: 1. Of the right to freely express his ideas or opinions, orally or in writing, through the use of the press or other similar means. The framing of the Malolos Constitution, while copied from the Spanish Constitution, should be understood in view of the country's inadequate protection to free speech during the Spanish rule.[6] At that time, there was an increasing demand for reforms for free speech and free press.[7] Apparent from the text is that the protection to free speech clause is tightly interweaved with a guaranteed free press, as the printing press was the main medium through which free speech was exercised then. Before the printing press, the societal outlook had been authoritarian, and the medieval church had the central authority to determine what was true and false.[8] Slowly, after the dawn of the Renaissance and Reformation and the birth of the printing press, the modern concept of freedom of thought and expression developed.[9] Particularly, in England, the monopoly of the king and the church on the societal truth eroded with the advent of dissent through the new medium of print.[10] With the growing threat of the printing press, different forms of control on expression and discourse were used, such as treason, seditious libel, and domination of the press through state monopoly and licensing.[11] By the end of the 17th century, the Bill of Rights was introduced, gradually relaxing control on the press. Nevertheless, state control was still in place through subsidizing and taxation.[12] From the English common law, the concept of freedom of speech and the press was https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/65669 25/60