Philippines Court Victory for Research Firms

In Manila, Philippines, the country's Supreme Court has ruled that research firms Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia are entitled to withhold the identities of their clients, at least for the present, despite a contrary order from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The court agreed to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Comelec's own order compelling the companies to reveal their subscribers' identities and information. The original order was announced on April 23rd, just three weeks before elections, and required the two companies to identify the 'commissioners, payors and subscribers' of the pre-election surveys they had conducted in February and March.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez would only tell an enquiry from web site GMA News Online that 'as a matter of general principle, [his organisation] would respect the court ruling.' Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia had refused to comply with the order on the grounds that it breached their existing contracts with subscribers, and have argued that only the country's Congress has the power to override their obligations and reveal the names.