The Supreme Court en banc is set to hear next week 15 petitions challenging the constitutionality of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The first oral arguments will be on Tuesday, January 15.

Associate Justice Roberto Abad, to whom the cases had been raffled, had met with the counsels of the petitioners to discuss the ground rules. One of the purposes of the meeting was to determine, which of the many issues presented should be heard during the oral arguments, and which of the remaining issues should be argued in written memoranda to be submitted to the High Court after the oral arguments.

The final list and sequence of issues to be argued, the lawyers who will take part and the time allotted for each counsel to present his or her arguments and additional dates for oral arguments, if any, will be resolved by the court en banc in its first session of the year on January 8.

On October 9, the tribunal issued a temporary restraining order, effective for 120 days, stopping the implementation of the cybercrime law after various groups and several individuals, including some members of Congress, asked the tribunal to strike down some or all of the provisions of the law.

Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza will act as counsel for the government. The Office of the Solicitor General has already submitted its comment to the petitions questioning the constitutionality of the new law.