The event, the first conference of online news and commentary providers in Asia, was held last April 18 to 21 at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City.

Filipino journalist Manuel L. Quezon III, who participated in the event, said SEAPA online journalists and bloggers consider themselves already in danger, thus the need to organize conferences to exchange information and even tactics. Manila was chosen as the site of the first conference as it has a more liberal government regime.

SEAPA executive director Roby Alampay, who is also a Filipino, said the countries and societies that really enjoy a high level of freedom are actually in the minority. He said the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia are very fortunate to enjoy a very high level of access and freedom when it comes to the Internet.