Indulgence for Indolence

As Rizal claims that the indolence of the Filipinos is predominantly due to the scorching weather of the country, our contemporary Congress is the living and continuing testament to the contrary. Living and working in an air-conditioned environment, our beloved Representatives have yet to act on the Cybercrime Bill, which has been in its office for the last five years.

Indeed as the country strengthens its foothold as Asia’s major business process outsourcing hub, it becomes more patent that the existing Internet statute of the country- Republic Act 8792 or the E-Commerce Act, is plainly scarce to address the multitude circumstances of cybercrime. Ironically, as the country pushes for an e-government modernization, the very protection for such aspiration remains at standstill. Likewise, the recent Hayden Kho sex video scandals brought to the forefront the dearth of the Optical Media Act of 2003 in terms of online piracy as such law falls short in determining the link between the proliferation of sexual videos online and in optical media such as digital video discs (DVDs) and video compact discs (VCDs).[1]

As to VAWC cases, our Philippine National Police has been using Republic Act 9208 (the Anti-Trafficking Persons Act) to hunt down online predators and further computer-facilitated crimes against women and children. Unfortunately, such crimes against women and children have become worse due to the trouble-free distribution of images and videos by the populace via mobile phones and other gadgets. This disheartening scenario is further aggravated by the general difficulty of local police force in addressing these offenses.

The government may not have been remissed in attempting to create anti-cybercrime groups in the past.[2] YET, as our laws remain stagnant to the changing and developing times, cohorts of the legendary BOY BASTOS will continue to prosper and proliferate in cyberspace. Perhaps, in the near future, they too would become National Artists for the (Independent) Film category.


Footnotes:

[1] Romero, Purple “Sex scandal bares need for cybercrime law” http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/29/09/sex-scandal-bares-need-cybercrime-law
(2) The first was in 2004 with the creation of the Task Force for the Security of Critical Infrastructure headed by Abraham Purruganan. It laid out a long-term National Cybersecurity Plan that was not implemented.Another was the Government Computer Security and Incident Response Team led by the PNP. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also has its Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division.

Sources:
1. GMANews.TV " Batas vs cyber crime isinulong" <http://www.gmanews.tv/print/59697>
2. Oliva, Erwin; "Microsoft helps train RP law enforcers on cybercrime" <http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20070720-7782/Microsoft_helps_train_RP_law_enforcers_on_cybercrime>
3. Villafancia, Alexander; “RP still lacks cybercrime laws” <http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-philippines/70-technology-rp/202-rp-still-lacks-cybercrime-laws-.html>
4. Villafancia, Alexander; “CICT forms its own cybercrime unit” <http://www.crime-research.org/news/01.07.2009/3742/>