InterGapo

no permit

2007-10-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

lye921a: Operating without a Permit. I would like to know what will the Business Center do about those Internet Shop who are operating without a permit. Kasi may alam akong net shop who's operating for over a year now without any permit and from what i've heard naka jumper pa ang kuryente. Pag merong magbibigay ng tip sa business center regarding sa shop, meron na daw application iyong net shop. Gaano ba katagal magbigay ng permit ang business center sa isang establishment para magkapag operate, over a year ba? Mabagal lang ba talaga ang process ng papers or baka may kapit naman iyong operator? Should they operate before or after they acquire the permit? Kawawa naman ang ibang shops na nagbabayad ng tama sa gobyerno. Dapat dun sa ganon multahan din

Bam: tumbukin na kung sino. sabihin mo na nang diretso kung ano, sino at saang internet cafe ang walang permit at naka jumper pa . . . anyway di ka naman makikilala at city government na ang bahalang mag verify.

Latest posts in the Olongapo Internet Cafe Issue

2007-10-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

Internet Cafe Issues >> Sangunian ng Olongapo Forum

http://sangunian.com/board/viewforum.php?f=1

Latest posts in our Internet Cafe Forum

Author: Message

purple: PANO PO NAMIN PAGKAKATIWALAAN ANG PULIS NG OLONGAPO. magandang hapon po. itatanong ko lang po sana kung tama po ba na mag inspect ang mga pulis sa isang internet shop ng hindi naka uniporme at lasing?

edpiano: Report such incidents immediately. Inform nyo po kami agad kapag may lasing na pulis na manggugulo sa shop nyo, cp number po ni mayor 0918-916-7362, land-line 224-5643 24hours on-duty ang sasagot dyan

VAL: bad egg. kapatid, ako ay may tiwala pa naman sa mga pulis ng olongapo, paki post nga dito kung sino man yong sinasabi mo na pulis, saan at at kailan eto nangyari, ipa firing squad natin agad sa triangol dahil nakakasira sa award nating best in peace and order

y1ng: BET ON CLOSURE. I BET THE CITY DON'T HAVE THE NERVE TO IMPLEMENT CLOSURE, AND I'M AS SURE AT THIS AS PACMAN'S WIN ON BARRERA

Bam: Implementation of Closure order. Pls let us know if the city can really close down an erring internet cafe.

y1ng: no permit: AS PER COUNCILOR PIANO DURING OUR MEETING, THERE ARE AROUND TWENTY INTERNET CAFES THAT DID NOT SECURE PERMITS, AND I REMEBER THE HEAD OF BUSINESS PERMIT SAID THAT THEY WILL PADLOCK CAFES WITHOUT PERMIT. I REALLY THINK THEY ARE BLUFFING

KANO: so ano ang issue ngayon? yun bang sa internet? maganda yan gusto ko yan, ang da best, all internet cafe, ipatawag, tapos magkasundo na lagyan ng level of security ang surfing.. ibig sabihin kapag nagsurf ka automatic made-decline ka kasing either porn site ang pinupuntahan mo or site against the law.. so in away pre-emptive measure siya.. tpos ang gagawing checking ng mga i.t. represenative or pulis, ay umupo bawat pc or random tapos itype lang sa ang mga porn site pag lumabas ibig sabihin unprotected, ipasara kaagad..kasi if you dont do that, wala rin.. dapat medyo strict ang implementation ng rules, walang next time ha.. walang ganun.. nagviolate.. sara.. this way, protected ang mga bata..
kano: isa pa, wag iasa sa local goverment lang ito, maglagay ng tipong 911 na number para kapag merong pc shop na ina-allow ang ganitong activity, either itawag or i-txt para close agad sila..

edpiano: we have a 117 w/c functions much like 911 but if you're using a celfone . . here's the number to call or text Mayor Gordon 0918-916-7362, land-line 224-5643

boying: kapit bahay po namin d2 sa prk3 santol ext, MAY JUMPER dumaan sa ilalim ng bakod den akyat sa bintana. Hulihin mandaraya!!!

boying: sana po ipatanggal ung mga nakaparadang for sale sa kanto ng caltex sta rita, sa sidewalk nakalagay ung for sale kaya wala madaanan pedestrians

Kano: who will be monitoring this activity? what about continuity? whose department or agency this belongs to? am hypo critical, however, it is good if someone takes the ownership so that we know exactly who to call and where to go. this is a pretty huge responsibility and it should not be treated as one time activity as this pose a real danger to expose

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Your Say in Olongapo Subic

Big-time cybersex dens operator arrested

2007-10-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit of the Philippine National Police arrested a big-time cyber sex den maintainer in Central Luzon Thursday.

CIDU regional chief Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said two young cybersex models were rescued in simultaneous raids at 11:45 p.m. on two dens allegedly maintained by Angel de Leon Herrera in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Porac.

Herrera’s house at 1 Sto. Niño Street, Purok 3 and and a rented apartment at 102 Tauros Street, Doña Adela Subd., Phase 1 Barangay Sta. Cruz yielded 13 computer sets, three monitors, eight hard disks, six routers, 11 webcams, seven mouse, P85,000 and $1,000.

Herrera, 28, who uses the aliases “Vince,” “Lance,” “Teng,” and “Ariel,” was detained at the CIDU office. His alleged business partner, Marissa Rodriguez, is at large.

Criminal charges were filed against the suspect for recruiting, hiring and maintaining trafficked persons to engage in pornography. Using www.asianbabes-cams.com., the suspect allegedly pays his models P20 per minute for posing in the nude. The rescued models, Angelyne and Kim, are now under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

By: Rudy J. Abular Bernard Galang - Journal online

City gives final warning of closure to Internet Cafes with cubicles

2007-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Internet cafés na may porn sites ipasasara
Lim eyes ban on ‘violent’ video arcade games
Solon wants stricter penalties against online porn...
Regulasyon sa Internet café, pinahihigpitan ng mga...
Internet reaching wider market of Filipinos abroad...
Australia to give away porn-filtering software
Cyber cops to stamp out human trafficking, child p...
Cybersex addicts target ng bubuuing House bill
Internet café operators binalaan sa pornograpiya
EDITORIAL — Promoting computer literacy
Cheaper rates contribute to growth of RP Internet ...
Internet café pricing a key issue, says study
EDITORYAL — Bata sa Pinas pinagkakaperahan sa cybe...
Senator seeks tighter rules vs online porn in scho...
Is your child protected from cyber sex crimes?
Video Game Violence: What is it Doing to Our Boys?...
City Position on VOIP Inspection
Arroyo orders setting up of call center school
PC-based phone makes use of traditional phone card...
RP Internet café business in dire straits
Criminal cases filed against magazine, computer sh...
Pinays lured into cyber porn
7 web sites used to pimp Pinays on Internet named
Through e-centers, remote communities gain access ...
Cops nab robber preying on internet cafes
Ubuntu founder asks gov't to support open source a...
Researchers find worm infecting blogs
Filipinos spend 2 to 4 hours playing online games
Weekly Monitoring/Inspection

Internet cafés na may porn sites ipasasara

2007-10-04T03:12:00.000-07:00

By: Marlon Purificacion - Journal online

NAIS ipasara ni Senador Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla ang mga Internet cafe na patuloy na nagbibigay ng ‘access’ sa mga ‘child pornography websites.

Ang planong ito ng senador ay bilang suporta sa National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography ngayon.

Ayon sa senador, pinalalaki ng Internet technology ang produksyon at distribusyon ng child pornography bunsod ng simpleng “upload-download” na sistema ng pagkopya ng mga materyales.

Binigyang-diin niyang hindi lang dapat atupagin ng mga may-ari ng mga internet café ang kumita kundi pati na rin ang pagtulong sa gobyerno na maisulong ang isang child-friendly na lipunan.

“Hindi dapat abusuhin ang pakinabang ng mga modern communications system sa punto kunsintihin pa ang child pornography para lang kumita ng pera. Walang karapatang mag-operate kahit saan sa bansa ang mga internet cafes na pu-mapayag ng access sa kiddie porn at iba pang pornographic websites,” ani Revilla. “Maraming magagamit na programs na madali at ka-yang harangin ang access sa mga porn sites.”

Ito ang pahayag ni Revilla bilang suporta sa pagdeklara ngayong araw (Biyernes, Setyembre 28) ng Anti-Child Pornography Alliance (ACPA), isang Church-based group, bilang National Day of Awareness and Unity against Child Pornography.

Taumbayan kailangan

Pinuri ng mambabatas ang ACPA gayundin ang Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) dahil sa mga hakbang nito na maiangat ang kamalayan at kooperasyon ng publiko laban sa child pornography.

Pinunto pa niyang kailangan ng mga law-enforcement agencies ang tulong ng taumbayan para masugpo ang paglipana ng child pornography sa bansa.

“Pagiging mapagmasid ang magpapakita na talagang nagmamalasakit tayo sa mga bata. Bawat batang Pilipino ay may karapatan na maprotektahan laban sa exploitation sa ilalim ng child and youth welfare code. Natural sa kanila ang maglaro, pero hindi dapat sila pinaglalaruan o itrato bilang sex toy,” sabi ni Revilla.

Umapela siya sa mga lokal na gobyerno na kanselahin ang operating license ng mga internet café na pumapayag sa mga customer nito na galugarin at mag-download ng mga child pornographic materials. “Ang mga nagkasalang may Internet café owners ay kailangang kasuhan at habambuhay na i-ban na mag-operate,” dagdag niya.

Cybersex cafés dumarami
Sinabi ng United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) na bagaman mayroong ilang datos hinggil sa child prostitution, maaring hindi ito sumasalamin sa posibleng mas malaking bilang ng mga batang nabibiktima ng child pornography.

Inulat naman ng organisasyong End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) na lumilitaw sa tala ng pulisya sa Pilipinas na tumataas ang paggamit ng mga phone ca-mera o tinatawag na “cyber-sex cafes” (kung saan pinapa-labas ang mga commercial sexual performances gamit ang web camera) para sa paglikha ng child porno-graphy.

Hanggang 20 taon kulong
Naunang inihain ni Revilla ng Senate Bill (SB) No. 12 o ang “Anti-Pornography Act” na layong magpataw ng mataas na parusa sa mga taong magpapalaganap at magpa-pakita ng kalaswaan sa pa-mamagitan ng mga tradisyunal na pamamaraan, ng Internet, ng “cyberspace”, at ng mga cellphone.

Lim eyes ban on ‘violent’ video arcade games

2007-10-04T03:10:00.000-07:00

By: Itchie G. Cabayan - Journal on-line

MANILA Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday ordered a study on banning violent video games in arcades and amusement centers, particularly among minors.

The directive came after the Philippine Alliance Against Pornography met with Lim to discuss the dangers being posed by these games on children’s behavior.

Former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairman Henrietta Mendez, PAAG president, was alarmed that unlike movies and television shows, video games are even more dangerous because kids can play them without proper guidance.

“The more people you hit, the higher your score will be and you are even rewarded for it,” she told Lim.

For his part, Lim directed his chief of staff Ric de Guzman to work out possible solutions to the problem either by banning violent games from being accessed by minors or prohibiting children from the use of gaming machines that promote too much violence.

He noted that being very interactive, playing violent video games, especially when done repeatedly, may cause the children to develop violent tendencies.

Lim also took notice of reports made by the PAAG that these games encourage players to be good at hitting or killing a computer-generated enemies with virtual guns by shooting at his vital parts.

To add more teeth to the regulation of video games in the city, Lim said he will coordinate with Vice Mayor and council presiding officer Isko Moreno in crafting an ordinance for this purpose.

As early as last July, Lim prohibited the playing of computer games during school hours particularly near public schools, or from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., which are the usual class hours in the elementary and secondary level.

The mayor’s action then was in response to the complaints of parents and teachers, who said that a good number of such shops encourage skipping of classes among high school students by allowing them to play computer games at any time of the day.

Solon wants stricter penalties against online porn peddlers

2007-09-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- Opposition senator Loren Legarda wants to impose heavier penalties against peddlers of pornography on the Internet.

Citing one online forum called "Boy Bastos," Legarda said that her Anti-Computer Pornography Act aims to "reinforce the war on electronic smut."

Under Senate Bill 1375, people found peddling child pornography and other "indecent materials" online would be punished with up to six years in prison or a fine of as much as P500,000, or both, as indicated in her bill, a copy of which was obtained by INQUIRER.net.

The proposed law wants to make "any remote computer facility operator, electronic service provider or electronic bulletin board service provider to knowingly transmit, offer or attempt to send any communication that contains indecent material, to a person under 18 years of age" unlawful.

Legarda also stressed the need for Congress "to protect children from indecent and immoral materials conveyed through computer technology."

The bill defines indecent materials as those "obscene literature or indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts, or shows, whether live or in film."

"These include materials that glorify criminals or condone crimes; serve no other purpose but to satisfy the market of violence, lust or pornography; offend any race or religion; tend to abet traffic in and use of illicit drugs; and are contrary to law, public order, morals, good customs, established policies, lawful order, decrees and edicts," the bill explained.

Legarda urged agencies like the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to look into websites containing porn or related materials.

The IACAT is composed of the departments of justice, social welfare, foreign affairs and labor, as well as the immigration bureau, the police, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women and three groups representing women, children and overseas workers.

Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo Madrigal also filed a similar bill two years ago that wanted to make the mere possession of child pornography a crime.

Republic Act 7610, the "Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act," currently penalizes child prostitution and sexual abuse, child trafficking, and obscene publications and indecent shows involving minors.

State Prosecutor Geronimo Sy said there are other laws like Republic Act 8792, or the E-commerce Act, and the Republic Act 9208, also known as the Anti-Trafficking Persons Act, that can be used to penalize online peddlers of child pornography.

"All these laws can serve as a start for protecting our children," he said in a telephone interview. But as to laws prohibiting distribution of online pornography in general, there exist no "focused" legislations yet.

Regulasyon sa Internet café, pinahihigpitan ng mga mambabatas

2007-09-04T03:13:00.000-07:00

NANAWAGAN kahapon mga kongresista sa kinauukulan na magtakda ng mahigpit na regulasyon sa lumalawak na Internet café dahil sa sandamakmak na marahas na “on-line games” na hindi nakakatulong sa edukasyon at hindi malayong lumikha ng “war-freak” na mga Pilipino sa hinaharap.

Bagama’t magandang senyales sa negosyo, dismayado naman sina Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, incoming An Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel at Taguig-Pateros Rep. Lani Cayetano dahil pawang mga bata na naglalaro ng mararahas na games ang madalas na parokyano sa Internet cafés.

Sinabi ni Romualdez na dapat magtakda ang iba't ibang lungsod at munisipyo ng kondisyon na magpapatupad ang Internet cafe operators ng curfew sa kanilang minors na kliyente bago pagkalooban ng business permit.

“There should be a limit in the operations of Internet cafés because precious times for studies are being wasted,” ani Romualdez na nagsabing hindi nakakatulong sa paghubog ng mga responsableng bata ang mararahas na computer at video games.

Naniniwala si Noel na humuhubog ang bayolenteng computer at video games ng mga kabataang utak-pulbura kaya naman maraming minors ang nasasangkot na sa mga krimen.

“Soon we will be producing adults who are war freaks and utak-pulbura who will approach their daily problems with the mindset of a warrior or a terminator,” ani Noel.

Nalaman naman kay Cayetano na sandamakmak na reklamo ang natanggap ng kanyang tanggapan dahil sa pinapabayaang Internet café kung saan nagiging adik ang mga batang dapat sana ay mga nag-aaral ng kanilang aralin.

Inihayag ni Cayetano na kadalasang inerereklamo ng mga magulang ang pagka-ubos ng baon ng kanilang mga anak sa pagrenta ng mga bayolenteng games.

“Young Internet café users have been practically spending their ‘baon’ and their whole day inside Internet cafes harnessing their talents in killing off their enemies,” ani Cayetano. Ryan Ponce Pacpaco - Journal online

Internet reaching wider market of Filipinos abroad--Century

2007-08-24T03:31:00.000-07:00

By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net

MAKATI CITY, Philippines -- A local real estate developer said its Internet marketing strategy has helped them reach a "broader" market of Filipino expatriates most likely thinking of investing in property, an executive said Tuesday.

"The Internet is allowing us to reach a broader market of Filipinos abroad who have the spending power," said Jay Estaris, director of information technology of the Century Properties Group., in an interview.

About 80 percent of inquiries have come from the Internet, added Estaris.

During the launch of its P5-billion private residential project called Gramercy, Jose Eduardo Antonio, chairman of the Century Properties Group., acknowledged that retiring Filipino expatriates are now buying more prime properties in the country.

Despite the US economic crunch that has sent ripples throughout the world, the executive said he has not seen a decrease in the demand for its properties. He stressed that today's buyers are mostly "users" and not "speculators" who buy property with the objective of selling it when prices go up.

In an interview, Jose Marco Antonio, managing director of Centuries Properties Group, added the company has used both traditional and newer strategies to reach out to potential buyers abroad.

"But it is really best to target [Filipino expats] on the Internet," he added, noting that the company has used more creative ways to effectively engage potential clients using today's technology and the Internet.

Apart from its presence in at least 22 countries, Antonio said the company has established a real estate academy that trains sales people on various aspects of its business, including Internet marketing. It currently maintains two websites that promote and accept sales inquiries on the Internet.

But Estaris noted that the developer has been investing a lot on Internet marketing through online advertising and other "push technologies" such as e-mail campaigns. He declined to disclose how much the developer is investing on online advertising.

"The boom in the real estate property is now different because a lot of the buyers then were speculators. We now have a new set of buyers," Antonio said.

Third-party studies show that at least 30 percent of $14 billion worth of remittances of overseas Filipino workers now go to real estate-related spending, the executive added.

Australia to give away porn-filtering software

2007-08-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

Country's IT minister says $86 million allocated for free online downloads of a Web application, yet to be chosen.

The Australian government plans to spend about $86 million to provide all the country's families with free Internet pornography-blocking software.

Helen Coonan, the minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, announced the initiative Wednesday. A representative of Coonan told ZDNet Australia that the first free filters should be available for download from a government portal within six months.

Helen Coonan "It puts a safer Internet experience within the grasp of every Australian family, and it is a solution to the problem posed by Internet pornography that is simple, safe, effective and free," Coonan said in a statement.

"Every parent will be able to receive a free filter for their home computer, (and) there will be child-safe terminals in libraries across Australia."

It's likely that the Australian government will covet political mileage from the initiative, with the minister's release tipping a "comprehensive national community education campaign" designed to "ensure that all Australian families are aware of the benefits of regulating their children's Internet experience by using a safe and effective computer filter."

At this stage, no specific filtering software has been selected for the initiative. The minister's representative said an accreditation process will be put in place. Internet service provider-level filtering will also be an option for customers of providers that offer it.

"Under this scheme, families will be offered a filtered service or a free filter for their home computer, either for download from a dedicated Web site or delivered to them on CD-ROM," Coonan stated. "All ISPs will also be required to offer filters to new and existing customers at no additional cost."

ISPs will be rebated if they choose to offer filtering at a service provider level.

The government's Internet safety agency, NetAlert Limited, will receive a $3.68 million funding boost and become co-located with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Of the total spending, $68.69 million will be spent on filtering software over three year. Coonan's representative says the program will be reviewed in its third year.

According to the representative, almost no ISPs currently offer any kind of content filtering, so the government will study the feasibility of ISP-level filtering for a fourth time.

Patrick Gray of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.
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http://intergapo.blogspot.com/2006/04/is-your-child-protected-from-cyber-sex.html

Cyber cops to stamp out human trafficking, child porn online

2007-07-20T03:37:00.000-07:00

By Alcuin Papa - Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines -- Human traffickers, online child molesters and perpetrators of child pornography, beware!

The Philippine National Police (PNP) now has cyber cops surfing the Internet for websites that traffic Filipino women and children and abuse children online.

According to Director Geary Barias, chief of the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, a proposal to set up a Women and Children’s Crimes Division (WCCD) in Camp Crame has been approved by the National Police Commission.

The new unit, which will be operational by end of August, will focus on child pornography and the trafficking of females, on and off the web.

On Thursday, around 100 police officers and government prosecutors finished a four-day course for law enforcers on how to address the trafficking of children and women on the Internet.

The seminar, held at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), featured speakers from international groups like the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), the Interpol, the United States Embassy and Microsoft Phil.

“The seminar is an eye-opener for law enforcers on the existence of child pornography and human trafficking. We are committed to control all crimes, in the virtual world or otherwise,” Barias said.

He said it gave the PNP the opportunity to network with foreign counterparts and to strengthen relationships with international law enforcement agencies in the fight against transnational crimes.

Chief Superintendent Yolanda Tanigue, chief of the DIDM’s women and children’s crimes division, said the new cyber cops would be using “sting” and surveillance operations against child molesters.

“We will have agents posing as children online to chat with molesters. We can set up a meeting and nab them,” she said.

She said the law enforcers learned during the course that certain online communications could be used as evidence in cases against perpetrators.

In the case of websites featuring child pornography, Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Mendoza said the DIDM would use “computer forensics” to track down the operators of the website.

Incidents of online pornography involving women and children have been on the rise, Mendoza said.

Websites are proliferating in middle-class and slum areas because computers are now affordable and easy to set up to go online, according to him.

Ruben Rodriguez of the ICMEC described the campaign to stamp out child pornography as a global concern.

“There are officers around the world pursuing these offenders. They are conducting sting operations all over,” he said.

Rodriguez said local law enforcement needed to set its priorities right.

“It’s not that you don’t have the commitment. It’s more of what direction you want to take. What are the priorities and how much resources are you willing to put in? Fighting cybercrime is very resource-intensive,” Rodriguez said.

Philippine law enforcement also needed to keep abreast with new technology, he said.

“The Internet is evolving. What you learn today is passé in six months. To fight cyber crimes, you need a team of dedicated people who specialize in investigating these kinds of crimes,” Rodriguez said.

Cybersex addicts target ng bubuuing House bill

2007-03-04T03:39:00.000-08:00

By: Ryan Ponce Pacpaco - Journal

BINUBUO na ng mga kongresista ang isang panukalang batas na magpapataw ng mabigat na parusa hindi lamang sa operator ng “cybersex,” kundi maging sa mga kababaihan at kalalakihan na mahilig “magpaligaya” sa sex online sa pamamagitan ng Internet matapos masangkot sa ganitong aktibidad ang 212,257 Pilipino.

Sa panayam, sinabi ni Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago, dating komisyuner ng National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), na inaayos na nila ang draft ng panukalang batas katuwang ang ibang kongresista.

Bagama’t pinag-uusapan pa ang parusa, sinabi ni Santiago na mahalagang patawan rin ng parusa ang mga nahihilig habang sasailalim sa konsultasyon ang kaso ng mga biktima na puwersahang pinagta-trabaho ng mga sindikato sa cybersex.

“Isasama na natin sa mga parusa maging ang customers para masupil ito,” ani Santiago.

Nanindigan si Santiago na lalong lalala ang suliranin ng bansa sa cybersex dahil sa kakulangan ng batas laban dito kung saan paglabag lamang ng anti-pornography law ang umiiral at ibang mahihinang batas.

“We are now helping drafting a bill that would provide a more stiffer penalty against cybersex,” ani Santiago.

Internet café operators binalaan sa pornograpiya

2007-02-04T03:47:00.000-08:00

Mariing binalaan ni Presidential Assistant on Youth and Sports Arnold "Ali" Atienza ang mga internet café operators sa lungsod na ipasasara ito sa sandaling mapatunayang nagtataguyod ang mga ito ng pornograpiya.

Sinabi ni Ali na ipasasara aniya ng pamahalaang panglungsod ang kanilang operasyon sakaling mapatunayang pinapayagan nila ang mga nagrirentang kabataan na mag-surf sa mga pornographic site.

Inihayag ni Atienza ang babala matapos makatanggap ng mga reklamo na maraming kabataan lalo na ang mga estudyante, ang nalululong sa internet hindi lamang para maglaro ng mga on-line games kundi para magbukas na rin ng mga pornographic site.

Kasabay nito, umapela na rin si Atienza sa mga operator ng internet café na i-monitor ang mga kabataang nagrirenta sa kanila nang sa gayon ay mapagbawalan ang mga ito sa pagbubukas ng mga pornographic sites.

"Mas mabuti siguro kung i-block na nila ang mga pornographic site upang hindi na mabuksan pa ng mga kabataang nagrirenta sa kanila," dagdag pa ni Atienza.

Maaari pa rin anyang mailayo ang mga kabataan sa pornograpiya sa tulong na rin ng kanilang mga magulang, paaralan at estado. (Gemma Amargo-Garcia - Pilipino Star)

EDITORIAL — Promoting computer literacy

2006-10-29T03:48:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Star

The private sector and foreign governments are pitching in to improve Filipino students’ access to computers, with Ayala Corp. launching a program to set up computer laboratories in 1,000 public schools. The program is most welcome; on the same day it was launched, the Department of Education disclosed that there is only one computer for every 25,000 pupils in public elementary schools.

The situation is slightly better in public high schools, where there is one computer for every 111 students and one for every three teachers, DepEd officials said. But at both primary and secondary levels, public schools lack educational software especially in subjects that require local content such as Social Studies. There are also no guidelines or specific curricula to integrate computer use into the teaching of school subjects.

Another problem is that many public school teachers themselves lack training in information technology and cannot teach students how to use computers. Many teachers cannot handle IT-enhanced subjects. Language is another major obstacle. While certain Internet sites use Tagalog, English remains the lingua franca of IT, and many public school teachers across the country lack the necessary proficiency in English to use computers as an effective educational tool.

In certain conflict areas in Mindanao, US troops and aid workers are jump-starting the introduction of young students to the Internet as a learning tool, donating computers with Internet connection to public schools and training a pool of teachers to handle computer-enhanced subjects. The Philippines cannot match the resources of Uncle Sam, but the computer literacy program can be replicated on a limited scale across the country.

Poverty has already created a wide educational divide between millions of students from low-income families and those who can afford quality education in exclusive schools. The failure to provide computer literacy programs to the majority of Filipino students is widening this educational divide. The government must move quickly to stop the gap from growing wider.

Cheaper rates contribute to growth of RP Internet cafés

2006-07-14T03:17:00.000-07:00

By Alexander Villafania - INQ7.net

The Internet café business in the Philippines continues to grow in previous years spurred by decreasing prices of broadband Internet and computer parts, as well as increasing demand for online and network gaming services.

A new report by the Philippine office of the International Data Corporation (IDC) also showed that Internet cafes are also finding niche markets catering to gaming, Internet use and sales centers for other value-added services such as telecommunications and printing.

The IDC report said most Internet cafes in the Philippines are still micro-sized businesses or those that only have a few available computers with single ownership and only one branch.

Most of the value-added services of these cafes are document printing, scanning, fax and copying.

Likewise, the report said that these pay-as-you go Internet cafes are still preferred by most users over owning home PCs especially as the cost of owning computers is still largely restrictive to most Filipinos.

IDC Philippines Research Manager Manuel Ravago said in a statement the next 12 months will see more Internet cafes concentrating heavily on maintaining or replacing present hardware setups. These Internet cafes will also continue to focus on online gaming nature and basic Internet.

The IDC also reported that 49 percent of all Internet cafes surveyed were not changing their IT expenditures. Another 39 percent said there would be an increase in maintenance or replacement cost while 10 percent said there would be no change.

Ravago also added that Internet cafes in the rural areas should be taken into perspective to be able to secure key business prospects.

"The decelerating broadband costs, growing uptake of online gaming, and declining hardware prices have all served as catalysts for growth in information and communication technology spending from the Internet café industry. In order to capture that potential business opportunity from the sector, the nature and preferences of the Internet cafes must be considered at all times when addressing this particular market", Ravago said.

IDC also forecasts the arrival of new value added services from both entrepreneurs, the access providers and the hardware providers as the Internet café becomes a feasible business to address requirements of new markets.

Likewise, stiffer competition from other Internet cafes will also prompt owners to improve their services.

Internet café pricing a key issue, says study

2006-07-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

PRICING remains a key issue in expanding the Internet café market to the countryside and investors must collaborate with other service providers to secure key business prospects, according to a recent study.

“The decelerating broadband costs, growing uptake of online gaming and declining hardware prices have all served as catalysts for growth in information and communication technology [ICT] spending from the Internet café industry. In order to capture that potential business opportunity from the sector, the nature and preferences of the Internet café must be considered at all times when addressing this particular market,” said Manuel J. Ravago, the research manager of Infocom Data & Consulting (Philippines) Inc. (IDC).

Based on the survey results, Internet cafés in the Philippines are generally microsized single-proprietor businesses with only one branch. Online gaming, Internet surfing and printing/scanning/facsimile/copying are the top three service offerings of most Internet cafés.

“From the economic standpoint, the cost of owning a personal computer [PC] is still restrictive for a large segment of the country, not to mention the additional cost of Internet access. With this, smaller cash expenditures on a pay-only-as-you-use basis are a good alternative, making Internet cafés widely accepted in the country,” the study said.

It indicated that the Internet café industry in the Philippines is a rapidly growing niche and evolving market, and from being mere local area network shops, Internet cafés are seen to become an important avenue for growth, as the industry transforms into a complete business center.

The IDC study also found that the biggest ICT budget allocation is spent on hardware, with particular focus on PCs, servers and networking products.

The research firm predicts that in the next 12 months, Internet cafés will concentrate heavily on replacement and/or maintenance of the present ICT setup.

It said the heightened attention of the Internet café space as a feasible and potential-rich addressable market will usher in a slew of product and service offerings from the growing number of providers, including hardware, Internet access providers and online gaming service providers.

“This fast-growing industry will continue to evolve in the near term, as competition within the Internet café ecosystem increases and the added attention from the technology vendors infuses a greater variety of hardware and services into the playing field,” the study said.

IDC, a premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services for the information technology and telecommunications industries, has over 775 analysts in 50 countries that provide global, regional and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities.
--Angelo S. Samonte, Manila Times

EDITORYAL — Bata sa Pinas pinagkakaperahan sa cybersex

2006-07-03T03:51:00.000-07:00

Ang Pilipino STAR Ngayon

NOONG 2002 pa nabalita na ang Pilipinas ang pangunahing distributor ng mga sexually explicit pictures ng mga batang babae at lalaki sa internet. At sa maniwala at sa hindi, hanggang ngayon nangunguna pa rin ang Pilipinas sa ganitong papel. Maraming bata na naghuhubad sa web cam, bumubukaka, naghuhubad ng panty at kung anu-anong pang mahahalay na posisyon. May nakikipagsex sa kapwa bata at meron din sa matanda. Ganito na katindi.

Maiimagine na 2002 pa lumobo ang child pornography at hanggang ngayon wala pang mabigat na batas na magpaparusa sa mga negosyante ng "laman" sa cyberspace.

Malala na ang child pornography sa bansa at hindi masawata ang mga gumagawa nito. Ang matindi pa, pati mga sariling ina ang nagbebenta sa kanilang mga babaing anak para bumukaka sa harap ng web cam. Sa kahayukang kumita ng pera, pati anak na walang malay ay ibinibenta na ang laman.

Kagaya ng isang ina na ibinenta sa kanyang dayuhang boyfriend ang mga posing ng hubad niyang anak na babae at mga pamangkin. Kinasuhan lamang ng "Anti-Trafficking of Person’s Act" ang ina.

Inaresto ng mga pulis noong nakaraang Mayo si Jedeka Martinez makaraang ipagharap ng "Anti-Trafficking of Person’s Act" o ng Republic Act 9208.

Ayon sa report, pinaghubad ni Martinez sa harap ng web camera ang kanyang anak na limang taong gulang habang pinanonood ng New Zealander niyang boyfriend. Iba’t ibang posing umano ang pinagawa sa bata. Pagkatapos ng kanyang anak, ang mga pamangkin naman niya na ang edad ay walo at 14 ang kanyang pinaghubad sa harap ng web cam at binayaran niya ng P200. Sa imbestigasyon ng pulisya, lumitaw na pinuwersa ni Martinez ang mga biktima para maghubad sa harap ng web cam.

Ang pangyayaring iyan ay isa lamang sa malalang child pornography na nagaganap sa bansa. May mga pidophiles pang malalakas ang loob na sila mismo ang nagtutungo rito sa bansa at kumukuha ng mga bata at kinukunan ng video.

Kawawa ang mga batang ginagamit na ang katawan para pagkaperahan. At kung hindi makagagawa ng mabigat na batas laban sa mga nag-ooperate ng cybersex na ang mga bata ang ginagamit, marami pang masisira ang buhay. Kakahiyang ang Pilipinas ay pugad ng mga "batang puta".

Senator seeks tighter rules vs online porn in schools

2006-05-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

By Alexander Villafania - Inquirer

A SENATOR is calling for greater vigilance on campuses in response to reports that students have access to pornography at nearby Internet cafés.

Senator Manuel Villar Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, also expressed concern over reports that school notebooks with lewd images printed on their covers were being distributed on campuses, prior to the start of the school year in June.

"The discovery of lewd pictures recently on the cover of notebooks, that were supposed to be distributed to schoolchildren, is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Our children are still exposed to pornographic images or materials in various other media such as magazines, books and most especially the Internet which is widely accessible," Villar said.

Though he acknowledged the use of computers in schools for learning and research, Villar said schools should install pornography-blocking software and teachers should also regulate the use of the Internet by their students.

Villar has been working for the passage of Senate Bill 751, which requires schools to install software to block pornographic websites.

The bill also mandates the creation of a Student Internet Protection Task Force to enforce Internet access rules in schools.

Villar also urged tighter monitoring of video arcades and Internet cafes near near schools.

Villar also filed Senate Bill 752 that seeks to amend Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code and make it illegal the digital distribution of pornographic materials.

He filed both bills in May last year.

In a previous interview with INQ7.net, Raymond Ricafort, president of the Netopia Internet cafe chain, said the company has no direct rules against the browsing of pornographic websites, mainly due to concerns over customer privacy and free speech.

However, the company has strict policies regarding the use of computers by minors, particularly students. All branches are required to deny students entry during school hours, he said.

Is your child protected from cyber sex crimes?

2006-04-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual, Jr.
The Philippine Star

VIRTUAL SEX: Have you bought your precocious child one of those small cameras mounted on personal computers allowing users to video-talk with one another? Has your kid been doing more on-line chatting than using his PC for his homework?

The Internet and such infotech gadgets have spawned myriad e-businesses, some of them catering to pedophiles and sex perverts.

In a significant number of cases, many seemingly "nice" youths have fallen victims of sexploitation without their trusting parents being able to do anything about it – because they do not know or do not care enough to find out.

Children in the privacy of their rooms have been seduced into undressing or doing lewd acts in front of those PC cameras thinking they were doing it for a friend or a crush. In many cases, the pornography is filmed without their knowledge and end up being retailed to millions of paying viewers worldwide.

While the old telephone is all audio, now computers are audio-visual or virtual presence. Invasive TV goes one-way into the home from outside, but computers have made the trafficking of sexual content two-way. The home, even the bedroom, has lost its privacy.

If it is not a commercial racket, such electronic sexual contact could be a one-on-one case of seduction of minors, or a "fun" activity of friends who engage in virtual orgy via computers. * * *
BIG FISH: You would be surprised to know who are engaged in this sordid sexploitation.

In Florida, after surveillance the police arrested yesterday Brian J. Doyle, spokesman and a deputy press secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security at his computer at home for allegedly seducing a 14-year-old girl into some sexual situations.

The surprised DHS official did not know that his target victim online was a decoy and that the police have been documenting his alleged seductive advances and propositions with the use of computers.

Good they caught this big fish. But for every sexploiter arrested, how many others get away and continue victimizing youths who are not ready to handle the psychological trap?

In the Philippines, what have lawmakers – when they are not busy politicking and making money – done to update pertinent laws? Are the schools addressing the problem? Are there enough police and prosecution officers continually trained to fight cybercrime?

The Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation may want to organize workshops for parents, guardians and youngsters on this new form of sexploitation.

Or do we just let the potential victims learn the sad facts of life by themselves?

Video Game Violence: What is it Doing to Our Boys?

2006-04-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Hagelin
The Heritage Foundation

"Life is like a video game. Everyone has to die sometime."

If you spent part of your youth playing "Pac-Man" and "Space Invaders," such a statement must seem bizarre. Video games were … well, games -- innocent diversions that did nothing worse than eat up dotted lines and too much of our allowances. A waste of time? Perhaps. But nobody got hurt.

At least, they didn’t used to.

The opening statement above was spoken by Devin Moore, a teenager who murdered three people -- two police officers and a 911 dispatcher -- in a Fayettesville, Ala., police station in 2003. Arrested on suspicion of car theft, Moore was brought in for booking and ended up on a bloody rampage.

He lunged at Officer Arnold Strickland, grabbed his gun and shot him twice. Officer James Crump, who responded to the sound of the gunfire, was shot three times. And before he ran outside with police car keys he snatched, Moore put five bullets in Dispatcher Ace Mealer. Was this the first time Moore had committed such a heinous crime? Yes and no.

Moore was a huge fan of a notorious video game called Grand Theft Auto. As the title suggests, the goal is to steal cars. If that’s all there was to the "game" it would be bad enough, but it gets worse: the way to acquire and hold on to the cars is to kill the police officers who try to stop you. And the sick minds behind the game give you plenty of choices -- shooting them with a rifle, cutting them up with a chainsaw, setting them on fire, decapitation.

If you shoot an officer, you get extra points for shooting him in the head. It's no surprise, then, that all of Moore’s real-life victims had their heads blown off.

According to court records, Moore spent hundreds of hours playing Grand Theft, which has been described as "a murder simulator."

But this time, his victims weren’t a collection of animated pixels on a TV screen. They were flesh-and-blood human beings whose lives were snuffed out in seconds. They had families who continue to mourn their loss -- such as Steve Strickland, Officer Strickland’s brother. Tomorrow, he will testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property. Chaired by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., the purpose of the hearing is to examine the constitutionality of state laws regulating the sale of ultra-violent video games to children. Three psychologists will testify about the potential link between playing violent video games and copycat violence, and whether the games contribute to aggressive behavior.

With the ever-expanding use of technology by our children, such hearings are critical. We must determine if Moore and other murderers like him are anomalies or if ultra violent video games dangerously warp the psyches of our youth. Those tempted to scoff at the connection between video games and behavior should bear a couple of things in mind. First, video games are not passive or spectator media. While playing the game, teenage boys and young men, the largest users of video games, actually become the characters who cut up their victims with chainsaws, set them on fire, or chop off their heads.

According to Dr. Elizabeth Carll of the American Psychological Association (who also will testify tomorrow), this active participation enhances the "learning" experience. And video games are often played repeatedly for hours on end -- so, hour after hour, teens playing games such as Grand Theft Auto "learn" how to kill police officers and earn points for their barbarianism.

The second fact to keep in mind is that teenagers’ brains are still developing and are extremely impressionable. The parents of teens hardly need reminding that for all their joys, teens often lack judgment, critical thinking skills and foresight. Some are better than others, yes, but many (like Moore) are startlingly deficient. In short: Put a "murder simulator" in their hands, and you just might be asking for trouble. But don’t put words in my mouth – I am not saying that every kid that plays a violent video game will become a criminal.

And as a staunch conservative who believes that "the government that governs least governs best," I’m not advocating a plethora of laws that may have a chilling effect on free speech. I do, however, recognize that it is sometimes necessary to provide special protections for minors from harmful materials - take pornography and alcohol, for example. As a mother, I also believe that our nation must examine how the products of our toxic culture affect the civility and safety of our children and of our society. We owe it to the students who died at Columbine; we owe it to Devin Moore’s victims; we owe it to our own children.

But armed with the truth, and a God-given mandate to train our own children, we must never depend on government to take care of our kids or raise them. Parents must wake up to the fact that our nation’s boys are being used and manipulated by an industry making billions of dollars by warping their minds. As I outline in my book, Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That’s Gone Stark Raving Mad, it doesn’t take an act of Congress to take back your home -- it takes active, loving, informed parenting. It takes setting boundaries and sticking with them. It takes understanding our kids, and understanding that our kids need us to guide them. Senator Brownback is taking a bold step and doing his job as an elected official in exploring the effects of video game violence - it's up to parents to use the information to protect our sons and our society.

Just got the chance to read it, and I must agree that there is a curious lack of attention as to how the parents might have taught their child, and too much blame on the effect of the game. If anything, I think it just underscores the point that people, in this case Americans, are putting too much trust in the media, and materials of media, to raise their kids. True, kids need a chance to get out and explore so they can learn, but too much freedom without guidance is just as irresponsible as being too strict, and too much protection and shelter from the world, and narrowing a child's POV to the point of making them out of sync with the world as a result. They want to blame media violence? Then explain Wile E. Coyote, Woody Woodpecker, and their ilk, and the products of that generation when the object of the outcome of many cartoons then was to make fools out of authority figures.

Joey Gohu

= = = = =
I read the article written by Rebecca Hagelin of The Heritage Foundation. Though it is a well-written article, I find that it puts too much blame on Video Games for the observed teen violence.

In the end, it all boils down to parenting. In a way, video games can be used to teach, even the most violent ones.

Cheers!

Gerel Roa

City Position on VOIP Inspection

2006-03-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

24 March 2006

Ms. Jocelyn D. Collins

Department Manager

Department of Telecommunications

Common Carriers Authorization Division

Bldg. 244, Waterfront Road

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

Dear Ms. Collins:

This has reference to your letter dated March 8, 2006 for question or comments regarding a National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) memorandum on VOIP regulation implementation.

As with our previous telephone conversations, let me reiterate the Citys comments on the said NTC memorandum. While the City recognizes the need to regulate Internet entities and the proliferation of VOIP services by unauthorized providers, we find the said NTC memorandum vague, even as we suggest that a law on VOIP must be enacted to address the same.

Further, it was mentioned in your letter that as per your Memorandum of Agreement with NTC and by virtue of Republic Act No. 7227, you are to regulate public and private telecommunications facilities, networks, system, and services operating within the Freeport Zone, City of Olongapo and the Municipality of Subic. To comment on the import of said letter, may we bring to your attention the then President Fidel Ramos Executive Order Nos. 97 and 97-A delineating the metes and bounds of the Freeport, and so stating therein that tax and duty incentives only apply in the fenced or secured area, thus

Section 1. On Import Taxes and Duties -- Tax and duty-free importations shall apply only to raw materials, capital goods and equipment brought in by business enterprises into the SSEZ. Except for these items, importations of other goods into the SSEZ, whether by business enterprises or resident individuals, are subject to taxes and duties under relevant Philippine laws.

The exportation or removal of tax and duty-free goods from the territory of the SSEZ to other parts of the Philippine territory shall be subject to duties and taxes under relevant Philippine laws.

Section 2. On All Other Taxes. -- In lieu of all local and national taxes (except import taxes and duties), all business enterprises in the SSEZ shall be required to pay the tax specified in Section 12(c) of R.A. No. 7227. (EO 97)

EO 97-A further specifies the area within which the tax-and-duty-free privilege is operative, viz.:

Section 1.1. The Secured Area consisting of the presently fenced-in former Subic Naval Base shall be the only completely tax and duty-free area in the SSEFPZ [Subic Special Economic and Free Port Zone]. Business enterprises and individuals (Filipinos and foreigners) residing within the Secured Area are free to import raw materials, capital goods, equipment, and consumer items tax and duty-free. Consumption items, however, must be consumed within the Secured Area. Removal of raw materials, capital goods, equipment and consumer items out of the Secured Area for sale to non-SSEFPZ registered enterprises shall be subject to the usual taxes and duties, except as may be provided herein

This has been upheld in the case of Tiu vs .Court of Appeals [GR No. 127410], to wit --

From the above provisions of the law, it can easily be deduced that the real concern of RA 7227 is to convert the lands formerly occupied by the US military bases into economic or industrial areas. In furtherance of such objective, Congress deemed it necessary to extend economic incentives to attract and encourage investors, both local and foreign. Among such enticements are:^{^[i]}^[11] (1) a separate customs territory within the zone, (2) tax-and-duty-free importations, (3) restructured income tax rates on business enterprises within the zone, (4) no foreign exchange control, (5) liberalized regulations on banking and finance, and (6) the grant of resident status to certain investors and of working visas to certain foreign executives and workers.

On the said MOA between SBMA and NTC, suffice it to state that the City is not bound by it being not privy or a non-party to the agreement.

The City commends you for your effort to enforce strictly regulating measures pertaining to the matter. However, the City invokes its right to regulate all business or establishment within its territorial jurisdiction. It is only imperative that we protect the Citys and its investors best interests. This does not include, however, protection from illegal acts and/ or fraudulent business set-ups.

With this, we move that you refrain from implementing the VOIP regulation in the City of Olongapo until all legal impediments are addressed and properly threshed out.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

EDWIN J. PIANO

City Councilor

Chairman, Olongapo City Telecom Board

http://news.subicbay.ph
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Arroyo orders setting up of call center school

2006-03-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

http://news.subicbay.ph
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Arroyo orders setting up of call center school
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQ7.net

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered governments manpower development authority to set up a school for call center services.

In her brief message at the inauguration of the new call center facility of Sutherland Global Services at the Export-Import Plaza in Makati City Monday morning, Arroyo also asked the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide a scholarship program for 100,000 young Filipinos.

Arroyo said the school for call centers would ensure that investors had access to a steady and adequate pool of trained workers.? TESDA chairman Augusto Syjuco Jr. said the President has increased the agency's 50-million-peso budget to 500 million pesos to ensure adequate funding for call center programs.??Call centers are among the country's growth industries. From 2,000 employees in 2001, the outsourcing industry now employs 125,000 Filipinos.

The government expects job generation in call centers to reach two million by 2010

PC-based phone makes use of traditional phone cards

2006-03-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

http://news.subicbay.ph
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By melvin g. calimag, Manila Bulletin

A cheaper alternative, although not necessarily better in quality, in making voice calls was unveiled recently by the Internet arm of mobile phone carrier Globe Telecom.

The new product solution, called the GlobeQuest Web Phone, is said to be the countrys first PC-based VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service that utilizes traditional prepaid cards.

To avail of the service, a PC user, preferably with a broadband connection, must go to the GlobeQuest website (www.globequest.com.ph) and click the Web phone icon to launch the service.

Only those with a Globe1 prepaid cards can make calls on the Web phone. It may take a while, however, for a user to get acquainted with the voice quality and sometimes extended time for the phone to be connected.

But the good side of using the service, according to GlobeQuest officials, is that it allows the user to save as much as 78 percent in international calls.

Also, it can be used to call a landline and mobile anywhere in the country and abroad at a lesser rate.

As a way of emphasizing its point, calls using the Web phone to the top ten most popular foreign destinations Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and USA are charged for only P4.50 or 086 per minute as compared to the traditional IDD rate of 40.

Jesus Romero, head of GlobeQuest, said companies which require constant communication with business associates in the said countries can gain substantial savings if they use the Web phone.

Reaching a mobile phone subscriber, whether Globe subscriber or not, using the new service only costs P4.50 per minute as compared to P6.50 per minute for mobile-originating calls.

The executive said the PC-based phone is a "unique" in the sense that although the underlying technology behind the service is VoIP, the business model employs the use of widely circulated prepaid cards.

The Web phone, the company added, is also targeted towards road warriors who often have to work and call using their laptops and PDAs (personal digital assistants).

Romero said that while other popular Web-based programs such as instant messengers provide PC-to-PC international calls, he said these are only available to subscribers who must be logged simultaneously.

RP Internet café business in dire straits

2006-03-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

By Alexander Villafania
INQ7.net

All is not well for owners of smaller Internet cafés, largely due to skyrocketing maintenance costs and illegal Internet cafes without proper business permits.

Internet Café Association of the Philippines (ICAP) Vice President Mario P. Muñoz said in an interview that there had been a significant number of closures of Internet cafes in the last four months as economic environments make it more difficult for owners to maintain their businesses.

ICAP, which was formed in 2004, already has about 1,100 members nationwide. Muñoz said that 200 of their members have already closed their shops

“Surprisingly, the extensive raids by the National Bureau of Investigation last year against Internet owners using illegal software weren’t the reasons why these companies closed down,” he observed. “It was because they were already losing money from high maintenance cost.”

The cost of electricity was an important reason, but implementation of the extended value added tax, putting a 12 percent surcharge on all services and purchases, also took its toll on the profits of smaller Internet cafés.

Muñoz added that the business permit fee for an Internet café has also increased from 8,000 pesos two years ago to 17,000 pesos last year.

Low quality computer parts shared the blame. Muñoz explained that some PC parts, particularly expensive video cards, had to be replaced every six to eight months just to accommodate new computer games.

“We used to maintain a computer for up to three years. Now you’ll have to replace a whole PC in just over a year,” Muñoz said.

The cost of software is another major factor in high maintenance cost. A company has to spend over 80,000 pesos to use licensed operating system for 20 computers.

Meanwhile illegal computer shops are undermining the business for legitimate Internet cafes. Most of illegal shops do not have business permits, are using pirated operating systems and personal DSL subscription plans instead of the Internet business packages.

“Whereas a legitimate computer shop has to pay 6,000 pesos per month for a business DSL subscription, illegal shops pay only 1,000 pesos,” Muñoz pointed out. There are already 7,000 legitimate Internet cafes in the country, with an additional estimated 2,000 illegal ones.

“The government should do something to curb the proliferation of illegal shops while helping legitimate ones to improve their business. It’s already hard enough for smaller shop owners to maintain their business and you have illegal shops that take away their business,” he stressed.

Criminal cases filed against magazine, computer shop owners

2006-02-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

http://news.subicbay.ph
Criminal cases filed against magazine, computer shop owners
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

CRIMINAL cases have been filed against a magazine and several computer shop owners, following a police and Optical Media Board (OMB)-led raids that confiscated pirated and pornographic materials in January 2006.

The OMB and Philippine National Police have filed cases at the Department of Justice against store owners Felimon Barbasa III, owner and proprietor of Filbar's at Glorietta II and Greenbelt 1 in Makati City; Yancy Lim, owner and proprietor of Genex Mediatech in Ali Mall, Cubao; and Jose Marie Custodio, owner and proprietor of Pro-Con Computer in Ali Mall, Cubao.

The owners of Filbar's, Pro-Con Computer Center, and Genex Meditech face criminal charges for violating provisions of the Optical Media Act.

Meanwhile the PNP has also filed a case against Barbasa for selling pornographic anime CDs, a violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code.

The criminal charges stemmed from the simultaneous joint raids of the PNP Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division and the OMB, in which more than 6,000 pirated CDs, mostly counterfeit copies of several computer programs, were confiscated. The raid also confiscated pornographic anime CDs from Filbar's.

Continuing joint operations by the OMB and PNP are part of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team's activities, a government's campaign to promote awareness of intellectual property rights and curb piracy in the country.

Pinays lured into cyber porn

2006-02-16T00:52:00.000-08:00

SPYIBIZ By S.A. Maguire
The Philippine Star

Hundreds of Filipino women are being lured into the cybersex trade, offering services from chats to live sexual shows over the Internet to clients mostly based in Japan and the US. According to Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago, these "cybermodels" are posted in seven web sites and are maintained by local promoters or "videochat hosts." Santiago identified www.imlive.com, www.clickmelive.com, www.steamray.com, www.streamate.com, www.mycamfriends.com, www.privateams.com and www.cams.com as among those offering cyber porn services.

The cybermodels are reportedly lodged in groups of five in posh condo units located mostly in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, given free board and other necessities, and supplied with dedicated computers and web cams in their rooms. Website managers based abroad collect a per-minute charge of $1.99 to $2.99 for plain chat sessions with registered members or users. The per-minute rate goes higher when the "models" are asked to strip or perform other acts, the solon said.

A cybermodel can perform for a group of simultaneous viewers all over the world, but if a "customer" decides to take the performer for a private show at a higher rate, other users logged on to the site can be blocked off. Each model reportedly generates as much as $2,000 per month for the US or Japan-based web managers, who keep 60 to 70 percent of revenues. Filipino chat hosts, or the virtual pimps, get 30 to 40 percent. Based on the registry of a popular website peddling sexual activities over the Internet, as many as 200,000 Filipinos may have already been lured into the cybersex trade, the solon said.

7 web sites used to pimp Pinays on Internet named

2006-02-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago named yesterday seven web sites used by Philippine-based promoters or "chathosts" in selling live sex performances by Filipina "cybermodels" on the Internet.

Santiago identified the sex web sites as www.imlive.com, www.clickmelive.com, www.streamray.com, www.streamate.com, www.mycamfriends.com, www.privateams.com and www.cams.com.

"We conducted background check. We are positive there are hundreds of Filipino women registered in these sites and are offering live sex shows on the Internet to international clients, mostly from the U.S. and Japan," Santiago revealed

The Filipino cybermodels are maintained by local promoters or "videochat hosts," Santiago, former chief of the National Telecommunications Commission and House transportation and communications committee vice chairman, revealed.

"By maintained, it means the women are lodged in groups of four or five in posh condominium units, mostly in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, are given free board and other necessities, and are supplied with computers and web cameras," Santiago said.

"The sites are run by American or Japanese managers. They charge $1.99 to $2.99 each from registered members or users," Santiago said.

Initially, Santiago said, models engaged in the activity hold videochat with clients. The hosts charge $1.99 a minute. If the clients ask the model to undress or perform lewd acts, charges will go up.

A model can entertain several customers at a time or perform for a group chatters from around the world simultaneously. However, a customer may choose to take the woman for a private show where he will pay higher charges.

The U.S. or Japan-based site managers collect from their clients through pay-first membership credits, mainly through credit cards or mailed checks. Anyone with a credit card can register for membership to obtain credits online.

The managers keep 60 to 70 percent of the proceeds, and remit to the Philippine-based promoter or "videochat host" the rest of the proceeds.

The Philippine-based "chathosts," who, in effect act as pimps, collect 30 to 40 percent of the profit, and hand out to the women their share of the proceeds.

Each model usually generates an average of $1,000 to $2,000 a month, 60 or 70 percent of which go to the managers.

Santiago urged the National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to crack down on the local promoters, saying these illicit activities demean Filipino women, as he expressed concern that promoters may have already lured underaged girls as models.

"We were told that there are actually a number of syndicates operating in the country, including one allegedly run by a Filipino operating in Quezon City and another by a gang of South Koreans operating in Subic, Zambales," Santiago said.

Last year, Santiago bared that illicit cybersex promoters may have lured over 200,000 Filipinos -- women, men and possibly even children -- to the trade based on the registry of a popular web site, www.adultfriendfinder.com that pedde sexual activities over the Internet.

For the past two years, authorities have busted dozens of so-called cybersex dens in Angeles City, Baguio City, Zambales, La Union, Manila, Las Piñas City, Quezon City, and Davao City. Peoples Journal

Through e-centers, remote communities gain access to digital world

2006-02-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

UPI, Maguindanao. – Everyday after school hours, students mill around the community e-center (CeC) here. For only P20, roughly equivalent to a 13-kilometer jeepney fare, they can reach the farthest corners of the world or perhaps wander through the most popular tourist spots in Europe or the Carribean islands.

For 15-year-old high school student Shamera Nasim, P20 is all it takes to "transport" her to Saudi Arabia. "I always finish my research work as fast as I can so I will have time to spare talking to my mom," says Shamera, whose mother is an overseas worker in the Middle East. Shamera has not seen her mother for two years, and misses her sorely. But with the e-center, P20 goes a long way toward bridging the mother-daughter separation.

CeCs are facilities where, for a minimal fee, the public can access various information and communications technology services such as web browsing, email, voice service, and fax service. These centers serve as community libraries, points of access to distance education, business service centers, local, regional and international news services centers, and portals for various government services.

The e-centers, which look like Internet café cum business centers, have enriched the learning experience of students in the area who previously had access only to antiquated library materials. They have also augmented the resources provided by US Agency for International Development (USAID) to two schools in Upi. The Upi Agricultural School and the Nuro Central Elementary School, respectively, received ten and five Internet-connected computers, bundled with useful peripherals, through the USAID’s Computer Literacy and Internet Connection (CLIC) program. Selected teachers from these schools have likewise received computer skills training.

South Upi in Maguindanao province is considered as one of the underprivileged municipalities in the country. Although even basic necessities and standard infrastructure are lacking, the range of amenities available to local residents are expanding.

"The Upi CeC won 6th place in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Digital Opportunities Awards in 2005. The awards are given to outstanding projects on the advancement of computerization of both the government and the private sectors," says engineer Paulo Cagara, chair of the ICT Council, which manages the e-center.

The municipality of Upi is the site of the first (CeC) in the country. Launched in October 2004, the Upi CeC has made progress in making lives more comfortable for the Maguindanaoans, according to Cagara.

The e-center is a government and private sector partnership, and since its operations began, the people of Upi have enjoyed speedy communication services through facsimile and email, as well as reduced phone bill costs by using the new local telephone system. Most government employes, who previously had to travel to Cotabato City to have their documents processed by the Government Service Insurance System, can now apply for loans online.

The e-center also had a significant impact on local businesses. Business people, who had limited contact and little access to markets outside the municipality, can now arrange efficient domestic and overseas transactions through the CeC.

In fact, locally made baskets made by the indigenous Teduray tribe are being sold internationally through the Internet. Thanks to technology, product information on these baskets are posted in the local government unit’s website.

The USAID-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, which implements CLIC, is also instrumental in efforts to "wire" the previously inaccessible municipalities throughout Mindanao, especially in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In Upi, the GEM program provided technical support and assistance in configuring CeCs’ equipment. The local government, led by Mayor Ramon A Piang, Sr., allocated a computer set and a room for the CeC as counterpart.

In Malungon municipality, a predominantly rural community located in Sarangani province, technology has also made a stopover. Although only 23 of 31 barangays have access to power, an e-center was created as evidence of strong resolve to make Mindanao an ICT hub. Malaya

Cops nab robber preying on internet cafes

2006-02-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Star

Police arrested yesterday a member of a robbery gang reportedly responsible for robbing customers of internet shops in a follow-up operation in Manila.

The suspect was identified as Jenny Boy Gonzales, 22, a Batang City Jail gang member, of Tondo, Manila.

He was positively identified by at least six victims as one of four men who robbed them of cash and belongings while inside an internet station in Sta. Cruz, Manila Monday night, according to Sta. Cruz police station chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula.

Sapitula said Gonzales would initially pretend as a customer of an internet shop while looking for possible victims. Then he would give a signal to his companions waiting outside to barge in. The suspects who were usually armed with guns and knives would lock the shop from the inside before divesting the customers of their cash and valuables.

Sapitula said some of the internet stations the gang has recently struck were the Alsdaif Internet Cafe along Fugoso street., Sta. Cruz and the Fire in a Hole Internet Cafe in Sampaloc, Manila. The gang usually strikes at night, Sapitula said.

Patrons of internet and computer shops which are open till midnight are the favorite victims of robbery gangs. Students, who are mostly their victims, patronize these shops for their school assignments.

Sapitula advised internet shop operators to hire security guards to watch over their places since police are inadequate to secure all the internet shops in the city.

Charges of robbery-holdup were filed against the arrested suspect, while police operatives are now hunting down other members of the gang. – Nestor Etolle

Ubuntu founder asks gov't to support open source advocacy

2006-02-03T00:27:00.001-08:00

By Alexander Villafania, INQ7.net

The founder of the new Linux operating flavor called Ubuntu is urging governments to advocate open source technology, not just in a corporate setting but more on the average consumer level.

In the Philippine leg of his Asia-wide tour, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth said government should spearhead the use of open source platforms among ordinary consumers as an alternative method of home computing.

Shuttleworth emphasized consumer reaction to government use of technology as role model to its citizens. He also stressed that open source applications can be made immediately available to consumers who may need more cost-effective alternatives to costlier proprietary applications.

Educational institutions can also benefit from open source since many school-related applications can be customized and delivered faster, he added.

Its important that users can get accustomed to both proprietary and alternative platforms. Governments and educational institutions can do that, Shuttleworth observed.

The Ubuntu founder will be giving a series of talks in several Asian countries in the next few days.

During his one-day visit to the Philippines, Shuttleworth met with service providers and computer builders who could package Ubuntu Linux on their computers.

He also met with members of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology to discuss potential partnerships to advocate open source.

Though he did not specify numbers, Shuttleworth said the Philippines is one of the companys biggest distributorships in Asia Pacific. They were able to ship 57,000 CDs of Ubuntu Linux in the last 12 weeks, compared to just 52,000 in Australia and 16,000 in Japan

Researchers find worm infecting blogs

2006-02-03T00:27:00.000-08:00

Internet security researchers have found a new worm infecting blogs worldwide.

The blog worm, found at http://www.moox.nl/blogworm/, is currently being propagated manually by bloggers who are copying HTML code from the author's website and integrating it into their blogs.

The code includes a cute animated graphic of what appears to be a computer bug that says, "Hello," along with other messages, including how many blogs have already been infected.

The code also points back to the blog worm author's blog website.

This worm blog has apparently infected about 5,000 blogs, including one maintained by news.com, the author says in its website.

The blog worm also hopes to infect the real world through merchandising. It now sells t-shirts on the website.

The worm is actually an animated GIF image. Bloggers all over have embedded it in their blogs and link to the creator's Web site. To infect your blog, you have to copy and paste a piece of HTML code into your blog.

A blog entry on news.com (http://news.com.com/2061-10789_3-6031795.html) said that this might be funny.

"But on the flipside, however, there could be some security implications if the hoster of this worm decided to upload a malicious image that took control of the PC's that visit sites that show it. (Or if the hoster's site was hacked.)," the news.com blog posting said.

News.com quoted blog worm author Robin Schuil as saying that there are no malicious plans with the blog worm.

"However, it is a self mutating worm. From day to day it will say different things," the author told news.com.

Filipinos spend 2 to 4 hours playing online games

2006-01-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

FILIPINOS spend two to four hours playing online games, an executive of the local online game publisher Netplay told INQ7.net.

Filipinos have also been predominantly buying retail pre-paid cards prescribe a certain amount of time to play a game, instead of subscribing to online games and paying monthly or yearly fees.

"Players spend around 100 to 150 pesos a month on retail pre-paid cards," said Ludwig Santos, president of Netplay, local publisher of the massively multiplayer online game Priston Tale. "Being Filipinos, we still like 'tingi' (retail)," he added.

Priston Tale has about 500,000 registered users and an average of 1,000 new registrations a day.

Online game publishers are also resorting to more marketing gimmicks to promote loyalty among users.

Netplay recently signed up teen idol Angel Locsin to endorse Pristontale Philippines.

"I am not really playing online games. But when I learned about this game (Priston Tale), I got very excited. I can relate to this game because even girls like me can play this game," Locsin told INQ7.net in an official contract signing with Netplay.

Playing a Filipino version of a Wonder Woman-like heroine in Priston Tale, Locsin said that she particularly liked the game because she loves fantasy. She also plays a winged character in the local television and movie fantasy drama "Mulawin."

"I feel blessed to be chosen to endorse the game," Locsin added. "I will certainly tell parents not to be afraid of online games. Online games are a good place to find friends."

Netplay signed up Locsin to endorse the game because of feedback from players of Priston Tale, which has about 4,000 to 6,000 concurrent players in a day. An avatar will soon be created based on her character. She will also be available for online chats within the game soon, the game publisher said. Locsin is a talent for GMA Network, an Inq7 parent company.

According to the International Data Corp., Philippine online gaming revenues were predicted to hit 13.4 million dollars in 2005, an almost 50-percent increase from last year's nine million dollars.

The number of Philippine online gamers was anticipated to hit four million in 2005, a 33.9 percent increase from 2004.

IDC said that with its increasing popularity and the interest in online gaming, the Philippine online gaming industry is emerging as Southeast Asia's powerhouse.

The research firm pointed out that despite poor infrastructure support and service quality, piracy, foreseeable government regulation, and game genre saturation, the country's online gaming industry remains poised to evolve into a mature and consolidated, albeit price-conscious market.

IDC Philippines added that the popularity of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, the prevalence of Internet cafés, and the prepaid online gaming subscription model, were among the key factors that have contributed to the market's growth over the past two years.

IDC also showed that Filipino online gamers are usually quick to learn, Internet-savvy, community-oriented, content-focused, and updated on developments in online gaming

Weekly Monitoring/Inspection

2006-01-27T01:21:00.000-08:00

Weekly Monitoring/Inspection

New Keylogging Trojan Found

2006-01-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

PC Tools, creator of award-winning spyware removal and real-time protection software, today issued a warning for PC users worldwide about an updated version of the dangerous "Keylog-sters" Trojan Keylogger application that is currently stealing sensitive online data in more than 50 countries.

The Keylog-sters Trojan captures screenshots of any Web pages with login fields such as usernames and passwords, and then records the stolen data into a text file, subsequently uploading it to a private FTP server into a folder named after the infected user's country. Desktop computer users receive no obvious indicators that a computer has been infected, leaving many unaware of the potential security breach.

PC Tools anti-spyware application Spyware Doctor will identify the Keylog-sters Trojan if it has infected a PC and allow the user to quarantine or remove the application. More information about the threat can be found in PC Tools online Malware Research Center at: http://www.pctools.com/mrc/

Internet cafés to assist DTI

2006-01-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

By Elaine Ruzul S. Ramos - Manila Standard

Operators of Internet cafés in Metro Manila have offered their outlets as venues for registration of business names.

The Department of Trade and Industry said Internet cafés in Metro Manila can assist business clients in using DTI’s online business name registration service, the WeBNRS.

The Internet Café Association of the Philippines is interested to start it in Metro Manila.

DTI Secretary Peter Favila said the DTI has started training personnel from Internet cafés in assisting clients fill out the online forms.

“This is one way of promoting e-governance, that is making government service more accessible to the public through the use of the Internet, and we would like to thank this business sector in helping provide a speedier and accessible government processing procedure using their facilities and their manpower,” Favila said.

The tie-up with Internet café operators began as a pilot project in DTI provincial office in Rizal. Because of its successful implementation in the province, the DTI decided to replicate the project in Metro Manila

IMPLEMENTATION OF CITY ORDINANCES

2006-01-17T06:58:00.000-08:00

IMPLEMENTATION OF CITY ORDINANCES

To ensure smooth implementation of City Ordinances, City Councilor Edwin Piano, CSWD Head Gene Eclarino, Business Permit Head Norie Gomez met (first) with officers of OCCSA, then with Department of Education officials. In photo above, meeting took place in Dr. Ligaya Monato's District Office. In photo below, Councilor Piano and CSWD Officer Gene Eclarino explains to class advisers details of the ordinance.

As part of the implementation of city ordinances involving minors and students frequenting internet cafes during school hours, the following photos are posted for your perusal.

At around 10:30 this morning, city government employees equipped with video cameras and digital cameras visited two of the internet cafes reported to have been violating said city ordinance.

These Internet Cafes are Golden Stand and Net2Go. Since pictures speak a thousand words. See for yourself the situation inside said cafes.

A minor (right) entering into the internet cafe's private room

A young customer paying at the counter after playing computer game inside the cafe during school hour

Minors (some with uniform stashed in their school bag) being allowed even without Minor's Permit

A young out-of-school youth wandering inside the cafe

Based on the report of government representative and pictures herein posted, the city government is now studying appropriate administrative and legal action to be undertaken against violators of city ordinances.

At Golden Stand and Net2Go both in Rizal Avenue, high school and elementary students in their uniform are being allowed by the owner to get inside their business establishment even without the required Minor's Permit as stipulated in the ordinance.

BSA sees decline in RP software piracy

2005-12-18T16:44:00.000-08:00

A crackdown on software pirates and the government's public awareness campaign on software piracy has limited illegal use of computer software in the country to 71 percent, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said Tuesday.

Tarun Sawney, BSAs director of anti-piracy for Asia, said they expect the figure to go down further due to closer cooperation between the BSA and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Sawney told IPO director general Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. that continuing raids of IP inter-agencies, such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Optical Media Board (OMB), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are contributing to the decline of software piracy.

He said more than P19 million worth of software have been seized since the crackdown of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy team started in September.

The BSA , meanwhile, urged the IPO and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to monitor the use of pirated software among call centers and other industry associations. -- ABS CBN NEWS

NBI raids computer shops for using pirated software

2005-12-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Star

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) served three search warrants and confiscated 32 computer sets from two computer shops in Metro Manila for using pirated computer software on Friday.

Some 20 agents of the NBI-Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD), raided the Jacctags Computer Service, located at Unit 90-C and Unit 90-D Anonas Street, East Kamias, Aurora, Quezon City; and the Archisoft PC-911 Sales and Service at the second level of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) North Mall, Rizal Avenue Extension, Gracerpark, Caloocan City.

NBI agents seized 29 computers and 19 compact discs containing illegal Microsoft software programs from the two Jacctags stores while three computers were taken from PC-911 store. The total cost of the items reached P1.07 million.

The NBI would file copyright infringement and unfair competition charges against the owners of the establishments.

NBI-IPRD head agent Jose Justo Yap said the raid was in compliance with the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Teams (PAPT) campaign against software piracy which started Sept. 16.

In 2004, software piracy in the Philippines was pegged at 71 percent. Microsoft alone has reportedly lost P3.7 billion to piracy.

The NBI agents served the search warrants issued by Executive Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr., of the Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 24, at around noontime on Friday. The warrants were based on the complaint of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organization dedicated to combating software piracy.

Yap said they conducted a surveillance on the subjects upon receiving a complaint from the BSA that the establishments were using pirated software. After confirming their suspicion, they immediately secured the necessary warrants.

In an earlier raid on computer shops last Nov. 24, the NBI also seized 286 computers worth P10 million from three branches of a popular chain of Internet cafes located in shopping malls in the metropolis.

Yap said the computer units of at least three branches of Excel, owned by Expressions Center for Learning (ECL), reportedly contained unauthorized reproductions or copies of unlicensed Microsoft software programs. Evelyn Macairan

CICT appoints new head to manage the '.ph' spat

2005-12-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

By Alexander F. Villafania INQ7.net

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) has appointed a new director to oversee the still ongoing .ph spat.CICT Deputy Commissioner Lorenzo Formoso III, appointed by the Office of the President to his post last month, has been assigned to lead the meetings on the .ph redelegation proceedings.

Formoso takes over the responsibility from Commissioner Damien Domingo Mapa, who is currently busy with several other CICT concerns that includes membership in the congressional technical working group on the automated election proposal.

Formoso was formerly the chief legal and compliance officer of the mobile services operator Chikka.

CICT Chairperson Virgilio Peña told reporters that Formoso has an extensive legal background in the IT industry, which made him a prime choice to head the .ph discussions.

So far, were still discussing with group members of the .ph debate on the re-delegation. We dont need to start from scratch since Formoso is already updated on the issue, Peña said.

Peña said that he discussed re-delegation of the .ph top-level domain with Paul Twomey, president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Twomey was open to the possibility of the re-delegation but recommended that its stakeholders find a less-disruptive way of transferring power.

It means we have ascertain .ph clients are not happy with the management of the domain and then we could proceed to ask ICANN to re-delegate it. That is why were looking at ways to bring this to a win-win-win situation for the current .ph administrator, the government and the local Internet users, Peña said.

The .ph domain name is currently administered by DotPH owned by Joel Disini. DotPH acts as both administrator and registrar of .ph, an arrangement questioned by many Internet users who say that these two responsibilities should be split into two and administered accordingly.

NBI raids 3 Internet cafes, seizes P10 M in computers

2005-12-02T03:08:00.000-08:00

By RIZAL S. OBANIL, Manila Bulletin

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted simultaneous raids on three Internet cafes, leading to the seizure of some P10 million worth of computers recently in Manila, Mandaluyong, and Quezon City.

Raided were the branches of Expressions Center for Learning or Excel located at the 4th floor of SM Manila, Arroceros St., Manila; 2nd Floor, EDSA Central Pavilion Mall, Edsa Central Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City; and at the Food Court on the basement of Ali Mall, Araneta Center in Cubao.

The NBI Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD), headed by lawyer Jose Justo Yap, said the raids were conducted at around 12 noon of Thursday last week. Government agents confiscated 286 desktop computers loaded with fake soft-ware.

Yap said the raids were conducted following the end of a moratorium implemented by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) last Sept. 16.

He said this was the first time the NBI division conducted raids on Internet cafes after Microsoft, a member company of BSA, filed a complaint. He added that the three establishments raided were the biggest of the 44 branches which Excel has in the country.

There are 20 Excel Internet cafes located in Metro Manila while the remaining 24 branches are located in nearby provinces.

Yap said the computer software industry loses some P3.7 billion annually to piracy. He said this is because 71 percent of computer users in the country use pirated soft-ware.

Yap clarified that they have not conducted raids on Internet cafes before and that the simultaneous raids should serve as a warning to other shops.

Yap said the NBI raiders also confiscated software for Windows XP, Windows 98, Micro-soft Office, Windows Special Edition and Microsoft 2002 from the said establishments. Charges for violationg the Intellectual Property Rights Code, particularly for use of unlicensed software will be slapped against the owner of the establishments.

Concerned Parents targets new rise in video game violence

2005-11-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON -- Backed by gruesome shots of computerized cannibalism, police beatings and violence, campaigners Tuesday warned parents that their children were increasingly at risk from "sadistic" video games.

Senator Hillary Clinton and former vice presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman meanwhile launched new legislation intended protect kids from graphic, violent and sexual material on their game consoles.

The National Institute on Media and the Family said in its annual report that video game retailors had failed to honor promises to safeguard children from violent and sexual content in new generation video games.

"There has been significant industry progress and reforms over the last decade, but ever more violent and sadistic games are still ending up in the hands of children," said the institute's president David Walsh.

Walsh called gave the video game industry a grade of "D+" over the last decade as regards protecting children, and called on retailers to embrace an independent ratings system for games.

"Retailers would rather appear as if they care about children instead of actually small steps to protect them," said Walsh.

Walsh concluded his presentation by showing video footage of games featuring police shootings, violence, graphic language and even cannibalism.

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), an industry self regulatory body was not working, Walsh said, and warned that boys as young as nine-years-old were often able to buy 'M' or mature rated video games.

Clinton sprung into action after a controversy earlier this year involving the latest edition of the "Grand Theft Auto" game which could be modified to include graphic sex with a modification called "Hot Coffee" available on the Internet.

"I have developed legislation that will empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content," said Clinton, a possible 2008 presidential candidate.

"Today's report is yet further proof that we need to make sure parents have the tools and support they need to make informed decisions for their children."

The legislation would make it a crime for any business to sell or rent a Mature, Adults Only or Ratings pending game to anyone younger than seventeen.

On Monday, the gaming industry said Sony's next-generation PlayStation 3 would join the new Microsoft Xbox 360 in giving parents tools to limit access to computer games deemed too risqué or violent.

http://www.jever-online.de/lcirc97/lccg.htm

New Internet opportunities among enterprises--Nortel

2005-11-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

By Alexander F. Villafania, INQ7.net

NETWORK equipment company Nortel is expecting an eventual surge in demand for new consolidated Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications technologies in the Philippines as more enterprises streamline their communications infrastructure.
One of the new technologies Nortel is expected to grow in the Philippines is Session-Initiated Protocol (SIP), which consolidates several types of communication protocols through a combination of software and hardware.

For instance, a mobile phone call can be pushed to a landline such as an office or home number. A call can also be initiated during a conference call while running a chat or download manager in the background. Likewise, an SIP service enables video calls to be initiated while running several other communications applications simultaneously.

Nortel Asia Pacific product and solutions marketing manager Mitch Radomir said many firms in the Philippines have already deployed IP-based communications systems allowing for voice-over-IP communications. While this cuts down on the cost of phone calls, he said SIP services would further reduce expenses on infrastructure upgrade while maintaining existing equipment.

SIP hardware and software can just be placed on top of an available infrastructure, which may have different communications protocols. Once an SIP solution is in place, all communications can be consolidated into one seamless network, Radomir said.

Nortel recently introduced its Multimedia Communications Server 5100, an SIP-ready solution targeted at enterprise IP users. It has audio-video conferencing, file exchange, messenger, and call screening features, among others. The MCS 5100 can execute communications protocols on bandwidth of only 128 kilobits per second.

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Justices of 5 nations to take part in video conference, first in RP judiciarys history, says Conference Chairman Panganiban

By REY G. PANALIGAN, MB

Unprecedented in the history of the Philippine judiciary, chief justices and senior magistrates in five countries will discuss in a live video conference the judicial reforms instituted by their judiciaries on education, compensation, and selection of judges.

The historical event will be held Tuesday, next week, the second day of the three-day International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms (ICSJR) at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.

Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, conference chairman and moderator in the video conference, said the event will be participated in by Filipino trial court judges in three locations Baguio City in Luzon, Cebu City in the Visayas, and Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao.

The live video conference will be from two points Washington DC, in the United States and Makati City in the Philippines.

Aside from discussing reforms on education, compensation, and selection of judges, the video conference will also explore reform initiatives that address issues on judicial independence, integrity, transparency, accountability, efficiency, and access to justice, Panganiban said.

Participating in the video conference in Washington, DC, are Justices Sandra Day OConnor, Stephen Brayer, and Anthony M. Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.

On the Makati City panel are Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr., Supreme Court of the Philippines; Justice William Ian Corneil Binnie, Supreme Court of Canada; Deputy Chief Justice Paulus Effendi Lotulong, Supreme Court of Indonesia; and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Expected to participate in Baguio City, Cebu City, and Cagayan de Oro City are judges of the regional trial courts, metropolitan trial courts, municipal circuit trial courts, municipal courts, municipal trial courts in cities, and Sharia courts.

A total of 17 chief justices and heads of delegation from 45 countries, including the Philippines, will speak and lecture in the three-day ICSJR. Twelve other members of foreign judiciaries and agencies in the justice system are also set to deliver lectures in the conference that officially starts on Monday next week.

So far, 119 participants have confirmed attendance in what is said to be the biggest gathering of Chief Justices in Asia.

The conference also seeks to identify areas of collaboration among Asia-Pacific justices, judges, and legal institutions to promote judicial reform and institutionalize a knowledge-sharing and management mechanism through the organization of an Asia-Pacific Judicial Reform Network.

Among the Philippine Judiciarys reform projects to be showcased are the strengthening of the Philippine Judicial Academy, the Program Management Office, and the Public Information Office, and the implementation of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Code of Conduct for Court Personnel.

Also to be showcased are reform projects of other countries which the Philippines has adopted, such as the mobile courts, computerization of court processes and record-keeping, and improvements of Halls of Justice.

Sponsored by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the conference is organized by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through its Program Management Office (PMO). The countries which have so far confirmed their participation are Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Cambodia, China, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Economic Court of the Common Wealth of Independent States;

Egypt, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Venezuela.

Managing the conference is the Supreme Court Committee on Knowledge Sharing and International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms chaired by Justice Panganiban. The committee members are Justices Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez, Antonio T. Carpio, Adolfo S. Azcuna, and PHILJA Chancellor Ameurfina A. Melencio Herrera, and Assistant Court Administrator and PIO chief Atty. Ismael G. Khan Jr. PMO Program Director Evelyn Toledo Dumdum is the conference secretary

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Senate bill seeks cheap, widespread use of VoIP

By Veronica Uy INQ7.net

THE CHEAP and widespread use of voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), especially among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Philippine-based business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, is being sought by Senator Manuel Roxas II.

In Senate Bill 2166 filed on Monday, the co-chairman of the oversight committee on e-commerce said current laws, specifically Republic Act 7925 otherwise known as the Public Telecommunications Policy Act, must be amended so that consumers are provided wider choices and their welfare promoted.

He said old laws have been rendered ineffective or obsolete by changing business models, consumer demands and technological innovation.

Roxas said the bill would require any person or entity seeking to provide VOIP for public use and for compensation to first register as such with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The bill supports an earlier decision by the NTC to regulate VOIP.

Heated debates over the use of VOIP as a telecommunications service or a value-added service were followed by an NTC memorandum, dated March 29 this year, setting the regulatory status of VOIP and concluding that VOIP is a value-added service (VAS).

The NTC memo defined VAS as enhanced services beyond those ordinarily provided by local exchange and inter-exchange operators and overseas carriers through circuit switched networks.

In earlier Senate hearings, the NTC said OFWs, exporters, and call centers are among the heavy users of VoIP because of its low communications cost. The commission further said this necessitated the regulation of VOIP and development of new applications and services to enhance Philippine competitiveness in the global ICT market.

For his part, however, Roxas pointed out that interpretation of the law is not the key issue. Market forces and technology have already overtaken certain provisions of the law, he said.

Until Congress comes up with its own clear definition, this is the policy position of the NTC that VOIP is not a traditional voice service, that it is not subject to capture by the telcos or the telecommunication companies. But on the other hand, it is now the market that is already ahead of us, rendering some provisions of our laws obsolete.

There is an immediate need to modernize some provisions of our existing laws to catch up with the trend. But Congress must see to it that our OFWs, call center operators, and exporters or the consumers in general will continue to benefit and will not be taken advantage [of] by unscrupulous businessmen, Roxas said.

His bill defines VOIP as all types of voice communication using Internet Protocol technology instead of the traditional circuit switched technology.

Roxas said VOIP enables users from different parts of the world to engage in voice conversations, even from long distances, without having to pass through part or all of the telecommunications facilities which charge much higher fees for the use of their networks.

Using VOIP lowers communication cost. It enables our OFWs to communicate with their loved ones as often as they want, our BPOs and exporters to transact businesses at lower cost, making them even more competitive, he said.

The Senate committee on public services is set to invite telecommunication firms Smart, Globe and Digitel to the next hearing.

According to NTC, parallel moves to push for VOIP regulation have also been filed at the House of Representatives.

Re: minors doing research

2005-11-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

Kung pagbabasehan yong lumang ordinansa, sa section 2 nakalagay bawal at walang stipulated exemptions

Meron na tayong bagong ordinansa, Ordinace 75 series of 2005 "Amending Ord 14 s2001"

Bagama't d pa fully implemented ay maaari nang gamitin ang form or permit (downloadable sa www.subicbay.ph/intergapo) upang kapag nag saturation drive muli ang DSWD at PNP/COPS ay mayroong black & white na maipapakita na talagang may legitimate work na gagawin ang students sa internet cafes. Only then can exemptions can be granted.

ed piano (IT board)

From: dolly vibar qsg1053@yahoo.com
Date: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:36 am
Subject: Re: [intergapo] minors

sa ngayon, the general rule is BAWAL.

We have a new city ordinance po effectivity is on Jan 2006. Magkakaroon na po tayo ng parang permit para po sa mga ganitong cases.

dolly

----- Original Message -----
From: amin ahy
To: intergapo@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 9:06 AM
Subject: [intergapo] minors

dear all

tanong ko lang kung,pano yung high school students na gustong mag research during school hours,di pa rin ba sila puedeng papasukin sa internet shops kasi minors pa sila?thnks....

jojo alonso(g.hgts.area)

Microsoft lets ‘Net cafes buy cheaper Windows licenses

2005-11-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

MICROSOFT Philippines will allow Internet cafes to purchase the cheaper, original commercial equipment manufacturer (COEM) license for Windows, but for a limited time only, officials announced on Friday.

Microsoft said that this move was in response to the clamor from Internet shop owners who recently had difficulty purchasing the original Microsoft Windows operating system due to an alleged shortage of supply in the local market after a government crackdown on unlicensed software.

Microsoft Philippines licensing specialist Jasmin So said that the COEM for the Windows operating system will be available to Internet cafes and other consumers until November 30, 2005.

"The COEM licenses can now be bought by the public without the need to purchase the bundled hardware. This is in response to the clamor for Windows software by the public. This is one way we can help them," added Mae Rivera-Moreno, Microsoft Philippines PR and community affairs manager.

Microsoft Philippines has been going around the country for feedback from Internet shop owners after the government crackdown, Rivera-Moreno said.

Philippine distributor Wordtext Systems Inc. said last month that it saw a surge in demand for the Microsoft Windows operating system in September, when a government deadline to force local establishments to legitimize their software expired.

"We saw a 300-percent increase in sales order[s] in September due to the government crackdown," said Juan Chua, president of Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI), a local distributor of software and hardware products in the Philippines.

The shortage of Microsoft's Windows operating system was felt in the last two to three weeks, Chua said.

The National Bureau of Investigation, Optical Media Board, and Philippine National Police entered a partnership with the Business Software Alliance for the enforcement campaign against violators of the intellectual property rights of its members, among them large software firms like Microsoft.

The anti-piracy campaign gave local businesses a grace period to stop using unlicensed software, starting August 15. The deadline expired September 15.

Last September, a newly-formed alliance of Internet shops initially known as the Progressive People's Net, asked government for a moratorium on the ongoing crackdown, considering the shortage of Microsoft software.

A statement by the Business Software Alliance said that it was up to law enforcement agencies whether to consider a moratorium on its ongoing crackdown on software pirates.

Meanwhile many Philippine Internet shops took down their billboards and closed shop in September when government began its crackdown on local establishments using unlicensed software.

With unconfirmed reports of ongoing raids of Internet shops in the provinces and cities, several Internet shop owners have expressed fear, frustration, and confusion over the government campaign.

One local Internet shop owner and president of a local association of Internet cafes in the Philippines said that the majority of Internet shop owners have been forced to close down because they simply cannot afford to buy new software licenses.

Microsoft makes fresh move to Web, challenging Google, Yahoo

2005-11-06T02:59:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK--Microsoft is making a fresh move to bring more services to the Internet in a bid to fend off challenges from rivals like Google and Yahoo that could chip away at the customer base of the world's biggest software firm.

Microsoft recently unveiled a strategy for Web services based on its flagship Windows and Office products.

The company will offer "Office Live" to help small and midsize businesses use and maintain the suite of software used for applications such as e-mail, scheduling, spreadsheets and word processing.

"This is a big change for everybody," Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in announcing the move. "It is employing every part of the [software] ecosystem."

Analysts are divided on the new approach by Microsoft, which will initially support the services through advertising but may eventually go to subscription models.

Carmi Levy of the research firm Info-Tech said Microsoft's announcement means "the end of shrink-wrapped software in a box and the start of the Internet-based services era. It marks a turning point in the industry."

Levy added that Microsoft "could not afford to sit by and do nothing while Google and Yahoo established themselves in that market [as leaders] in Web services and advertising."

Analysts said Microsoft needed to offer a Web version of its Office software -- including word processing and spreadsheets -- to counter a move by Google and Sun Microsystems on the open-source rival called OpenOffice developed by Sun. Although Microsoft's Windows operating system is used on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, the company has to fear efforts to circumvent Windows by going directly to the Internet.

This system would allow customers to use word processors or other applications on the Internet and store documents on a secure website instead of on a PC drive.

Jason Maynard, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said: "With this event, it's apparent that Microsoft understands the reality of the Web as a platform [for] user-centric computing and advertising-based business models." Maynard added: "While much work needs to be done, we were impressed with the thoughtfulness and broadness of the offering. This event marks the real start of the 'on-demand' battles."

The move revived an attempt made several years ago by Microsoft to expand its Internet services in a program known as .NET, or "Hailstorm," that floundered amid privacy concerns about its authentication process, called Passport. Joe Wilcox at Jupiter Research was more skeptical about the latest Microsoft strategy.

"Advertisers looking to extend their brands might think twice about being associated with products that could create disgruntled customers," Wilcox said. He noted that consumers "may not be as forgiving" about glitches in the services.

"In the offline world, there are huge expectations about services like water, electricity and telephony working right," he said. "People get mad when the lights go out. If the online services don't deliver, switching brand affiliation would be as easy as switching services, and there are plenty of places offering the kind of stuff Microsoft plans for Live."

NBI warns homeowners vs fake anti-piracy agents

2005-10-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

By Evelyn Macairan The Philippine Star

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is going after bogus agents who have been using the intensified campaign against computer software piracy to extort money from individual users with pirated software programs.

Head Agent Jose Justo Yap, of the NBI-Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD), said yesterday they have been receiving complaints from homeowners who claimed NBI agents raided their homes and extorted money from them.

The complaints came after the NBI and Optical Media Board (OMB) launched an intensified crackdown on software piracy last Sept. 16 with the creation of the "Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team" composed by the NBI and OMB agents.

"Immediately after, we began receiving complaints," Yap said.

He said the fake agents might have taken advantage of the crackdown to dupe homeowners, who were threatened with confiscation of their computer units and the filing of charges unless they pay up.

Yap clarified that the drive focuses on companies, computer stores and Internet cafes. Individual users are spared from the crackdown and are in fact allowed to have back up files of programs in case their system bogs down.

In the first place, he pointed out, residential owners should not allow NBI agents or any representatives of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) into their home and remove their individual computers unless they can produce an identification card and a search warrant.

"Dont let them into your home right away. Always ask for a warrant issued by a court. If there is no warrant then that means the operation is illegal. Only buybust operations are exempted from producing a warrant," Yap explained.

He advised victims of the scam to immediately report the incident to the authorities.

Yap admitted that the complaints are not limited to Metro Manila.

The NBI-IPRD chief said he even circulated a memorandum to their regional and district offices, particularly addressed to the regional directors and the agents-in-charge of the investigation, to be alert and monitor reports of similar scams.

print w/ prescribed form and distribute b4 session

2005-10-25T04:10:00.000-07:00

Proposed Amendment to Ordinance 14 series of 2001

LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF ALL COMPUTER RELATED ESTABLISHMENT/INTERNET STATIONS

To keep up with the times, to efficiently regulate computer related establishments, to effectively oversee minors and minimize if not eradicate truancy; The following provisions of Ordinance 14 series of 2001is amended as follows:

SECTION 2. Limitations

2.1 Shop-Keepers/Operators/Manager/Owner shall not allow minors (17 years old and below) during school hours to enter their facilities except in the following conditions:

2.1.1 When parents, legal guardian or school officials accompany the minor.

2.1.2 When the minor presents a valid permit duly authenticated by school principal or truant officers. * The permit (in the format prescribed herein and downloadable from www.subicbay.ph/intergapo) must be properly filled up using ball pen or other non-erasable writing instrument, presented, verified, and notes specifying time of entry clearly written on the permit for inspection purposes. Failure of the Shop-keepers, Operators, Manager/Owner to write the minor's time of entry will be ground for Imposition of Fines, Suspension, Cancellation and or Non-Renewal of License as the case maybe. * College students who are below 18 yrs old shall simply present a valid (un-expired) student ID and permit signed by their parents or guardian.

2.2 Recommended maximum allowable playing time (per day) for minors

2.2.1 During School days: two (2) hours

2.2.2 Weekends / Holidays: four (4) hours

2.2.3 Students conducting research or writing reports/thesis must have such activity written in the permit in order to get exemption from recommended time limits.

2.3 Minors must be released by Shop-Keepers/Operators/Manager/Owner thirty (30) minutes before curfew hours, except if parents or legal guardian accompanies the minor

2.4 Operators/Managers/Owners must not allow gambling, access to pornographic websites, cybersex or other form of prostitution, consumption of intoxicating substances and other illegal activities in their establishment.

2.5 Provisions of Ordinance 46, series of 1995 and ordinance No.65, series of 2001 that prohibit the sale of liquors to minors and the sale/consumption of cigar and cigarettes shall be strictly enforced by owner or his representative within their business premises.

SECTION 15. Surveillance.

15.1 The city, upon receipt of information, complaints and /or report, may monitor the alleged illegal activities of the establishment (employment of minors, of foreigners without proper documentation, overcharging, operation of business activities not covered in the affidavit of undertaking, unaccompanied minors, fronts for showing lewd or pornographic flicks, etc.)

15.2 No monitoring may be conducted unless authorized by the Mayor or his/her duty authorized representative.

15.3 Officially designated inspectors from business permit office that fails to submit report after inspection and file appropriate charges to violators will be charged with dereliction of duty.

15.4 When entry of designated inspectors to Internet cafes is not accompanied by video/digital camera, the proceedings must be recorded and web-casted by web camera of the subject Internet Cafe for the Truant and Telecom Board officers to witness the on-going activity.

15.5 A section especially for minors shall be designated in each shop for effective monitoring of the same.

15.6 Under no circumstances shall customers of computer shops be allowed access to private office or secret space within the business establishment. Private rooms and cubicles will not be tolerated and will subject the business to immediate closure.

15.7 The Office of the City Mayor, DSWD, Business Permit, Truant and/or Telecom Board officers shall have access to view individual internet cafe's web cam immediately upon receiving report of suspicious or illegal activity. Shop-Keepers/Operators/Manager/Owner who refuses access will subject the business to penalties stipulated in this ordinance. Applicable provisions of Ordinance 33 series of 2002 also known as Truancy Ordinance shall be strictly enforced.

SECTION 19. Penalties for Violation.

The City shall impose fines for violations of this Ordinance in accordance with the following schedules:

a) First offense PhP 5, 000.00

b) Second offense PhP 5, 000.00 plus one (1) week suspension

c) Third offense PhP 5, 000.00 plus one (1) month suspension

d) 4th offense Closure and Cancellation of Permit

SECTION 10. Compliance with the Affidavit of Undertaking

10.2 Sample of the Affidavit is hereto attached as an integral part of this Ordinance.

The affidavit of Undertaking shall be reviewed and updated to conform to the amendments introduced herein.

IMPOSSIBLE IS JUST A BIG WORD

2005-10-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

THROWN AROUND BY SMALL MEN WHO FIND IT EASIER TO LIVE IN THE WORLD THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN THAN TO EXPLORE THE POWER THEY HAVE , TO CHANGE IT.

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A FACT,
IT'S AN OPINION.
IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A DECLARATION
IT'S A DARE,
IMPOSSIBLE IS TEMPORARY,

IMPOSSIBLE IS POTENTIAL,

IMPOSSIBLE ITSELF HAS IN IT.... I M POSSIBLE.

SO TAKE CHARGE......

AND START DOING ALL THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS IMPOSSIBLE

Proposed Amendment to Ordinance 14 series of 2001

2005-10-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

Proposed Amendment to Ordinance 14 series of 2001

LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF ALL COMPUTER RELATED ESTABLISHMENT/INTERNET STATIONS

2.1 Shop-Keepers/Operators/Manager/Owner shall not allow minors (17 years old and below) during school hours to enter their facilities except in the following conditions:

When parents, legal guardian or school officials accompany the minor.
When the minor presents a valid permit duly authenticated by school principal or truant officers. * the permit (in the format prescribed herein) must be properly filled up using ball pen or other non-erasable writing instrument, presented, verified, and notes specifying time of entry clearly written on the permit for inspection purposes. Failure of the Shop-keepers, Operators, Manager/Owner to write the minor's time of entry will be ground for Imposition of Fines, Suspension, Cancellation and or Non-Renewal of License as the case maybe.

Download Form at http://subicbay.ph/intergapo/intergapo.pdf

2.2 MAXIMUM Allowable playing time (per day) for MINORS

During School days two (2) hours
Weekends / Holidays four (4) hours

* Students conducting research or writing reports/thesis must have such activity written in the permit in order to get exemption from time limits.

2.3 Minors must be released by Shop-Keepers/Operators/Manager/Owner thirty (30) minutes before curfew hours, except if parents or legal guardian accompanies the minor

2.4 Operators/Managers/Owners must not allow gambling, cybersex or other form of prostitution, consumption of intoxicating substances and other illegal activities in their establishment.

2.5 Provisions of Ordinance 46, series of 1995 and ordinance No.65, series of 2001 which prohibit the sale of liquors to minors and the sale of cigar and cigarettes shall be strictly enforced.

Section 9. Imposition of Fines Suspension, Cancellation and or Non-Renewal of License

SECTION 19. Penalties for Violation.

The City shall impose fines for violations of this Ordinance in accordance with th following schedules:

PROPOSAL

a) PhP 1,000 - First offense 5k

b) Php 2,500 - Second offence 5k w/ 1 week suspension

c) Php 5,000 - Third offense 5k w/ 1 month suspension

4th offense closure

====================================

SECTION 15. Surveillance.

15.1 The city, upon receipt of an information, complaints and /or report, may monitor the alleged illegal activities of the establishment (employment of minors, of foreigners without proper documentation, overcharging, operation of business activities not covered in the affidavit of undertaking, unaccompanied minors, fronts for showing lewd or pornographic flicks, etc.)

15.2 No monitoring may be conducted unless authorized by the Mayor or his/her duty authorized representative.

Officially designated inspectors from business permit office who fails to submit report after inspection and file appropriate charges to violators will be charged with dereliction of duty.

Entry of designated inspectors to Internet cafes must be recorded and web-casted by web camera for the Truant and Telecom Board officers to witness the on-going activity.

A section especially for minors shall be designated in each shop for effective monitoring of the same.

Under no circumstances shall customers of computer shops be allowed access to private office or secret space within the business establishment. Private rooms and cubicles will not be tolerated and will subject the business to immediate closure.

The Office of the City Mayor, DSWD, Business Permit, Truant and/or Telecom Board officers shall have access to view individual internet cafe's web cam immediately upon receiving a report of suspicious or illegal activity. Shop-Keepers/Operators/Manager/Owner who refuses access will subject the business to penalties stipulated in this ordinance. Applicable provisions of Ordinance 33 series of 2002 also known as Truancy Ordinance shall be strictly enforced.

SECTION 10. Compliance with the Affidavit of Undertaking

10.1 Managers/Proprietors/Operators of Computer related establishment/Internet Stations are hereby required to execute an Affidavit of Undertaking

10.2 Sample of the Affidavit is hereto attached as an integral part of this Ordinance.

Review/update undertaking . . .

City Ord #14s2001 and other related ordinances

2005-10-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

FROM OCCSA

Section 2 Limitation to Minors

Operators/Managers/Owners shall not allow minors (17 years and below) during school hours to stay and use the facilities and services:
Recommendation:

Operators/Managers/Owners shall not allow elementary and high school students during their specific respective schools class schedules to stay and use the facilities and services with the exclusion of the out of school youth.

Minors, ages seventeen (17) years and below are allowed to stay and use the facilities and services on Saturdays from opening hour until 10:00 PM and on Sundays from opening hour to 9 PM. On holidays, the same will be allowed to stay and use the facilities and services until 10:00 PM.
Recommendation:

Elementary and High school students are allowed to stay and use the facilities and services on Saturdays from opening hour until 10:00 PM and on Sundays from opening hour to 9 PM. On holidays, the same will be allowed to stay and use the facilities and services until 10:00 PM.

Operators/Managers/Owners must not allow gambling in their establish ment.
Recommendation:

Operators/Managers/Owners must not allow gambling and cybersex in their establishment.

======================================================

ORDINANCE NO. 33, S 2002

EXCERPTS FROM THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE
SANGGUNIANG PANGLUNSOD OF OLONGAPO, HELD ON
OCTOBER 30,2002, AT THE CITY HALL.

PRESENT:

Hon. Cynthia G. Cajudo --------- Vice-Mayor & Presiding Officer
Hon. Gregorio M. Elane --------- City Councilor
Hon. Rolen C. Paulino -----------
Hon. Angelina B. Andrada-------
Hon. Teodoro D. Del Rosario----
Hon. Anselmo A. Aquino---------
Hon. Gregorio A. Manlicmot-----
Hon. Edwin J. Piano---------------
Hon. Rexy Gregorio Cruz---------
Hon. Bella P. Ssuncion-------------

ABSENT:

Hon. Noel Y. Atienza- - - - - - - - City Councilor
( on Official Business )

Hon. Napoleon F. Capistrano - - - President, Liga ng mga Barangay
( on official Business )

Hon. Robine Rose C. Buenafe- - - Sk Federation President
( On official Business )

WHEREAS, the City hammers out the details to come up with a comprehensive Approach for the development, survival and protection of minors;

WHEREAS, as such, the City conducts series of Consultations, meetings and Periodic reviews on factor that may affect their welfare and development;

WHEREAS, however, despite these endeavors, the city still receives reports that many high school students and elementary pupils spend precious school hours in internet cafes or computer shops or billiard halls instead of being in classrooms;

WHEREAS, furthermore, reports regarding violations of business establishment and sari-sari stores on the provisions of Ordinance 46, series of 1995 and ordinance No.65, series of 2001 which prohibit the sale of liquors to minors and the sale of cigar and cigarettes, respectively pose as threats to the physical well-being of the younger generation of the City;

WHEREAS, the City also observed that this concern had been compounded by the existence of establishments uncalled for at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) like tiangges, carnival and refreshment stalls selling liquor, cigar and of cigarettes and other recreational activities open during nighttime. The deliberate neglect of SBMA to regulate such business operations and their gross insensitivity for the Citys concern for minors, necessitate the strict enforcement of curfew;

WHEREAS, the deliberate violation and difference of computer shop, internet café, billiard halls, sari-sari stores and other establishment in the city to comply with ordinances and orders plus the existence of activities inside the Freeport that may threaten the physical and morale well-being of minors, all in pursuit of business growth, call for the vigilance of the whole citizenry in the network of individuals prime to handle the concerns and issues of minors;

WHEREAS, since the welfare and safety of minors in the city is of utmost importance, the City Government of Olongapo deems it proper to authorize Honorable City Mayor, Katherine H. Gordon, to deputized Barangay Captains, Council Men, and Barangay Tanods, School Principals of both private and public schools, Class Advisers, Homeroom PTA Presidents and all School Guidance Councilors as Truant Officers commission to report and monitor the operation of computer shops, internet cafes, billiard halls, sari-sari stores and other establishments and relation with the Citys endeavors to protect the welfare of minors and thereby turnover truants and violators to the Barangay and Police authorities;

NOW THEREFORE, with the unanimous accord of the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod present,

RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, by the Sangguniang Panlungsod in session assembled, to enact the following ordinance:

ORDINANCE NO. 33
(Series of 2002)

A ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE HONORABLE CITY MAYOR, KATHERINE H. GORDON TO DEPUTIZED BARANGAY CAPTAINS, COUNCIL MEN, AND BARANGAY TANODS, SCHOOL PRINCIPALS OF BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CLASS ADVISORS, HOMEROOM PTA PRESIDENTS AND ALL SCHOOL GUIADANCE COUNCILORS AS TRUANT OFFICERS COMMISSION TO TURNOVER TRUANTS TO BARANGAY OR POLICE AUTHORITIES, TO REPORT AND CHECK IF BUSINESSES SUCH AS COMPUTER SHOPS, INTERNET CAFES, BILLIARD HALLS, SARI-SARI STORES AND OTHER ESTABLISHMENTS COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS SET BY THE CITY TO PROTECT THE WELFARE OF MINORS.

BE IT ORDAINED, BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, THAT:

SECTION 1. Authorization be provided to the City Mayor deputized a network of Truant officers composed of Barangay Captains, Council Men and Barangay Tanods, School Principals of both private and public schools, Class Advisers, Homeroom PTA Presidents and all School Guidance Councilors.

SECTION 2. That said truant officers shall report to the office of the City Mayor any violation of the above mentioned, businesses pursuant to the provision stated in Ordinance No. 46, Series of 1995, Ordinance No. 65, Series of 2001, Section 2 and 10 of Ordinance No. 14, Series of 2002, insure that curfew for minors is enforce and turn over truants to Barangay or Police authorities for their corresponding community work and / or counseling sections.

SECTION 3. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.

APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY, October 30 2002

================================================

LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF ALL COMPUTER RELATED ESTABLISHMENT/INTERNET STATIONS

EXCERPT FROM THE MINUTE OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE
SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF OLONGAPO, HELD ON
FEBRUARY 28, 2001, AT THE CITY HALL

PRESENT;

Hon. Cynthia G. Cajudo --------------------- Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer
Hon. Gregorio M. Elane ---------------------- City Councilor
Hon. Alreuela M. Bundang-Ortiz ------------
Hon. Angelina B. Andrada --------------------
Hon. Erlinda G. Crispin -----------------------
Hon. Ernesto G. Asuncion --------------------
Hon. Julian G. Buenafe , Jr. -------------------
Hon. Teodoro D. del Rosario -----------------
Hon. Rolen C. Paulino -------------------------
Hon. Mamerto B. Malabute -------------------
Hon. Gregorio A. Manglicmot ----------------
Hon. Napoleon F. Capistrano ----------------- President, Liga ng mga Barangay
Hon. Marey Beth D. Marzan ------------------ SK Federation President

ABSENT:

None

ORDINANCE NO. 14
(Series of 2001)

AN ORDINANCE SETTING FORTH RULES AND REGULATIONS TO GOVERN THE OPERATION, LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF ALL COMPUTER RELATED ESTABLISHMENT/INTERNET STATIONS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNSOD IN SESSION ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1. Classification of Business Activities- For purposes of this Ordinance, the following shall be classified as :

1.1 Computer Services establishment engaged in computer tutorial, printing service, programming and system development , internet access, IT Consultancy, connectivity and networking, web development, computer games, play stations and trouble shooting and repair of computers beyond warranty.

1.2 Computers Sales and Rentals establishments engaged in selling of computer accessories, computer rentals, scanning and other similar services not mentioned in 1.1 of Section of this Ordinance.

SECTION 2. Limitations to Minors

2.1 Operators/ Manager/Owner shall not allow minors (17 years and below) during school hours to stay and used the facilities and services.

2.2 Minors, ages seventeen (17) years and below are not allowed to stay and use the facilities and services on Saturdays from opening hour until 10:00 PM and on Sundays from opening hour until 9:00 PM. On holidays, the same will be allowed to stay and use the facilities and service until 10:00 PM.

2.3 Operators/Managers/ Owners must not allow gambling in their establishment.

SECTION 3. Mayors Permit/Business License - Mandatory

3.1 No person, natural or juridical shall operate a computer establishment/ Internet Station without first securing a license from the City.

3.2 No person, natural or juridical, who, being the owner of computer establishments/ Internet Stations allows its operation without the requisite license, shall be guilty of an offense under this Ordinance.

3.3 The Business Permit Division of Olongapo City shall evaluate and make the necessary recommendations to the Office of the City Mayor for final approval. The application for issuance of a Mayors Permit and Business License shall be accompanied by all the requirements as stipulated in this Ordinance.

SECTION 4. Qualifications

4.1 Only applicants who posses the below-stated qualification may be permitted to engaged in the operation of computer related establishments/Internet Stations.

4.2 Applicants who are not disqualified by law may be permitted to engaged the operation of computer-related establishments or internet Stations. Examples of disqualification are possession of criminal record or conviction of crime involving moral turpitude.

SECTION 5. Supporting Documents to be Submitted with Application.

5.1 Applications to operate computer related establishments/Internet Station shall be supported by the following documents to be submitted to the Office of the Business Permit Division:

a. Letter of Intent addressed to the Hon. City Mayor;
b. Clearance Certificate from the Public Utilities Department ;
c. Fire Safety Clearance from the Bureau of Fire Protection;
d. Sanitary Permit Clearance;
e. Community Tax Certificate;
f. Affidavit of Undertaking;
g. Real Estate Lessors Permit;
h. Contract of Lease; and
i. DTI Registration for Sole Proprietors or SEC Registration for Partnership or Corporation

SECTION 6. License Fees

The following schedule of fees shall be imposed for the Mayors Permit and Business Permit:

6.1 Zoning Planning Fee PhP 40.00
6.2 Mayors Permit PhP 450.00
6.3 Sanitary Permit PhP 175.00
6.4 Business Plates PhP 150.00
6.5 Sticker PhP 100.00
6.6 License Fee (new) based on Capital Investment
6.7 License Fee (renewal) based on Gross Receipt

SECTION 7. Validity of License

7.1 Subject to annual review, the license issued under this Ordinance shall be valid for one whole year from the date of issue.

SECTION 8. Renewal of License

8.1 Application for the renewal of the Mayors Permit and Business License shall start in January of every year. Failure to apply for renewal within the period shall subject the applicant to a fine of ONE THOUSAND PESOS (PhP 1,000.00). Provided, that, failure to file applications or to comply with all requirements for the renewal within thirty (30) days from the expiration date of the license shall be ground for the non-renewal of the same unless meritorious and valid grounds are submitted to justify such failure, in which case the renewal will be allowed only upon payment by the applicant of a fine not exceeding TWO THOUSAND PESOS (PhP 2,000.00).

Section 9. Imposition of Fines Suspension, Cancellation and or Non-Renewal of License

Any of the following acts or offenses shall be sufficient ground for the cancellation or non-renewal of license:

9.1 Failure to renew the license within the period required under this Ordinance or non-compliance with the requirements provided under Section 5 of this Ordinance;

9.2 Fraudulent representation, written or oral by the proprietor or general manager of the establishment for the purpose of securing the issuance of any license under this Ordinance; and

9.3 Employment or hiring of foreigners who are not holders of work permits from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE ) and has no valid visa from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) whether contractual or permanent.

SECTION 10. Compliance with the Affidavit of Undertaking

10.1 Managers/Proprietors/Operators of Computer related establishment/Internet Stations are hereby required to execute an Affidavit of Undertaking to ensure that they will comply with the provisions, specifically Sec. 2 of this Ordinance which pertains to minors and limitations of business activities set forth during the public hearing held on February 14 and 21, 2001 at FMAs Hall, Olongapo City.

10.2 Sample of the Affidavit is hereto attached as an integral part of this Ordinance.

SECTION 11. Ground for Imposition of Graduate Penalties

11.1 Any computer-related establishments/Internet Stations, depending on the gravity of the offense, shall either admonished in writing , have its license suspended, or have the same cancelled for the following acts and/or offenses:

(a) Tolerance of gross misconduct, dishonesty or misrepresentation committed by its offices and employees against the client/customer; and
(b) Violation of any of the provisions of the Ordinance, other rules, circulars and orders of the City.

SECTION 12. Transfer of License.

12.1 The license is a matter privilege and may only be issued to qualified applicants. Accordingly, no establishments shall transfer or alienate in whatever mannerist license without prior approval from the City.

SECTION 13: Transferee to Pay License Fees.

13.1 Responsibility. The transferee of the license shall pay the corresponding license fees, and addition there to, the new operator, unless otherwise stipulated, shall not be absolved from any responsibility as to contacts, money claims, damages or other liability arising out of and in course of the operations conducted by the predecessors.

SECTION 14. Display of License.

14.1 The license represented by business plates shall be displayed in a conspicuous place in establishments.

SECTION 15. Surveillance.

15.2 No monitoring may be conducted unless authorized by the Mayor or his/her duty authorized representative.

SECTION 16. Issuance of Closure Order.

16.1 The Mayor or his/her duty authorized representative may conduct an exparte preliminary examination to determine whether the illegal activities of the establishment constitute a danger to public order. For this purpose, the Mayor or his/her duty authorized representative, may examine personally the complaints and/or their witnesses.

(a) If from the preliminary examination conducted or based on the findings and recommendations, the Mayor is satisfied that such danger exists, he/she may issue a written order for the closure of the establishments being used in connection with illegal activities of the establishments.

SECTION 17. Implementation of Closure Order.

17.1 Closure Order shall be served upon the offender or the person in charge of the establishment subject thereof. Whenever necessary, the assistance of the appropriate law enforcement agencies may be requested for this purpose.

SECTION 18. Report on Implementation.

18.1 A report on the implementation of the Closure order shall be submitted to the Mayor within two (2) days from the date of implementation.

SECTION 19. Penalties for Violation.

The City shall impose fines for violations of this Ordinance in accordance with th following schedules:

a) PhP 1,000 - First offense
b) Php 2,500 - Second offence
c) Php 5,000 - Third offense

Provided, that after the 3rd offense, such violation shall ipso facto constitute a valid ground for the revocation of all privileges, permits and authorization grated to such person or entity under Rules by the City.

SECTION 20. Separability Clause

20.1 The provision of these Rules are hereby declared separable, and in the event that any or more of such provisions declared invalid, the validity of theother provisions shall not be affected thereby.

SECTION 21. Repealing Clause

21.1 All existing rules and regulations, circulars and ordinances or part or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of these Rules, are hereby repealed and/ or modified accordingly.

SECTION 22. Effectivity

22.1 This Ordinace shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a local newspaper and posting at thrthree (3) conspicuos places in the City for three weeks.

APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY, February 28, 2001.

Cynthia G. Cajudo
Vice- mayor and presiding Officer

ATTEST:

HEDY ESMANE-DIAZ
Council Secretary

APPROVED BY HER HONOR, THE CITY MAYOR ON, March 05, 2001

KATHERINE H. GORDON
City Mayor

ATTEST:

Delfin A. Juico, JR.
Secretary to the Mayor

Republic of the Philippines)
CITY OF OLONGAPO) S.S.

AFFIDAVIT OF UNDERTAKING

1,__________________ of legal age, Filipino, single/married, with residence and postal address at No.______________________, Olongapo City, Philippines, after having been duty sworn to in accordance with law, hereby depose and state:

1. That I am the operator/owner of________________________________________ located at _________________________________________, Olongapo City;

2. That I am applying for a Mayor's Permit for the operation of the above-mentioned business;

3 . That said business will engage in computer tutorials, printing services, programming and system development, internet Access, IT Consultancy, connectivity and networking, web development, computer games, play stations, trouble shooting and repair of computers beyond warranty;

4. I will not be engaged in other business activities not mentioned in item no.3;

5. That I am allowed to engage to the above-mentioned business provided that;

a. I will not allow minors (17 years old and below) during school hours

b. Minors, ages seventeen (17) years old below are allowed to stay and use the facilities and services on Saturdays from opening hour until 10 PM. On holidays, the same will be allowed until 10 PM.

c.I will not allow gambling on my establishment.

6.That I am aware of the sanctions that will be imposed by the city of Olongapo in case of violation of this Undertaking pursuant to Ordinance No.11 Series of 2001;

7. That I execute this affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing facts and for whatever legal purpose it may serve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on this _________ day of ____________, at olongapo City, Philippines.

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ________ day of Olongapo City, affiant exhibiting to me her/his Residence Certificate No.____________________ issued on_____________ at _________________________.

MA. ELLEN M. AGUILAR
City Legal Officer
Authorized to Administer Oath
Under Republic Act 5972 Olongapo City

Doc. No.__________________;
Page No.__________________;
Book No.__________________;
Series of 2001.
Computer Form 1 - 2001

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'win-win' solution for Internet cafes

2005-09-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

Congress, CICT mull 'win-win' solution for Internet cafes

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

CONGRESS, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) met this week to discuss ways to help local Internet cafes comply with a government drive to legitimize their software.

Representative Michael John "Jack" Duavit (Rizal, NPC) has met with a newly organized group of Internet café owners in the Philippines, the CICT, and the IPO to discuss possible solutions for Internet cafes amid the current government crackdown.

Duavit is chairman of the subcommittee on intellectual property and e-commerce at the House of Representatives.

Adoracion Monsanto, chief political affairs officer of Representative Duavit's office, confirmed the meeting with INQ7.net, indicating that the lawmaker has asked the Internet café owners' group to come up with a "formal position" that will likely be presented to the Business Software Alliance and law enforcement agencies that are currently engaged in a nationwide crackdown on local establishments using unlicensed software.

The alliance of Internet café owners is asking for a moratorium on the ongoing government crackdown, a member of the group who asked not to be identified, told INQ7.net in a separate interview.

The representative of the Internet café owners has asked the lawmaker and the CICT to help them lobby for "win-win" solutions for local Internet shop owners, while also protecting the intellectual property rights of software stakeholders. In a separate interview, CICT Commissioner Tim Diaz de Rivera told INQ7.net that the CICT is also weighing government policies specific to Internet café owners.

Diaz de Rivera acknowledged that government has yet to issue policies to protect small Internet café shop owners from being tied down to a specific software technology.

The agency deems the Internet cafe owners as partners in its separate activity that involves building community e-centers.

"It is not the CICT 's call to ask for a moratorium [on the crackdown]. It is Business Software Alliance's job. But admittedly, government is also calling for a moratorium because even government agencies cannot comply," Diaz de Rivera said.

The government official said that while government supports intellectual property rights of software companies, multinational firms like Microsoft also need to understand the basic issues of cost in buying new license software.

Similar to the fate of little Internet shop owners, Diaz de Rivera said government offices also have difficulty finding funds to buy new software licenses.

"You must understand that most of their annual budgets go to salary. Very little goes to capital outlay, which is usually used to buy software. Most agencies have not been given new capital outlay for the last three to four years," Diaz de Rivera said.

Meanwhile the representative of the Internet café owners stressed anew that many local establishments do want to comply with government requirements to use licensed software. But the current lack of supply of Microsoft software has forced small Internet shops in the country to close down.

"Just imagine how many employees of these Internet café shops are affected by this crackdown," the Internet shop owner said. "Just give us enough time for us to comply. We will have self-policing. We also want to coordinate with government agencies. We will be developing open source solutions for Internet cafes soon to encourage competition."

The Business Software Alliance was not available for comment as of posting time.

Computer shops under fire for violating city ordinance

2005-09-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

By Michael Punongbayan, The Philippine Star

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay yesterday vowed to crack the whip on online Internet gaming shops in Makati City which allow elementary and high school students in their premises during school hours.

Binay issued the stern warning to all computer shop owners after 11 students were caught playing computer games during school hours recently.

A report sent by Barangay Sta. Cruz Chairman Victor del Prado informed Binay that Bantay Bayan personnel caught 11 high school students in school uniforms playing online games at the RPG World Internet computer shop.

The students were apprehended and were held in custody for hours at the barangay hall and were released only after their parents and teachers had been notified.

Concerned school authorities, Del Prado said, were also advised to come up with an incident report which can be used against the owner of the Internet shop.

Binay reiterated his warning to all concerned business owners and operators to strictly comply with City Ordinance No. 2002-122, which bans grade school and high school students from entering any leisure and gaming establishments during school hours.

RPG World Internet, which is located at No. 1077-C Pasong Tamo, Barangay Sta. Cruz, is reportedly owned by Yang-ja Kim, a Korean national. Kim had been penalized and reprimanded twice already for failing to comply with the ordinance. RPG World Internet is now facing permanent closure, the penalty for third time offenders.

The ordinance was passed in 2002 to address serious concerns raised by parents and teachers on the increasing incidence of cutting classes, tardiness and absenteeism among grade school and high school students.

The local law, Binay noted, prohibits the owners or operators of all billiard halls, video shops, computer arcades, movie houses or malls located in the city from allowing grade school and high school students in school uniforms to enter their establishments.

The ordinance also provides that students may only be allowed entry in computer shops to do research and other academic-related activities, and in malls and movie houses if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

On the first offense, violators are given a warning and fined P1,000. For the second office, the penalty is P3,000. But for the third offense, the business permit of the establishment may be revoked, on top of the penalty of P5,000.

ACTING AREA COORDINATORS...

2005-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

RIZAL AVENUE AREA
CONTACT #
Mam Carmela Luisa Domingo - PCHAN
Sir Vernani Obero -ROBOTECH
Mam Florence Co - EMSON- "

E.B.B. AND W.B.B. AREA

Mam Maneth Magcale -GAMELAND- "
Sir Jes Jacildo - CnRR - "

E.B.B. AND W.B.B. Marshals and D`action men

Noel Baluyot - CIPHERNET- "
Arvin Fabian/Arthur Fabian - ELIC@ADS- "
Albert Gaa -GAMEWARF- "
Elmer Fajardo - SWG- "
Ayn Caballero -CnRR- "

Robbery Commitee

Sir Edd Garcia -WINSKIE- "

MAGSAYSAY AVENUE AREA

Sir Remus Mari Escoto -KBPS/MANAGER- "
Mam Dolly E. Vibar -IBYTE- "

GORDON AVENUE AREA
Our colleage JO BAJOG -HYPERSYTE- "
Mam Precy Mateo -PRENDYNETCAFE- "
(Need the help of Sir Ike of Melaike) "

EAST TAPINAC AREA
Madam LEONOR B. DIZON -SKYCOM@NET "

WEST TAPINAC AREA
Sir Ian Ventura -Gio.net- "
Sir Gerald Allan de la Cruz -G-SPOT- "
Sir Enrico G. Ibanez -WEBSITE- "

GORDON HEIGHTS AREA
EDD GARCIA -WINSKIE- "

OLD AND NEW CABALAN AREA

Mam Cristy V. Camacho -KATE INTERNET- "

Marshal :

Sir Jeffrey S. Quintana -CYBERGAPO- "

STA. RITA AREA

Mam Rhallie Calalang -RIVERNET CAFE- "

BARRETO AREA
Sir Garry Mallari - GMG@NET - "

prepared by:

>>>GAMELAND Internet and Computer Services
>>>Mam Maneth Magcale

Crackdown forces computer shops to close

2005-09-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

ILLEGAL SOFTWARE USE
Crackdown forces computer shops to close
Inquirer News Service

AT LEAST 50 operators of Internet cafés in Cotabato City were forced to close shop on Friday in the face of a directive from the Optical Media Board (OMB) requiring the use of licensed software.

The same thing happened in the cities of Malaybalay, General Santos, Puerto Princesa and Baguio.

In Puerto Princesa City, panic struck some employees of government and private offices and businesses as the OMB, the police and the National Bureau of Investigation started raiding establishments suspected of using unlicensed software.

About two weeks ago, word spread that the OMB, led by its chair, actor Edu Manzano, would raid Internet cafés without licensed Microsoft software.

As a result, many closed for days to replace their unlicensed software with open systems like Linux.

Also starting Sept. 12, local government offices in Puerto Princesa stopped using some of their computers, except for those with licensed software.

Appeal

Joseph Coloso, president of the Cotabato City Internet Café Association, said the closure was temporary while they waited for the board's action on their resolution appealing for a moratorium.

Under the government's anti-piracy law, Internet café owners are required to have their operating system licensed at the price of almost P7,000 per unit, said Coloso, who felt that the amount is too big a burden for them.

Coloso said the OMB's focus on Internet cafés is discriminatory since many government and nongovernment offices and homes have computers that use the same operating system as theirs.

The group, Coloso said, planned to ask the mayor and city councilors to help alleviate their plight through legislation.

In Malaybalay City, Manny Cudal, president of the Bukidnon Internet Operators Society, told the Inquirer that almost all Internet cafés closed shop on Friday to avoid the risk of being raided.

Cudal said they would ask the authorities to give them enough time to comply with the requirements on the licensing of these software and to appeal for the reduction of the payments for the licensing into the academic rates since their clients are mostly students.

In General Santos City, Internet cafés closed shop for two days after the NBI conducted a raid early morning Tuesday and confiscated computer units which were illegally using unlicensed Microsoft software.

But some cafés resumed operations on Saturday, this time with the Microsoft software already deleted from their computer units.

Puerto Princesa

Provincial information officer Rolando Bonoan Jr. said in a radio interview that the provincial government was negotiating with the OMB and the software company to facilitate the licensing.

On Sept. 16, the day the authorities were supposed to start their raids, most Internet cafés were closed.

Some put signs like "temporarily closed," or "under renovation."

An Internet café owner said because of the crackdown, he has lost a lot of customers.

The government, he said, should help the small entrepreneurs like him because they are barely surviving these days.

He said they were willing to pay the license provided the cost is not too high.

Most software being used by Internet cafés is Microsoft, which is reportedly asking P8,000 per unit for license.

This, he said, is too much. They would rather close their business as they will not be able to recoup the cost even if they increased their Internet fees.

In an interview with the dyPR radio, Manzano said they didn't mean to strip the Internet owners of their business.

Manzano, who was in Palawan two weeks ago to brief local authorities, said they were doing this because the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has already lost millions of dollars to piracy.

He denied that there was pressure from the United States government and big software companies for the sudden crackdown.

"We are not favoring one country [because even] Filipino-registered software [are included]," he said.

There were also exemptions on the raid. Computer games were still allowed as well as those software used for educational purposes.

Those caught using unlicensed software will be fined, closed or criminally liable, depending on the situation, Manzano said.

Hypocrisy

In Baguio City, owners of computer shops have accused officials of the OMB and the government of hypocrisy following a national crackdown on commercial firms using unlicensed software.

In letters addressed to Manzano and NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco, the businessmen said law enforcers refused to include government agencies using unlicensed software in their operations.

Manzano's nationwide crackdown complies with the demands of international anti-piracy groups, which have kept the Philippines in its world blacklist of countries violating intellectual property rights (IPR).

But Gerry Mayona, who initiated the petition among computer shop owners, said various government agencies should also be cited for violating provisions of the law governing IPR.

Mayona said Baguio businessmen, in letters sent out by facsimile on Sept. 15, were asking the government to stop the crackdown until it also complied with the IPR law.

He said all of the city's computer-service and retail enterprises stopped operations on Sept. 15, after news about an NBI crackdown requested by the BSA leaked out.

Mayona said Manzano's Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team gave computer owners a 30-day reprieve on Aug. 16 to secure licenses before it penalizes IPR violators.

In their letters, the businessmen acknowledged that the raids would correct the country's reputation "as one of the piracy centers of Asia."

Complaints

But they complained that computer retailers who have sold millions of personal computers to residents and companies rarely install licensed software.

"In Baguio City alone, there are more than 100 computer shops and thousands of computer owners, but... most of these computers being used by private or government agencies do not have licensed software installed [in their hard disks]," the letters said.

Mayona said a certain software firm still retailed its most popular software from P8,500 to P10,800 for each computer unit, when the demand should have resulted in lower prices.

"We are being blackmailed into buying licensed software at this high cost, and we are now told that there isn't even enough supply to cover each computer that is being rented out by computer shops," he said.

He said NBI agents refused to heed the demands of businessmen who challenged the coverage of their operations.

"One agent said government agencies which use unlicensed software are covered by some kind of amnesty," Mayona said.

Instead of scaring commercial firms into abiding by IPR laws, the businessmen asked OMB to help them secure cheaper software supply.

Mayona said his computer shop has started replacing its computers' unlicensed software with those that can be downloaded from the Internet.

"Most clients are not familiar with the free software, but I have no recourse because I can't afford the licensed brand software. Unfortunately, even the free software cannot be used to interface with many Internet services such as online games, so I may lose clients," he said. Charlie C. Señase, Grace Cantal-Albasin and Aquiles Z. Zonio, PDI Mindanao Bureau; Jofelle P. Tesorio, PDI Southern Luzon Bureau; Vincent Cabreza, PDI Northern Luzon Bureau

Solon weighs policies on gov't use of open source software

2005-09-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

WILL Congress enact a law that will require Philippine government agencies to opt for open source software rather than proprietary software?

"I would be willing to consider a policy on open source [use in government]," Representative Simeon Kintanar told reporters last week in an interview, following a brief talk on open source software at a local Linux conference at the Dusit Nikko Hotel in Manila.

Kintanar said a stronger policy on open source software use in government will encourage more competition, which would likely lead to pressure vendors to lower the cost of proprietary software, as in the case in Thailand.

The lawmaker acknowledged that government is one of the biggest customers of software in the Philippines.

"We need to make e-governance happen so [government] needs to buy software," Kintanar added, stressing that the policy would also require proprietary software to be interoperable with open source software.

"So with such a policy, nobody is in control," the lawmaker said, noting that he is currently gathering more inputs from various sectors.

Kintanar is chairman of the House committee on information and communications technology.

During the Philippine Summit on Information Society at Manila Hotel last week, open source software advocate Robert Verzola suggested to the Commission on Information and Communications Technology that it come out with a policy that would make open source software the "default" software loaded onto computers purchased by government.

"This will save Philippine government millions," he added, noting that such a policy would not totally bar proprietary software from use by government agencies.

"On a case to case basis, government offices will need to justify their preference for commercial software," he said.

Reacting to Verzola's proposal, CICT Commissioner Emmanuel Lallana said that Philippine government should first develop its capability with open source software "before we mandate it."

Lallana said a government project known as "PC ng Bayan" is currently offering the Bayanihan Linux operating system, an open source package developed by the Advance Science and Technology Institute, to government agencies.

"I personally believe that it's not a viable alternative for us right now [to mandate open source software use in government]. For now, we will allow each agency to decide on this," he added.

In a separate interview, Microsoft officials told INQ7.net that it has a "government security program" that allows governments access to the source code of its software.

"We share code in different levels. It is indeed important to have a number of options, although we still don't share 100 percent of our source code," said Martin Gregory, Microsoft Australia platform value manager.

"We don't compete with open source. We compete with other commercial software," the Microsoft executive stressed.

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Microsoft preaches 'interoperability' in local Linux confab

2005-09-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

HAS Microsoft gone soft on the open source community in the Philippines?

The Philippine subsidiary of this software giant is hoping to convince the local community of open source advocates that Windows and the rest of the open source system can co-exist.

"We acknowledge that companies have mixed environments. So we recognize the need for interoperability," said Dominic Eala, Microsoft Philippine product manager for Windows server, in an interview.

Eala said that Microsoft has been offering the "services for Unix" to organizations looking for ways to make Windows and the open source world interoperate.

Services for Unix are a three-year old initiative, he added.

Microsoft Philippines indicated that many local organizations today are looking for ways to move out of their legacy Unix systems to a
Windows-based environment, partly because it could reduce the cost of maintaining older systems.

"We want to help people leverage on existing IT systems. We do understand that cost (of migration) is an issue. But they have to make a decision on which route to take," Eala added.

Bakbone Software KK, a Linux application developer based in Malaysia, has said that it welcomes Microsoft to the open source community.

However, it posed this question: "When are you opening your source code to the community?" said Kim Low, BakBone Software territory manager for Southeast Asia and India.

Having been to other Linux conferences in the region, Microsoft has apparently been going around trying to preach the message of co-existence and interoperability. And yet, it allows limited access to its software source code.

"I think they now acknowledge the credibility of Linux. That's why they’re here attending this Linux conference," Low added.

Bakbone has been developing Linux-based applications since 1996, and has 10 to 20 clients in the Philippines. Worldwide, its top customers include Yahoo and AT&T.

Microsoft licensing POC

2005-09-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

By gallen0676

To those Interested parties who has technical question & comments about Microsoft licensing try to contact Mr. Marlo Parong cell no. 09164617700 E-mail: v-marlop@microsoft.com, and for more information about the registered distributors of Microsoft Softwares try to contact this nos.E PLDT 8850000, NORTHGATE 8846477, MICROBASE 8137603.

Interested parties who wants to buy a licensed software pls. contact the technical support members of our Org. so we can avail big discount
thank you...

Hi-Level Meeting Update

2005-09-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

By Remus Mari Escoto

The meeting started at about 4:30 pm with reps from Level-up, Mobius, Abs-Cbn, PPN. Ms. Josine B., Microsoft Product Manager of Widows Client clarified things about the MS Rental Rights Agreement. She then reiterated that the upcoming crackdown was not their initiative but of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy (OMB, BSA, IPR, CIDG AND NBI) Team, that they have no control of since it has it's own mandate.

To put it in the right perspective, Microsoft Phils, is in-charge of promoting their various products in coordination with the local distributors. Their approach more on cooperation, promotion, education on the use of their products. They are not so much into forcing and intimidation tactics since they themselves are already facing, losing, and paying in a lot of antitrust cases worldwide. They themselves are not encouraged by Redmond to create negative
postures since they are concerned about their personal and corporate security. She promised to work with the group to come up with better programs for the internet café industry. A financing option was offered via Banco de Oro with a 1 week wait time for approval.

This puts the upcoming crack down in a different perspective knowing the fact that Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team has it's own mandate of cracking down on IPR violation. We understand that with or without Microsoft's prodding (or even other companies with IPR interests) this group has their duty to enforce the LAW.

Faced with this situation, PPN's next move is towards protecting the industry as a whole. It just opens our eyes to the global reality we are facing much the same with our regional neighbors like China, Taiwan, Malaysia and others. Thus the need to be more united and proactive in pushing for various programs and activities that will help protect our members against abusive policies from all forces affecting our industry's growth, sustainability and existence. To reiterate our stand. We are not going against Microsoft or any IPR (intellectual property rights). We are against the immediate and untimely Crackdown of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy group without discussing the issues with people within our industry. Our objective is to work out a harmonious, cooperative working relationship with all the parties involved.

After knowing the whole situation we are now one step forward. We have already now enlisted the help of Microsoft and the gaming companies in seeking audiences with the parties that are involved in the crackdown. We've garnered the cooperation of Microsoft in our common goal for the future. And rest assured the talks and the meetings are not over, we've already started talks with the other players directly and indirectly involved in this industry to strengthen our cause.

We encourage you to continuously keep your ideas, suggestions and support coming in as PPN evolves into a strong national organization that will be your voice and helping hand in the industry. The work has just begun!

With the help of our media liason. Our statement is reaching the public. Read Manila Bulletin September 9th Friday for more details, it'll be posted here as soon as the article is scanned.

Open Source Conference

2005-09-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

There is a LINUX WORLD conference and expo Sept 14 - 16, 2005 at dusit hotel, makati.
This will provide SMEs with information to implement Linux and other Open-Source (free) solutions.

here's d link
http://www.mediag8way.com/linuxworld/

OCCSA or at least somebody from this group specially the technical group should attend this (P5,500 per delegate). Expenses must be reimburseable to the group in fairness to our official delegate.

Its going to be on wednesday so we must act now!

Microsoft gives $1.2-M grant to TESDA for IT skills training

2005-09-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

By melvin G. calimag , Mb

Shelling out its biggest donation to date in the Philippines, software giant Microsoft has given a $1.2 million worth of grant to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to train 1,000 non-government organizations (NGOs) around the country.

TESDA, the government agency in charge of upgrading the skills development of the country’s human resources, will use the software to train NGO trainors who will then transfer their skills to beneficiary communities.

The training project, dubbed "Kapit-Bisig," is part of Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP), a global initiative of focused on providing technology skills for underserved individuals. Recipients of UP grants are public centers where people can gain IT skills and training to help themselves and their communities.

The $1.2-million grant to Tesda is part of the $15 million fund allotted for UP initiatives in the Asia Pacific this year, according to Lori Forman, regional director for community affairs for Asia Pacific of Microsoft.

The Microsoft donation is actually composed of more than $90,000 in cash and $1 million in software for the installation of computer training laboratories in 44 Tesda centers nationwide. The software firm also provided a curriculum for UP implementation, a project management module, and $93,800 for operational expenses.

Antonio "TJ" Javier, managing director of Microsoft Philippines, said the project is also aimed at involving community stakeholders, particularly the NGOs, to address local needs. "That’s why we also chose an agency like Tesda who can work with other agencies as well."

The "Kapit-Bisig" project is expected to train a total 20,000 Filipinos coming from underserved communities in the Philippines. The Tesda centers can be used by beneficiaries as community e-centers after they have acquired the needed IT skills, a Tesda official said.

The program will provide technology training ranging from basic computer literacy skills to the usage of advanced business productivity applications.

Augusto Syjuco, Tesda director general, said the agency expects to implement the program over a five-year period and plans to tap other resources to augment the project.

Aside from the Tesda centers, Syjuco said they will try persuade congressmen to allot a small space near the town plazas in the provinces that Tesda can use as Learning Resource Centers.

Also, Syjuco disclosed that the agency has also started to use public schools buildings in the countryside to train underserved communities during weekends when there are no classes.

Alternative solutions

2005-09-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

"cinergy888"
Date: Sat Sep 10, 2005 10:45 pm
Subject: Alternative solutions "Maybe"

first things first......
i maybe not that kind of a computer wizard yet but i have a question:

is there anybody really and actually conducting a PILOT TESTING regarding the nearest OS alternative "THE LINUX WAY" and done all sorts of thing that we are doing with XP's?

for what we have heard to some technicals of today meeting they have their opinions that it will be a big ADJUSTMENT but what for i know that the latest LINUX that can be downloaded for free, The invironment is the same with of XP....

so i may say yes "if the ORGANIZATION" will create a group of technicals to conduct a test for "LINUX"....

Hope that this posting will not be taken for granted and i hope this suggestion of mine could lead us to a brighter way of hope..........

go bebe

Amending Ordinance 14, series of 2001

2005-09-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

"einc dormagen"
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 05:53:36 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: [intergapo] Amending Ordinance 14, series of 2001

sir.. totoo pong masakit talaga para saming mga operators ang ordinance no. 14 series of 2001 po na yan alam naming may responsibilidad din po kami as part of this community.. pero masyadong malawak ang naging saklaw ng batas na iyan.. sir we really need to modify or totally remove this city ordinance..

1. napipigil namin ang mga bata ng pumunta kung saan saan.. lalo na sa mga pagsama sa mga illegal fraternity na sad to say ay isa sa mga problema ng mga public schools dito sa olongapo..

2. Sinasakop din po ng batas na iyan ang mga out of school youth natin.. alam naman natin na ang mga batang ito ang madalas na napapabilang or napapasama sa mga masamang bisyo.. Kung ang mga bata pong iyan ay nasa loob ng mga computer shops.. at least po naiiwasan natin ang pagsama nila sa mga ibang bata na may masamang hangarin.. isa pa.. mas advance silang maituturing kumpara sa mga batang hindi gumagamit ng computers..

3. at ang isa sa mga pinaka importante.. Ang mga computer GAMES lamang po talaga ang madalas na inerereklamo ng mga magulang at mga school officials..

paano naman po yung mga batang kailngan talagang mag Research para sa kanilang mga project.. lalo na yung mga assignment nila na madalian..

Pati po sila sir ay apektado ng mga batas na ito.. which is kailangan naman po talagang mapababa yung naturang batas.

ang mga solutions ko po na nais kong mai contribute..

1. irequire po lahat ng school officials na palagyan ng schedule ang ID ng mga bata.. para at least alam namin kung totoong may pasok pa sila.. (Dito po papasok yung sinasabi ni sir Gary na Moral and Social Obligation namin as stakeholders..) nasa sa amin na lang po kung tatangapn namin sila.. hindi lamang po para sa mga computer shops ito kung hindi para na rin sa mga mall na nahihirapan na itrace kung totoo ang sinasabi ng ibang mga bata pinsan na wala silang PASOK..

sa pamamagitan po nito madali namin ma momonitor kung may pasok ang mga bata.. at kung ang isang computer shop po ay mapatunayang tumanggap ng bata sa oras ng kanyang klase ay maari po nating parusahan sa legal na paraan..

2. mag umpisa po sa 11am ang pagtanggap namin sa mga bata.. kasi yung ibang students na may pasok ng 1PM minsan may mga research work din po silang kailangang tapusin..

Kung sakaling hindi po talaga kakayanin ang mga ito..

sir.. yung gamings na lang po muna siguro ang hindi pwede sa mga estudyante during school hours pero sa case po ng internet.. tatanggapin po namin sila.. maging open po sana ang oras para sa internet sa lahat ng estudyante...

--- Ed Piano wrote:

> Just to remind everyone to give your input on:
>
> 1. why we need to amend the ordinance
> 2. what is your proposed revision
>
> here's the link of the ordinance for your perusal
>
http://sangunian.blogspot.com/2001/02/licensing-and-supervision-of-all.html

CONSULTATION with the school principals & PTA

2005-09-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

From: gary mallari
To: edPiano@SubicBay.Ph
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 3:24 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Questions n Suggestions

hi, gud pm sir..... i would like to suggest that computer shop owner and operators to have a CONSULTATION with the school principals, PTA president and have an agreement that once a student is free from school class (because other schools have different schedule for their students), is free to go to computer shops if they wish to play, research and for other activities. This can be implemented only if the computer owner-operator would follow the school schedule of which they cater. This consultation would become later on an agreement with the school, PTA and the computer shop owner. sa pamamagitan din nito makikilala ng shop operator ang mga students kung anong year na nila at maprevent na sila ay maglaro kung sila ay umabsent sa knilang school. Ndi papayagan ng computer operator na magpalaro kung ito ay oras pa ng kanyang klase... maraming salamat po... more power sa mga taga-Olongapo.

GMG Internet Shop Barretto
Download/Upload Internet Shop Gordon Heights

President Arroyo lauds Microsoft donation to gov�t ICT programs

2005-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

By joel d. pinaroc

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently commended the efforts of Microsoft Corp. to bridge the digital divide in the Philippines through the companys various academic and social responsibility programs in the country.

The President, who was guest of honor at the tenth anniversary celebration of the US-based software giant here in the Philippines, mentioned particularly the R300 million in donation and grants from Microsoft to various government IT programs.

"The R300 million that Microsoft has given to the Philippines, in grants and donation of software and computers, has gone a long way in providing basic IT skills to Filipinos," Arroyo, in a speech, said.

Microsoft Corp., through its Philippine office has pledged more than $2 million for various poverty alleviation programs through the mass use of IT.

The programs being implemented by the Philippine office includes grants to rural schools and donations to areas that are having difficulties getting basic computer services such as Internet connection.

Another key program that Microsoft Philippines has initiated is the "No Teacher Left Behind" program which seeks to train teachers basic computer skills. These teachers in turn can share the skills to other teachers and students.

Microsoft has also initiated various programs with other multinational IT firms, particularly computers and software donation to schools in depressed areas, and has been working with government agencies to roll out the programs.

The President meanwhile added that IT plays a major role in unifying the Philippines, when it comes to technology.

And the benefits go beyond computers she said, adding that Filipinos with basic computer skills now have a better chance of landing jobs with IT and IT-enabled sectors, particularly business process outsourcing.

"The call center industry is just one example of how IT has helped Filipinos get more jobs and become globally competitive," she said, adding that IT continues to be one of the brighter spots in the countrys economy.

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Emergency Meeting

2005-09-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

RESOLUTION REQUESTING BSA TO DEFER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE “OPLAN CRACKDOWN”

2005-09-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

EXCERPTS FROM THE MINUTES OF THE EMERGENCY MEETING OF ESTABLISHMENTS ENGAGED IN COMPUTER SERVICES, SALES AND RENTALS IN THE TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF OLONGAPO CITY, HELD ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2005, AT THE 5TH FLOOR, KT TOWER, ULO NG APO ROTUNDA, OLONGAPO CITY.

PRESENT:

Hon. Edwin J. Piano
City Councilor and
Chairman, Telecom and Information Technology Board

Mr. Gary Marasigan
OCCSA President

Officers and Members of Olongapo City Computer Services Association

Owners, Managers and Representatives of Establishments Engaged In Computer Services, Sales And Rentals (Please see attached list)

RESOLUTION NO. 01(Series of 2005)
A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE BUSINESS SOFTWARE ALLIANCE (BSA) TO DEFER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE “OPLAN CRACKDOWN” TO DECEMBER 31, 2005

WHEREAS, the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy campaign ads stated that 71% of PC software being used in the Philippines in 2004 was illegal and that piracy deprives the country of additional revenues and new job opportunities;

WHEREAS, the advertisement goes on to say that various government and private sector representatives have joined hands to stop the prevalence of software piracy among businesses and that nationwide crackdown will start on September 16;

WHEREAS, while the Members of the Olongapo City Computer Services Association, and Owners, Managers and Representatives of Establishments Engaged in Computer Services, Sales And Rentals in the territorial jurisdiction of Olongapo City recognizes the essence of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy campaign, we would like to request the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to defer implementation of the “oplan crackdown” since times are hard and its immediate implementation will surely result to business closure;

NOW, THEREFORE, with the unanimous accord of the Members of the Olongapo City Computer Services Association, and Owners, Managers and Representatives of Establishments Engaged In Computer Services, Sales And Rentals present;

RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, by the Members of the Olongapo City Computer Services Association, and Owners, Managers and Representatives of Establishments Engaged In Computer Services, Sales And Rentals in a meeting assembled to request the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to defer implementation of the “oplan crackdown” to December 31, 2005.

RESOLVED FURTHER, AS IT IS HEREBY FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution be furnished to Business Software Alliance (BSA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Optical Media Board (OMB), Philippine National Police (PNP), Office of Mayor James Gordon, Jr., and Sangguniang Panlungsod of Olongapo City for their information and appropriate action.

APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY, September 8, 2005

GARY MARASIGAN
OCCSA President

Officers and Members of Olongapo City Computer Services Association

Owners, Managers and Representatives of Establishments Engaged In Computer Services, Sales And Rentals (Please see attached)

ATTEST:

EDWIN J. PIANO
City Councilor and
Chairman, Telecom and Information Technology Board

Transcript of PhoneCon Bet. BSA & OCCSA

2005-09-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Phone Conversation between Gary H. Marasigan representing OCCSA and Atty. Bien Marquez, BSA Chief Legal Counsel

1. BSA is an alliance of business software like Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, McAffee. etc.

2. BSA is the legal enforcer of the said software alliance.

3. Quisumbing Torres law firm is the legal counsel of BSA.

4. The BSA set a scheduled countdown/crackdown of 30 days for a chance to legalize software use. Deadline of which is Sept. 16, 2005

5. Method of verification will be utilized to check authenticity of licenses.

6. BSA will be empowered by search warrant from the court to take action.

7. In cases of a search warrant, this should be accompanied by Quisumbing, Torres Law Firm representative.

8. If any of the above procedure is not met, it will be presumed an unscrupulous act and must be reported to proper authorities.

For local setting in Olongapo City, I would suggest that we create a volunteer team that will represent OCCSA whenever any individual or group claiming to be from Anti-Piracy Task Force enters the territorial jurisdiction of Olongapo City.

Our Team must have a lawyer and LGU representatives.

Virtual meetings can save energy, says GMA

2005-08-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

By Max V. De Leon, Manila Times Reporter

PRESIDENT Arroyo suggested on Thursday that government officials hold virtual conferences instead of face-to-face meetings to save on energy.

Holding meetings through the Internet or teleconferencing is one of creative ways Mrs. Arroyo proposed to enable the government to reduce energy consumption by 10 percent.

Face-to-face meetings means the officials will have to ride cars, the President said when informed by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Waldo Flores that Malacañang's energy audit team will have to meet with the energy conservation officers of government agencies.

She suggested that to be more efficient, the government should make full use of the new trends in information technology.

Besides, the President said, she was already receiving ranking officials in Malacañang so there is no need to hold other meetings.

Energy Undersecretary Peter Abaya, who heads the energy conservation audit team with Flores, announced that the monitoring of the electric and fuel consumption of government offices will start next week.

Abaya said the 15-man team will be subdivided into three groupsone each for electricity, fuel and documentation.

Monitoring the compliance with energy conservation measures will be done in just 45 minutes, he said.

Agencies will get grades of A for five-star rating and score of 90 to 100, B for three-star rating and score of 80 to 89, C for one-star rating and score of 70 to 79 and F for failed and score of 69 and below.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said there is no need to reward the most energy-efficient offices, since getting their marks published is recognition in itself.

The government hopes to save at least P80 million a month from its energy conservation program.

Bunye said the program also consists in selling old government cars that are gas-guzzlers.

The audit team is drawing up the rules for auctioning the vehicles.

Flores said the Office of the President saved 18,782 liters of fuel from January to June compared with the same period last year, an 11.85-percent drop.

President Arroyo hopes the government's efforts would be supported by the business sector and civil society

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THE BETTER SIDE OF THE PHILIPPINES

2005-08-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

The following was written by INTEL General Manager Robin Martin about the Philippines:

Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side, and this affects the perception of foreigners, even the ones who have lived here for a while. The negative perception of the Philippines is way disproportionate to reality when compared to countries like Columbia, Egypt, Middle East, Africa, etc.

Let us all help our country by balancing the negative with the positive especially when we talk to foreigners, whether based here or abroad. Looking back and comparing the Philippines today and 1995 (the year I came back), I was struck by how much our country has progressed physically.

Consider the following:

1. The great telecom infrastructure that we have now did not exist in 1995. 1995 was the year the telecom industry was deregulated. Since then billions of dollars have been invested in both fixed line and cellular networks producing a system with over 5,000 kms of fiber optic backbone at a world competitive cost. From a fixed line capacity of about 900,000 in 1995 we now have over 7 million. Cellular phones practically did not exist in 1995; now we have over 11 million line capacity.

2. The MRT, many of the EDSA flyovers (including the Ayala Avenue flyover), the SKYWAY, Rockwell and Glorietta 4, the Fort, NAIA terminal 2 and most of the new skyscrapers were not yet built in 1995.

3. If you drive to the provinces, you will notice that national roads are now o f good quality (international quality asphalt roads). I just went to Iba, Zambales last week and I was impressed that even a not so frequently travelled road was of very good quality.

4. Philippine exports have increased by 600% over the past eight years. There are many, many more examples of progress over the last eight years. Philippine mangoes are now exported to the US and Europe.

Additional tidbits to make our people prouder:

1. INTEL has been in the Philippines for 28 years. The Philippines plant is where Intel's most advanced products are launched, including the Pentium IV. By the end of 2002, Philippine operations are expected to be Intel's biggest assembly and testing operations worldwide.

2. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS has been operating in Baguio for; over 20 years. The Baguio plant is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world. DSP chips are the brains behind cellphones. TI's Baguio plant produces the chip that powers 100% of all NOKIA cellphones and 80% of Erickson cellphones in the world.

3. TOSHIBA laptops are produced in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

4. If you drive a BENZ, BMW, or a VOLVO, there is a good chance that the ABS system in your car was made in the Philippines.

5. TREND-MICRO, makers of one of the top anti virus software PC-Cillin (I may have mispelled this) develops its "cures" for viruses right here in Eastwood Libis, Quezon City. When a virus breaks in any computer system in the world, they try to find a solution within 45 minutes of finding the virus.

6 . By the end of this year, it is expected that a majority of the top ten U.S. Call Center firms in the U.S. will have set up operations in the Philippines. This is one area in which I believe we are the best in the world in terms of value for money.

7. America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in Clark answering 90% of AOL's global e-mail inquiries.

8. PROCTOR & GAMBLE has over 400 people right here in Makati (average age 23 years) doing back-up office work to their Asian operations including finance, accounting, Human Resources and payments processing.

9. Among many other things it does for its regional operations network in the Asia-Pacific region here in Manila, CITIBANK also does its global ATM programming locally.

10. This is the first year ever that the Philippines will be exporting cars in quantity courtesy of FORD Philippines.

11. The government is shedding off graft and corruption slowly but surely. This is the first time in our history that a former president is in jail and facing charges of plunder. Despite all odds, we are still pursuing the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos now enjoyed by his unrepentant heirs.

Next time you travel abroad and meet business associates tell them the good news. A big part of our problem is perception and one of the biggest battles can be won simply by believing and by making others believe.

This message is shared by good citizens of the Philippines who persevere to hope and work for our country.

Visit http://SubicBay.Ph
for latest developments in Olongapo Freeport City, GawangGapo, Sanggunian, BagumbayanVolunteers, InterGapo Wow Wow Win Subik edPiano

Local governments urged to work with internet cafes

2005-08-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Catanduanes Representative Joseph Santiago said local governments should reinforce their supervision of Internet and computer shops to check establishments that could possibly be fronting for illicit cybersex operations.

Police raided yet another cybersex operation in Angeles City's Barangay (village) Balibago. At least six women employed as cybersex models were rescued.

American national James Paul Kelly, 66, was eventually arrested during the Aug. 22 raid. Kelly was the alleged operator of the cybersex den along with a Canadian accomplice, Dave Fischer, who evaded arrest.

Santiago said It was the second Angeles-based cybersex den raided this month. Police busted another one on August 10, which was allegedly run by an American couple, Tom and Virginia Deassy. The couple also eluded arrest.

"LGUs have direct and immediate oversight of all business establishments within their jurisdiction. So the burden is on them, to see to it that shops in their areas are not violating existing laws against obscenity, pornography and child abuse," Santiago said, as he reacted to the latest cybersex den raid.

The congressman bared earlier that over 200,000 Filipinos - women, men and possibly even children - have been lured by cybersex operators, according to the registry of adultfriendfinder.com, a popular web site peddling sexual activities on the Internet.

Santiago said local government surveillance should cover not just Internet cafes but also other shops that offer computer-related services, the sale of computers and peripherals as well as computer repair.

"There could possibly be computer shops out there, not necessarily Internet joints, that are engaged in cybersex activities. All that is needed to engage in the nefarious trade is a computer, a web camera and an Internet connection," he pointed out.

"So a shop supposedly selling computers by day could possibly be secretly into cybersex operations at night," he added.

Cybersex or cyber pornography refers to sexual acts performed by men, women, even children, on connected web cameras that stream images directly to the computers of paying Internet users.

Angeles City alone, Santiago said, has been classified a cybersex hotspot by the National Police since at least 10 dens have been busted there this year.

Visit http://SubicBay.Ph
for latest developments in Olongapo Freeport City, GawangGapo, Sanggunian, BagumbayanVolunteers, InterGapo Wow Wow Win Subik edPiano

Anti Piracy Campaigns

2005-08-25T02:37:00.000-07:00

INVITATION FOR AN ON-LINE MEETING

2005-08-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

For : ALL INTERNET SHOPS IN OLONGAPO CITY

From : HON. JAMES "BONG" GORDON, JR.
City Mayor

EDWIN J. PIANO
City Councilor
Chairman, Committee on Telecommunications
And Information Communication Technology

Subject: INVITATION FOR AN ON-LINE MEETING
Date : August 17, 2005

City Ordinance No. 24, Series of 2004 and Executive Order No. 84-A, Series of 2005 created and defined the duties and functions of Telecom and Information Technology (IT) Board. Copies of which can be viewed in the following urls:

http://sangunian.blogspot.com/2005/01/ord-no-24-s-2004doc.html

http://telecom-board.blogspot.com/2005/04/executive-order-no-84.html

In line with its mandate, the Telecom and IT Board is planning to meet with Internet Shop Owners, Managers or thier representatives ON-LINE where we believe it will be most convenient for all parties involved. Initial meetings will be by way of exchange of email messages and later, if need arises to act swiftly on pressing issues, a real-time on-line meeting, most probably by using Yahoo Messenger. The Telecom Board had been using this system and found it to be most convenient and productive.

Initial discussions will focus on the cooperative efforts between the City Government and the Internet shop owners on how to address various issues besetting our city in general and Internet business in particular.

In this regard, may we request your e-mail address, contact numbers and name of official representatives for our On-line meetings and other related activities that may come in the future.

It is hoped that this will merit your positive response and the start of our constant communication to further the advancement of IT in our city.

If there are concerns you wish to be included in our discussion, we would be most honored to receive it in the following email address:

intergapo@yahoogroups.com or edpiano@subicbay.ph

cc: Mayor's Office, Business Permit
OCCSA, DepEd, ABC, Telecom Board