Lim eyes ban on ‘violent’ video arcade games

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.

Regulasyon sa Internet café, pinahihigpitan ng mga mambabatas

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