Let Freedom Reign: A Look at the PHL Cybercrime Prevention Act or RA 10175

Image retrieved from The Indian-Muslim Observer

(Preface: I, myself, had some sort of hesitation pushing through with this blog post, simply because of the repercussions that may result, especially now that RA 10175 is enacted. After reading the full copy of the law, I'm confident I'm not doing any wrong, that I'm not defaming anybody with this post and I hope at least some of my readers would agree with me.)

A lot of commotion has been risen towards a new bill signed into law by the Philippine President, Noynoy Aquino, just recently. This new law is RA 10175 or the "Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012". Before I wrote this blog post, I made sure I first read the full copy or transcript of the controversial law, so I could objectively give my opinion on it. For those who'd like to do the same, a full copy of the RA 10175 or "Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act" is available to be read online in the Official Gazette of the Office of the Philippine President, link available here: Gov.Ph: RA 10175.

I tell you, when I read the law, it had all the makings of a great law. In many ways, and in a line of thought that may be contradicted by many of my compatriots, RA 10175 is a step forward for this nation. For a long while now, the country has had a lot of problems when it comes to cybercrime, especially those relating to child pornography in the web as well as cyberbullying and identity theft. We've also had a barrage of these cybersex dens plague our cities for a while now. Finally, our nation's law now has teeth to battle these crimes and were given suitable punishments.

However, somewhere along the lines, the law made a weird U-turn and turned into something preverse.

One provision stood out for me as I read RA 10175 and it was this:

SEC. 19. Restricting or Blocking Access to Computer Data. — When a computer data is prima facie found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act, the DOJ shall issue an order to restrict or block access to such computer data.

If you've yet to realize the ramifications of this simple line, let me help you. Let's first define what "prima facie" is. In the world of law, that Latin term connotes that something is true until proven otherwise. Therefore, unless proven otherwise, anyone found to be in violation of the act is guilty of the violation, period.

So what does this entail? Let's backtrack to section 4(c)(4) of this law:

(4) Libel. — The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.

What does this provision bring to the table now? Let's take a look at this quick and simple explanation from abogadomo.com (actual link: Abogadomo.com - Libel Laws of the Philippines):

Under Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Libel is defined as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending to discredit or cause the dishonor or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead. Thus, the elements of libel are: (a) imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another; (b) publication of the imputation; (c) identity of the person defamed; and, (d) existence of malice.

Now we can put the puzzle together. What section 19 of RA 10175 says is that if you are found to be discrediting someone or something, whether this imputation is real or not, as long as you published it online, then you are guilty of libel under this new law unless proven otherwise. Let's make that more concise: Once the DOJ finds you defaming someone / something in the net, even if this act of defaming is imaginary, then you're guilty until its found out you're not after all.

If you take a look at this in hindsight, you now realize, "Wait, isn't that curtailing the freedom of speech?" My answer: Yes, yes it is.

The Facebook analytics company, SocialBakers, states that there are almost 30 million Filipinos on Facebook. There are also more than 75,000 bloggers in the Philippines, according to the Blog Herald as of 2005. Now, what does the new RA 10175 law mean for these people? Simply put, a gag order has just been issued against them. Once they publish words that may hurt a known person through blogs or social media, then the axe of the law can be used against them.

Right now, we Filipinos should do everything we can to spread the word about this crippling provision in the law. Contact your local legislator through their online social media pages, sign petitions advocating the revision or junking of the law, so that our lawmakers may at least consider tweaking the law to some extent that would be less curtailing to the millions of Pinoy netizens out there.

We need to raise our voice against this matter now, for if we don't, we may not have a voice any longer in the future.

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(Legitimately) Published!

Image retrieved from 1017theone.ca

Blogging, in itself, is some sort of self-publication, like many nowadays do in the writing business through vanity presses like Amazon and Lulu.

I'm not talking about that.

When I said "published" in the title, I meant the traditional route. You submit a piece or article or have your piece or article nominated by someone else to a publication house and they publish your work through their book or magazine.

That's what I'm talking about.

And yes, I'm now a published author! *applause*

A publication company based in the United Kingdom named Beatrice Benn Books has a periodic magazine entitled Motley Press. In its eight issue, you will find my article "The Filipino's Distorted View of the English Language" (click here to see this article on my blog) as one of the articles there. The magazine's Features Editor, Cran Herlihy, nominated my article for publication, so I'm really thankful to him for this great help. You can check out the e-version of the magazine here and my article as it appears on the e-magazine here.

One small step done.

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Get a New Speechwriter: Sotto, PH Senate Doesn't See Plagiarism as an Issue?

Sotto's speech (left) appears to be an exact, transliterated version of Kennedy's 1966 speech (right).

Click to enlarge, Image retrieved from GMA News Online

Two years ago, an associate justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Mariano del Castillo, was accused of plagiarism. When he penned the ruling on "Vinuya, et al. vs. Executive Secretary" in April 2010, there were portions in the document that was identical to statements found in “A Fiduciary of Theory of Jus Cogens" by Evan Criddle and Evan Fox-Decent, "Breaking the Silence on Rape as an International Crime" by Mark Ellis, and "Enforcing Erga Omnes Obligations in International Law" by Christian Tams. (Link to source: SC clears Justice Mariano del Castillo in Plagiarism Mess - GMA News Online)

Six months later, the Supreme Court en banc decides that the associate justice had not committed anything wrong and that the attribution was merely "accidentally deleted."

The result? People from different sectors in the Philippines denounced and ultimately condemned the justice, as well as the SC decision on the matter, stating that plagiarism should not be tolerated in the country. Some even attested that the plagiarism could be a grounds for impeachment. One of those sectors who publicly denounced Mariano del Castillo's act was the Philippine Senate.

At that time, Sotto was already a senator.

Fast-forward two years, and the blame is shifted to the one who cried foul about the same act. In a privilege speech given by Sotto on his contradiction of the RH bill, now being heard in the plenary, Sotto gave a speech that caught a lot of attention. Apparently, his speech was an exact transliteration of Robert Kennedy's Day of Affirmation address in 1966. (See photo above or click here for a larger image -- opens in a new tab / window -- for comparison; for my non-Filipino readers, I can attest now, Sotto's speech quote on the left of the image is roughly 99% a transliteration of Kennedy's 1966 address. You can check it on Google translate if you want, just to get a rough comparison) (Link to source: Sotto Dismisses New Plagiarism Charges - Manila Bulletin)

Obviously, the senator had to deny it, which he did, and even quips, "Marunong pala managalog si Kennedy ah. (What, Kennedy knew how to speak Tagalog?)"

Seriously, even a forum spammer would say, "Trolling!!"

The senator went on to say that this "cyberbullying" of him should stop and that these charges merely stand to distract the public from the real issue at hand, which is the RH (Reproductive Health) bill debate -- A blog post on the RH bill may come in the near future.

Moreover, his colleagues don't seem to fret over it. Senators Bongbong Marcos and Juan Ponce Enrile stated on live television that this issue should no longer be belabored with.

Interesting view... Never knew the senate could pull a passive-aggressive stunt all of a sudden.

Let's get this straight: So plagiarism is a non-issue now here in the Philippines? Seriously? Apparently, these politicians don't just steal money from the government, they can steal speeches and other intellectual properties, too? Well-rounded people, these guys.

I don't care if its a debate on the RH bill, the national budget, the investigation on corruption or what else you may think of. Stealing is stealing, period. You can change the venue, you can change the topic, you can change the tone, but it doesn't change the fact that what you've done is thievery, plain and simple. Don't go shouting, "let's focus on the real issue," because you don't know which issue is important. Hell, you publicly steal a well-known speech and you say it isn't an issue? If we send hundreds of people every day to jail for stealing money, or possessions, then why should those caught stealing ideas not get the same treatment? How's that for an issue.

Algebraic!: My Thoughts on Adventure Time

Image retrieved from catziac.files.wordpress.com

Adventure Time created by Pendleton Ward

It's been a while since I got hooked to an animated show (whether the Japanese Anime or the Western Cartoon). I've actually been searching for a new one to follow when I stumbled upon Cartoon Network and this new series called Adventure Time. At first, I was already hooked. The approach of the show may look child-like, but its story is actually quite mature. No, it does not reference anything explicitly taboo, but it appears more like a satirical show, allegorical, even.

First, a retrospection. According to my quick research - Wikipedia helped a lot *wink* - Adventure Time is created by Pendleton Ward (@buenothebear on Twitter) and produced by Frederator Studios. As I've mentioned, it's currently being shown on Cartoon Network. Weird though is that this show actually started from a Random! Cartoons feature in Nickelodeon. After it became a sensation over the Interwebs, Cartoon Network seized the opportunity and decided to show a full-length series for it.

The show centers on its two main characters, Finn the Human and Jake the Dog. Finn, as described by its creator, is a "fiery little kid with strong morals" and if I may add, a guy who knows so little and has the same amount of appreciation for math. He and his powerful dog-friend travel through the post-apocalyptic land of Ooo (Oooh... Aaah...) fighting evil monsters, defending princesses from an old, evil king and helping other creatures while having fun and dancing along the way.

As I've said, it may sound child-like at first, but it is actually quite mature in nature. It talks about many different subject matters that may edge over adult world, so much so that CN rater it TV-PG. Themes like love, jealousy, hate and the fight of good against evil are recurring themes of the series, and they are depicted rather allegorically. There's this one episode when Finn had injured his foot and clown doctors came in to heal him and his dog, who weirdly had the same injury. The clown doctors said that kissing the feet is the ONLY way to heal the wound and that they know what they're doing while Finn doesn't. Finn, who grew awkward to the treatment, sought to find his own way of treating his own injury. Sure enough, he did find a solution. The presentation is rather comical, but the message is rather enlightening.

Adventure Time, with its witty delivery and diverse setting, has gained a good following over the years, and I've become one of them. Truly, its hard not to fall in love with this show once you get to watch an episode or to of it. I'm so in love of the show I've managed to er, persuade, my little sister to do a cover of Adventure Time's ending song, "Island Song" by Ashley Eriksson. The video of her cover can be found below (and here's a link to her YouTube channel: natashaelouise)

To those who haven't watched this yet, then now you should. Adventure Time will give you a ton of laughs. Enjoy watching Adventure Time! I know I did, and still do! :)

Kick-off

Image taken from paulandstorm.com

(Image URL: http://www.paulandstorm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/MonopolyGO.jpg)

It's that time once again when I open up a new blog. I've been a drifter of the blogosphere for pretty much all of my blogging life. Friendster Blogs, Facebook Notes, Yola, various vBulletin forum blogs, you name it. Have account, will blog, so to speak.

I've decided to jump ship to Blogger out of whim. After all, they have a good, easy-to-use interface, so the decision wasn't hard. Plus, I already have my Google account years ago so it was a no-brainer that this was the place to go to.

Now, why actually blog? I don't know. The desire to be heard, I guess. The desire for an audience to your thoughts, regardless of how many or how few, or in many times, how nonexistent, that audience is. The feeling of being heard, of being able to share what's on your mind, is euphoric, or to be more accurate, cathartic.

And that's why I write. Besides, all people are writers: they may not write novels or coin poems, but they write their own history every single day.