Sex is thicker than Blood

It has been a very hectic schedule for me these past few weeks preparing for the competition at the Social Innovation Camp Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last 9-11 November 2012. My entry, the Blood Donors Network was selected among the top 6 finalists out of 140 ideas submitted across Asia. Just to share with you the result based from the judges' scorecard and an email validation from the organizers that the Blood Donors Network came out 2nd place from the recently concluded Social Innovation Camp Asia. The top prize went to the sex education app from Malaysia. Borrowing the quote from my long-time friend Neil Magno, it appears that "sex is much thicker than blood"... nice one Neil!

I would like to thank you for all the support by answering the poll question as part of my market validation that I sent through SMS, Facebook, G+, and face-to-face interview as well as by liking the Facebook app (https://www.facebook.com/BloodDonorsNetwork) which has already grown to more than a hundred members in more than 8 cities across Asia since its inception last November 11. 

Like what I have said from my first post, it was a humbling experience for me at the Social Innovation Camp Asia. I got goosebumps myself meeting these brilliant people across Asia unselfishly contributing their time and talent to support a worthy cause. Not everyone would have this opportunity and with that, I am very grateful with the said experience. I deeply appreciated the support and efforts that my team poured into, to make the idea happen in just one weekend, from outlining the business model up to the execution of both the web and mobile app prototypes. There are now plans to roll-out the idea in the Asia region within the next six months with the help of our team members, in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, India, and Singapore. 

Allow me to take this opportunity to thank all the people who gave their support on this project.

The Blood Donors Network Team:

Gerard Navarro, Ronald Paglinawan, Bernard Hor, Sokha Rum, Adeline See, Kristine Lauria, Singaravelan Thirugnanasambandan, Sunit Shresta, Chow Yee Hoong, Krittika Kaewmamuang, and Tao Lin.

Dr. Ernesto Datu, Dra. Ann Claire Reyta, Dr. Norris Bin Naim, Dr. Serafin Talisayon, Prof. Edison Cruz, Prof. Glen Imbang, Andrew Tan, Randie Ongoco, Jay Fajardo, Jo Ann Barquez, Rose Aguilar, Noe Palaña, Jeremie Diaz, Christine Caro, Rina Santos, Ces dela Cruz, Joey Mendiola, Mark Alburo, Jong Aguilar, Terence Guillermo, Ahmira Shih, Grace Lado, Mario Vallo, Jennybeth Paglinawan, John Honrade, Danie Sedilla, Raffy Concepcion, Pasky Doria, Janice Florentin, Bong Cuevas, Sheena Pestaño, Ria Ricafort, Rod Nepomuceno, Lawrence Jatayna, Dulce Punzalan, Gabriel Abatay, Karen Kay Sia, Paul Abela, Juancho Atinaja, Corinne Dulce, Gerald Foronda, Jhensen Norberte, Ramil Compio, Kat Pauso, Bea Bacala, Marianne de Vera, Charissa Magalong, Neil Magno, Earl Valencia, Maan Asuncion, Joanna Domingo, JP Catalan, Sarah Lumang, Mickey Acevedo, Edison Lucmayon, Lot Eligio, Ned Legaspi, Reuben Romulo, Rochelle de Leon, Mark Gaan, Erick Payawal, Israel Rigonan, Karl Vidad, Pam Castillo, Vince Gonzales, Jun Ballesteros, Jesli Gloria, Alvin Selfaison, Fred Ferraz, Carlo Doran, Ruby Edralin, Roma Escaner, Vanz Kristian Lavado, Kat Salazar, Paolo Mandingiado, Jonathan Lansangan, Rex Sueno, Consha Tangco, Alec Leido, Leonardo Dapdap, Karol Atotubo, Gonz Gonzales, Romeo Duyag, Sheena dela Cruz, Romz Jaravata, Danielle Irma Arellano, Kelil Albuainain, Virgil Corcuera, Erlyn Gatchalian, Stefan Leido, Graciel Vergara, Dulce D' Bayan, Bong Edralin, Ting Gaddi, Judylyn Martinez, Bel Acosta, Julius Legaspi, Len Mungcal, Rodney Catorce, Emman Hernandez, Nim Gonzales, Tina Olpoc, Cheena Pagkaliwangan, Stephen Co, Bee Casillan, Solace Aguilar, Melissa Jones, Prince Karl Bagaforo, Allan Claveria, Thomas Detoito, Gabriella Germino, Justin Gonzales, Nigel Gosiaco, Klharina Hagos, Michael Garrovillo, Paul Pajo, Nick Wilwayco, and Michael Villasor.

To my wife Florence, Maggie, Mikko and my Mom. 

In front of the famous Petronas Tower
L-R: Ken Chester Wu of Bookbag (formerly Booklat), myself,
Gerard Navarro (UI Designer), and Ronald Paglinawan (iOS Developer)

Ruemz Hotel inside Taylor's Lakeside University
where we stayed on the entire duration of the competition

The Social Innovation Camp Asia was held
at Taylor's Lakeside University

The Blood Donors Network at the Social Innovation Camp Asia

The Social Innovation Camp was founded on the principle that The Internet, over the past fifteen years, has fundamentally changed the way we do things: from publishing and the arts to supply chains and business methods, our world has changed. We have not yet, however, seen these kinds of fundamental shifts in the way we address social problems.

The solution is to find people understand social problems at a deep level - from professionals to those with the deepest personal experience of those problems - and bring them together with those who understand technology at its most profound: software developers, designers, and service designers.

The Social Innovation Camp was set up in London, in early 2008 and the first in Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last November 9-11, 2012. Only six were selected out of 140 ideas across Asia, that is 4% acceptance rate, making it harder to get into the Social Innovation Camp compared to Harvard.

The Blood Donors Network was among the top six selected and is a reflection of my personal advocacy to promote regular blood donations in the Philippines. I myself is a blood donor for the past ten years and perceived that there should be a system to improve the supply of blood all year round in the country. Based from my personal experience, back in December 1997, I was afflicted with dengue fever and was confined at St. Lukes Hospital. The doctor informed me that my platelet count had dropped to critical level and need blood transfusion. However, the blood supply in the blood bank was, unfortunately low. The doctor told my relatives to call as many people as they could who would be willing to donate blood. And as expected, they called for help to as many people as they could. 

This personal experience happens everyday to a lot of people. A never ending scenario that every time someone needs blood, a call for help is always the immediate response. A news article from Philstar.com dated 16 August 2011 states that a dengue patient usually needs 16 units of blood. On that same article, the Philippine Red Cross had reported that there were 125,000 dengue cases in 2010. That turns out to be 2 million blood units that they need for dengue alone not counting the other cases, such as accident victims, premature babies, patients undergoing major surgeries, those suffering from trauma, anemia, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, so on and so forth. Whereas, on the average, the PRC collected only 6,000 units of blood per year, thus this clearly shows that the supply cannot keep up with the demand. Based from my interview with Dr. Reyta from the Philippine Red Cross, on the average, there are 5 to 7 patients every minute who would be needing blood transfusion.  

A screenshot from Philstar.com dated 16 August 2011

The Blood Donors Network team have identified three focus areas in order to solve the problem with validations during the interview from the doctors in Malaysia and the Philippines; 1) increase acquisition of new blood donors; 2) increase retention rate of existing blood donors, and 3) establish a comprehensive data of donors. 

Thus, the Blood Donors Network platform would be based in web and mobile apps that would address the said core issues. This way, the voluntary donors would allow to register themselves into the community of blood donors. For the recipient, it could post the blood type request that they need through the Blood Donors Network mobile app which would be able to connect to the community of blood donors, geo-location based via SMS as well as an option to send through Facebook or Twitter. 

It was a humbling experience at the Social Innovation Camp Asia. I got goosebumps when I met these brilliant people across Asia unselfishly contributing their time and talent to support a worthy cause. Not everyone would have this opportunity and with that, I am very grateful with the said experience. I deeply appreciated the support and efforts that my team poured into, to make the idea happen in just one weekend, from creating the business model up to the execution of both the web and mobile app prototypes. I was also amazed with the organizers of the Social Innovation Camp Asia that they were able to pull the event off with such a very lean team. 

Here in the Philippines, the team would have meetings with telcos, corporations and hospitals for possible partnerships to be able to beta test the business model and the prototype for the next six months. We are also planning to roll-out the idea in the Asia region with the help of our team members in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, India and Singapore. Our Facebook app (https://www.facebook.com/BloodDonorsNetwork) have growing members in more than 8 cities across Asia since its inception last November 11. With these developments, the team will persevere with what they have started at the Social Innovation Camp Asia carrying along with that fundamental objectives in mind, to be able to promote healthy lifestyle, foster good deed, encourage the spirit of volunteerism, help a stranger, and more importantly, save someone's life.

Meet the top 6
From left to right: Andrew Tan (organizer of the Social Innovation Camp Asia), Chan Wai Jhet (Civic Ticket; Malaysia), Caryn Kong (LabRat; Malaysia), Wong Chee Yan (Sex Education in Mobile Apps; Malaysia), Joel Barquez (Blood Donors Network; Philippines), Amy Tan (Find Art; Singapore), and Ken Chester Wu (Booklat; Philippines).

Creating the Business Model

Aside from the prototype development, the business model is also drawn out for sustainability as this is the nucleus of the whole activity where you could attract funding from the venture capitalists and angel investors.  

The Blood Donors Network team

From left to right: Tao Lin (China), Singaravelan Thirugnanasambandan (India), Krittika Kaewmamuang (Thailand), Sokha Rum (Cambodia), Joel Barquez (Philippines), Bernard Hor (Malaysia), Kristine Lauria (Singapore), Gerard Navarro (Philippines), Adeline See (Malaysia), Ronald Paglinawan (Philippines), and Chow Yee Hoong (Malaysia).

One more thing...

The Blood Donors Network came in 2nd place at the recently concluded Social Innovation Camp Asia. Thank you very much for all the support.

Blood Donors Network Among the Top 6

The idea, Blood Donors Network that was submitted at the Social Innovation Camp Asia last October 11, was among the six finalists selected out of 140 ideas across Asia. We will compete in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this coming November 9 to 11, 2012 to build on our mobile app for 48 hours. The venue is at Taylor's University Lakeside Campus.

Thank you very much for your support.

Taken from the Asia Social Innovation Camp website

Project Management and the Cybercrime Law

Although the RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Law is currently in temporary restraining order for 120 days by the Supreme Court where it has drawn mixed reviews when it was enacted last October 2, one might wonder, what would be the impact of this law on Project Management. 

In the IT-Business Process Outsourcing Industry, Mr. Benedict Hernandez, president of the Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines reportedly said that, "The Cybercrime Prevention Act will help sustain and enhance investor confidence and strengthen our position as one of the world's top locations for high-value IT-BPO services." He noted that IT-BPO firms rely a lot on the Internet and computer technology as principal channels of their communication processes. He believes that the industry will benefit from provisions of RA 10175 covering system and data protection, device security, and penalties for computer-related offenses.

If the IT-BPO industry would benefit from it, I think the same impact would be felt on Project Management through the same provisions that the IT-BPO were referring to. We all know that project managers rely heavily on computer technology and the internet in order to keep track of the projects that they were handling through scheduling, budget, email correspondence, etc. If these things were protected or secured, chances are, projects would be efficiently managed as well as boost confidence on the overall project management industry in the country.

So far, I find the law beneficial specially in any process-related applications that would undeniably help both government and the private sectors as well as gives confidence among foreign investors in the future. What I find objectionable is the libel or simply stated - “the unlawful or prohibited acts of libel defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future. (RA 10175 appears to have strengthened libel in terms of penalty provisions; the electronic counterpart of libel has been recognized since the year 2000 when the E-Commerce Law was enacted)”. 

It was well said that one of the last resources where you could find fearless views and opinions is the internet. It is actually the last bastion of hope where you could find any ordinary Juan can take the internet as its mighty tool to exposed scandals and corruptions. Government projects for one, which is the reason why it is always being targeted for scrutiny. We would find corruption on each stages of the project, from the bidding process up to the final audit report. Every taxpayers are entitled to know if the money spent are handled well or not.

The government is again reviewing the law and hopefully, they should take into consideration the libel part of it. It is the first step where project management could be fully effective if not gain the trust of scrutinizing public where we find accountability and good governance would takes its shape for the benefit of the taxpayer’s hard earnings.

The MMDA App in Mobile Platform

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) app is the first Philippine government agency mobile application that allows motorist to navigate their way to Metro Manila's traffic situations.

The free app gives an overview of the traffic in System, Map or Line View which covers EDSA, C5, SLEX, Roxas Boulevard, Ortigas, Commonwealth, Marcos Highway, Katipunan, España, and Quezon Avenue.

It shows road incidents that might affect the normal flow of traffic so that motorists would avoid them, as well as share and report traffic info via Twitter.

The application for iOS was developed in-house by Atty. Yves Gonzales of the MMDA's Traffic Discipline Office, under the leadership of Chairman Francis Tolentino.  

Last September 21,  Atty. Gonzales updated its app in the iOS platform, including iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches in compliance with the iOS 6. The iOS 6 is the newly released operating system for Apple's mobile devices.

Tech Pinoy Trend: When was the MMDA app in iOS developed?

Yves Gonzales: The development of the project started November 2010. It was conceived and developed at the same time with the Traffic Navigator yet both development had stopped by February 2011 because by that time, we were awaiting for the legal agreement between MMDA and TV5. Even before the agreement, MMDA and TV5 had started working on the product until the point that we could no longer move forward because we needed that formal agreement. So our lawyers had to step in and draft the agreement. It was finally signed by May 30, 2011 that eventually led to the launch of the Traffic Navigator by August 1 of the same year. That time, I started writing the codes for the MMDA iOS and was released on September 17. It took me almost two months and only during weekends to finish the version 1 of the app.

TPT: So you did this app in partnership with TV5?

YG: It was the Traffic Navigator that we developed in partnership with TV5. The navigator serves as the data source and the apps were just simply the output. There are two aspects of it, the database portion and the web interface. The database portion is its back-end and was developed by the team of Stray Interactive led by Ninoy Leyran. The back-end was developed in accordance with how we envisioned it, like the one-button click instead of using the track-down menu. All of these, we developed with Stray Interactive. The web interface on the other hand, was also developed by the same company which its output is also from the Traffic Navigator project. The TV5 had its web output, MMDA on the other hand had the apps output, namely for iOS, Android, Windows 7, and Blackberry. MMDA did not release the web interface because it would already be redundant. But TV5 released Interaksyon app yet it is just basically a web interface and not a local mobile native app. So, that is how we deal with it. TV5 for web interface while MMDA for mobile native apps and both gets data from the Traffic Navigator. Other applications also benefitted from it, like the Metro Traffic Live! which is a third party app. We gave them the API because we also encouraged the use of the data yet in a controlled environment since the servers are housed in TV5. So the data is not as public but if you request for an access, MMDA will give it to you but in a controlled sense. The MMDA server has been turned over to TV5 for load-balancing since their own servers can no longer hold the entries of the data coming from the MMDA apps. During Habagat, for example, the apps were consuming at least 95% of the server load.

TPT: What is the percentage of the funding between MMDA and TV5 for this project? 

YG: To summarize, MMDA's responsibility is in the data encoding. Which means, we hire the personnel who will encode the data as well as gather the data through our field personnel. That is where MMDA responsibility stops. TV5 on the other hand, took care of the two computers, two 50" LED monitors for monitoring, software development for the traffic navigator, both website and back-end, and server maintenance. So, all cost-related through maintenance of the hardware of the project, TV5 takes care of it while MMDA generates the data and encoding.

TPT: How does TV5 benefit from it? 

YG: It is public service on their part yet they also have commercial goal. For example, the Traffic Navigator website helps boost traffic to their main Interaksyon website because they are the ones who are controlling the website's banner. They also use it for their live reports displaying the navigator while talking about the traffic situation. The other agreements we had before was DZMM, where they wanted to tap into the CCTV of MMDA, they were actually the first. They had access to the CCTV and then as part of their public service, they provided MMDA with two (2) 6 Mbps connections which our office used so that we would be able to cut on our internet expenses. That was the first model of public-private partnership between a network and MMDA. When TV5 approached us, Chairman Tolentino suggested to add more value to the relationship. So we've come up with an agreement with TV5, which is not only to have access to our CCTV but also coming out with a Traffic Navigator project. After TV5, we also signed an agreement with GMA7 also to have access to our CCTV as well as develop an Incident Monitoring Software similar to the Traffic Navigator yet it gives more report on incidents, such as flooding, fires, catastrophes. The app is still under development and the data generated from this project can be pulled to the MMDA app again. That may gain additional functionality and value to the app.

The MMDA app in the iPad platform

The MMDA app as shown in the Apple iTunes

The MMDA app as shown in the Android website

Atty. Yves Gonzales at his MMDA office 

The team who covered the interview with Yves
From left to right: Roy, Jelico, Yves and myself.

A total of 2,322 downloads from week
of June 25 to July 01, 2012 data from iTunes Connect

The chart shows the shoot-up on the demand of the app
during the height of the monsoon rain last 06 to 12 August
where it made a total of 7,788 downloads

A total of 2,685 downloads from week
of September 17 to 23, 2012 data from iTunes Connect

No Talk, All Action

Held at Mint College, McKinley Hill in Taguig City last 28-30 September 2012, the Startup Weekend Manila was a grueling 54 hours of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. Participants came from different backgrounds - developers, designers, business and marketing gurus, angel investors, venture capitalists, and technopreneurs. The event started Friday night with presentation of ideas in a form of one-minute pitch. The names of the idea were written in kraft paper. Those who would deliver the pitch were intense and nervous, I was one of them.

The Pitch

There is no exact formula but the rule of thumb is, you have to prepare a good pitch for the duration of one minute, no more, no less. A good one-minute pitch could be a liberating experience, expressing to the crowd that "hey, I have a great idea, join me, and let's make this work," or could possibly ruin, if it is not properly delivered, so, preparation is necessary. Remember the three Cs - clear, concise, complete. Emphasize why there is a need for the app, what will the app do, who are the people that you would want to be involved in, is it developers that you need? designers? marketing gurus? Be bold to speak in front of the crowd and ask for help.    

Right after the pitch, the organizers collected the names of the idea written in kraft paper and posted it in glass panels. This was the voting process where Startup Weekend participants placed their post-it notes to the startup idea that they liked. The idea should gather at least 10 votes to be able to qualify to the next round, meaning, form the team to enable the development of the app either in website or mobile platform pushed through. If you were not able to gather the required number of votes but still believed in your idea, you could still pursue it either by yourself or make a lot of convincing effort to have someone join you.

I got 21 votes for my startup idea - Blood Donors Network. Aside from Gerard Navarro, my colleague in the office, six developers from the Dynamic Objx had also joined in a quid pro quo agreement. The developers will help us code the app provided that we help them design their app called TULA or The Ultimate Laundry App. This is the quintessence of the startup weekend, helping each other develop the idea and make it materialized. We got our own nook which is called the Peppermint Room where there were bin bags and tables. We did the planning and workflow until 12 midnight so that we would have a head start the following morning.

The Development

Day 2 in the event. Participants started to arrive while I was having breakfast with the developers. Another hit at the Startup Weekend were the appetizing food and freshly brewed coffee. It is always something to look forward to in order to help fuel the minds and keep the senses awake. We were so fortunate to have the hard-core coders with us. They were very supportive in our app development, from building the workflow to coding. Gerard and I were as busy as them. Working every detail on the interface design of the app based on its logical workflow to the end users. It was really tedious and challenging process.

There were mentors in the event. Some asked questions while some provided constructive advice. Yet some would smack you right on your face by saying that your app will not work. It could be a debilitating experience but here is a good analogy, think of your app as a rock. That rock should undergo a lot of cuts from different angles, polishing, perfecting it, so that it would form into a valuable diamond. These cuts in a form of advises came from different angles, views, and cultures. As you progress in your app development, it would take its shape through these advises, polishing, perfecting it, so that in the end, would form into a valuable app.

The design and development were the focus of our work on the second day of the event. We had no marketing guy, so it is up to me and Gerard to come up with a business model while at the same time, working on the interface design of our app as well as the app of the other team. It is the adrenaline rush that made this event exciting and fun, holding onto that belief that we are developing a great app, which become the source of our motivation. Aside from the mentors, there were also members from the media and bloggers conducting interviews from the leaders of the participating teams. The experience of being interviewed was simply an ego booster. 

The Presentation

Day 3 in the event. Had breakfast with Karen, finance officer as well as member of I Should Have Been Informed team. Networking is another thing at Startup Weekend which definitely, be able to meet people coming from different professions. She was very much interested in our app, asking a lot. I could easily brisk through with her questions because I myself is a blood donor. I am advocating that blood should be a commodity because of the difficulty obtaining it during emergencies situations. I just realized towards the end of the event that some of the Startup Weekend participants had already branded me as the "Blood Guy".

The organizers had informed us that presentation would start at 5:30 PM sharp. It was crunch time and we could feel the pressure among our developers. Gerard and I were very impressed with Alvin's coding skills as he simply pushed the app in the android platform seeing our prototype taking its shape. I worked on the presentation slides and made sure that everything would be clear to the audience as well as to the judges. We were able to develop our marketing plan and had it incorporated into our presentation. This was the most intense part of the event and everybody were busy. As the presenter, it was actually double pressure for me. 

The actual presentation was 4 minutes with 1 minute Q&A from the judges. It was intense yet I had to overcome my fear in front of the 200+ audience at the venue as well as to those who were watching via live stream. It was the moment that I had to deliver the Blood Donors Network presentation clearly so that the concept would be properly communicated among the judges. It was again the most liberating experience that I was able to tell to the world The IDEA. The app did not make it to the eyes of the judges. I had no qualms and even very satisfied that I did it. We would continue developing the app and very optimistic to launch this worthwhile project.

The Mint College is just a stone's throw away
from Venice Piazza, McKinley Hill

Preparing the pitch

Ria Lu and Gerard Navarro

Startup Weekend participants listening to the pitches

Startup Weekend participants listening to the pitches

Delivering my pitch for the Blood Donors Network

Voting time

Startup ideas that were able to obtain more than 10 votes

The Blood Donors Network was able to gather 21 votes

The Dynamic Objx developers helping
on the Blood Donors Network app

Breakfast

Mr. Jonathan Lansangan mentoring the TULA team

Busy working on the apps

With Gerard Navarro against
the Startup Weekend Manila 2012 backdrop

The TULA and Blood Donors Network teams

One more thing...

To the Startup Weekend Manila 2012 organizers, thank you so much guys! It was remarkable and we really had a great time. Looking forward to another Startup Weekend. How I missed the adrenaline rush.

Public Reaction to the Cybercrime Law

Since its enactment, RA 10175 has drawn mixed reviews.

For one, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, through its president Benedict Hernandez, has been quoted as saying in news reports that global investors are likely to look at the Philippines with confidence and boost the country's leadership in business process outsourcing, now that the RA 10175 is in place. "The Cybercrime Prevention Act will help sustain and enhance investor confidence and strengthen our position as one of the world's top locations for high-value IT-BPO services," Hernandez reportedly said. He noted that IT-BPO firms rely a lot on the Internet and computer technology as principal channels of their communication processes. He believes that the industry will benefit from provisions of RA 10175 covering system and data protection, device security, and penalties for computer-related offenses.

In contrast, journalists and other free speech advocates have scored RA 10175 - particularly its provisions on libel. In a statement posted online on 18 September 2012, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said:

"The successful passage through the legislative mill and their immediate signing into law by President Benigno S. Aquino III of bills affecting the media and their fundamental task of gathering and disseminating information, among them the Data Privacy Act (Republic Act 10173) last August, and the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175) this September, suggests how restrictive rather than expansive is the mindset of the country's legislators, and of Mr. Aquino himself when it comes to enshrining in the law those principles - accountability and transparency, press freedom and free expression, etc. - to which he has repeatedly declared he is committed.

"RA 10173 and 10175 breezed through both houses of Congress within months after they had been introduced in 2011, and apparently were in no danger of being voted once they reached Mr. Aquino's desk.

"The Data Privacy Act, among other provisions, penalizes those in government who release information of a personal nature, which seems a reasonable enough restriction in behalf of the right to privacy - until one recalls that information on the personal lives of government officials often has a bearing on their performance as public servants accountable to the citizenry, and is therefore among the legitimate concerns of the news media.

"The Cybercrime Prevention Act, meanwhile, incorporates the 82-year old libel law in the Revised Penal Code (RPC) in including libel among the crimes that may be committed through the use of computers. Under the provisions of the RPC on libel, the penalty for violators is imprisonment of six months for every count of libel committed. Libel as a criminal offense has been used by past administrations as well as local officials today to harass and intimidate journalists. The outstanding example of its use against journalists was the filing by Jose Miguel 'Mike' Arroyo of 11 libel suits against 46 journalists during the disputed presidency of his wife Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. And yet Congress has through the decades ignored the demand from journalists and human rights groups for the decriminalization of libel.

"Compare the speed with which RA 10173 and RA 10175 were passed - in both instances with only perfunctory public hearings - with the difficulties Congress is having with passing a Freedom of Information Act (FOI), and with Mr. Aquino's by now obvious aversion to it.

"And yet certain honorable members of Congress have not been miserly with their lip service to the alleged need for an FOI. As for Mr. Aquino, since he became President he has stopped talking about the need for one, after pledging during the 2010 campaign for the Presidency that he was all for it in behalf of transparency and a means of insuring government accountability. The bottom line, apparently, is that neither Congress nor Mr. Aquino want an FOI act passed, period.

"The passage of the Cybercrime Prevention Act also suggests among other possibilities that both Congress and Mr. Aquino have chosen to ignore the 2011 declaration of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) that the Philippine libel law is excessive because it penalizes violators with imprisonment, contrary to the human rights protocols to which the Philippines is a signatory, and therefore must at least be reviewed towards decriminalizing libel. Either that, or the authors of the bills, and Mr. Aquino himself, are unfamiliar with both the UNHRC declaration, as well as with the long-standing demand to decriminalize libel in order to put an end to the use of the libel law to intimidate and silence journalists. Apparently there is little hope that libel will ever be decriminalized, RA 10175 having in effect further strengthened it by widening its application.

"Finally, a word of caution. RA 10175 is the first law affecting communication through cyberspace that has been passed in this country since the E-Commerce Act of 2000. Prior to its passage, the Philippines had been distinguished among its Asian neighbors for the absence of regulatory legislation affecting the Internet. It can signal the opening of the floodgates of Internet regulation that will affect Filipino netizens, given the restrictive mindset of the country's leaders. It is a distinct possibility to which journalists and bloggers, ordinary citizens and anyone committed to free expression through whatever medium, should be alert, and must  be prepared to combat."

Petitions have been filed with the Supreme Court seeking to annul certain provisions of RA 10175 as well as the issuance of a TRO pending the final resolution of the petitions. It might take a while before the matter is resolved with finality.

Reference:

Office of the Network Ombudsman