Continuation of my previous entry
There is definite hop for the Philippines, of course. Two years ago, an anti-child pornography law was passed. It reflects similar laws in other countries, prohibiting the possession, making, distribution and display of images of sexual activity involving children or their private parts. Attempts to access or transmit such images on the internet or by cell phone are illegal too. Unlike many other countries, the Philippines has made it mandatory for Internet service providers to install filtering software to block child pornography. But internet is a whole different world and there are lots of ways to surpass that filtering software or blocking software. People nowadays have great knowledge on computer, especially those who are really computer enthusiasts or those who like tinkering with computers. It is possible that, because people are knowledgeable on this topic, that they will create counter softwares to counter the blocking softwares or filtering softwares that they are proposing. Anything is possible when it comes to the digital world.
Law enforcement, however, is an issue in its own right. PREDA and other NGOs will monitor the government’s performance and the Internet service providers on this count. But, knowing how most of the officials work, the tendency is that they will only monitor when people start questioning the status of their project. If the people think its stagnant and starts to protest, then they will act. Its sad to think that some of our government officials will only act once their own life or pride is on the line, but that is the truth.
As our president today won a landslide victory in the presidential elections on an anti-corruption platform, we are still waiting for the anti-corruption campaign he’s promised. Although this was proof of the Filipino people’s desire to finally get an honest government of integrity, the question is whether he and his new administration can overcome the pervading culture of corruption and transform the Philippines. We sincerely hope so.
