Philippine cybercrime law must protect, not harass, citizens
We need law and order in cyberspace, but it must not be used to stifle freedom of expression and intimidate citizens.
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When IT digs toward mining
CEO of Philippine IT conglomerate IPVG, Enrique Y. Gonzalez, explains his voyage into mining and stresses he still believes "in the power of IT to profoundly change the world".
Is IPVG's change of heart the right beat?
As it veered further away from its tech roots, Philippine IT conglomerate IPVG has made it clear its future now lies on mining--and not on ICT.
DICT bill in limbo or dead?
Philippine Congress passes Department of ICT (DICT) bill earlier this year, but political interference may be behind delay in ratification and implementation.
The problem with media plagiarism
I don't know if you've noticed, but the advent of online publishing appears to have exacerbated the problem of plagiarism. I can still recall, albeit with amusement, an incident last year in which I saw an exclusive story of mine being passed off as having been written by another reporter.
An avalanche of startup funds
Just recently, the IT world saw two blockbuster deals involving startups: the US$200 million purchase of app builder OMGPOP by casual games company, Zynga; and the US$1 billion acquisition of mobile photo-sharing site Instagram by networking giant Facebook.Although it is important to note that these transactions occurred in the U.
Philippine LGUs still stuck in dinosaur age
Despite the millions of public funds that have been poured into the modernization of local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines, it's a shame that not much has changed in the way municipalities conduct their transactions with the public.Last January, I tried to renew the business permit of Newsbytes.
ICT takes backseat under Aquino administration
Right now as you read this blog entry, there's an ongoing impeachment trial in the Philippine Senate against Renato Corona, the country's top judge. This political exercise, which is being streamed live by various Web sites, is again being lapped up by the public.
An inconsequential ICT authority
Since that fateful day in July when President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III thoughtlessly dissolved the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and created a replacement agency called Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), I have yet to hear a single significant project or policy pronouncement from the country's supposed main ICT body.
Govt broadband project attempts comeback
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is in the news once again with its bold--and perhaps naive--proposal for a government broadband network or GBN, a new version of the ill-fated national broadband network (NBN) project that rocked the previous Arroyo administration.According to DOST secretary Mario Montejo, the new broadband initiative, with an estimated cost of 800 million peso (US$18.
Back to zero for Philippine ICT?
The local ICT industry was stunned at the end of last month when Pres. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III issued Executive Order (EO) 47, which downgraded the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) into a mere attached unit of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
An imploding Philippine telco industry
First, allow me to apologize to the readers of this blog as I have not been able to post entries in the past few months. I actually have a number of "legal" excuses, but I wouldn't make the trouble of narrating them here.
Philippine BPO lands in the papers
The year 2010 was particularly fruitful for the Philippine BPO (business process outsourcing) industry with some noteworthy feats achieved by the sector, foremost of which is the top ranking it got in the IBM Global Location Trends Report that put the Philippines ahead of India in the voice BPO category.The report came out in October but it was only in December when the major dailies picked it up during IBM's inauguration of its new facilities at the UP-Ayala Techno Hub.
Philippine government faces ICT backlash
The double-edged nature of ICT, particularly social media, came into full view in the last few weeks here as a triple whammy of sorts led the Philippine government to be bombarded with criticisms from the public.It's been more than a month now since the first blunder surfaced on the national scene involving the plagiarism charge hurled against Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Mariano del Castillo.
An IT coverage that never was
I hope the readers of this blog would indulge me as I try to narrate my experience in a recent trip to the U.S.