Ban Students in Internet Shops

NAVOTAS Mayorto ban students in Internet shops

NAVOTAS Mayor Toby Tiangco yesterday reminded the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), Task Force Disiplina (TDF) and barangay officials in the city to continue enforcing the ordinance that bans grade school and high school students from entering any leisure and gaming establishments during school hours.

Tiangco also reiterated his warning to all owners and operators of Internet shops in Navotas to strictly comply with the ordinance, or else face stiff penalties, which include fines and revocation of business permits. He said they should cooperate for the benefit and protection of the students.

“Our city, school and barangay officials, even the parents of schoolchildren, need to remain vigilant to ensure strict enforcement of these regulations that aim to deter unscrupulous owners or operators from tolerating malingerer students for the sake of profit,” Tiangco said.

Enacted in September 2001, Municipal Ordinance No. 2001-03 prohibits the owners or operators of all video/computer arcades/shops in the city from allowing grade school and high school students in school uniforms to enter their establishments.

Tiangco had asked the council to pass the ordinance to address serious concerns raised by parents and teachers over the increasing incidence of cutting classes, tardiness and absenteeism among grade and high school students due to hanging out at Internet/video, arcades, and computer shops during school hours.

Recently, the said ordinance was given more teeth with the Mayor’s Executive Order, “Directing all computer shops operating within the jurisdiction of Navotas City to maintain a see- through front walls and doors of their respective establishments,” to give a clear view of all the activities inside their establishments.

Under the said order, violators of this provision or any of its other provisions face the following penalties: First offense, a fine of P1,000; Second offense, a fine of P2,000; and Third offense, a fine of P2,500 and the automatic cancellation or revocation of business permits or licenses.

Internet café sinorpresa ng DSWD, MPD agents

NAGSAGAWA ng sorpresang inspeksiyon ang pinagsanib na puwersa ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at Manila Police District (MPD) sa mga Internet café sa paligid ng University Belt, upang alamin kung may mga menor de edad na naglalaro doon sa oras ng klase kahapon sa Quiapo, Maynila.

Nabatid kay P/Supt. Romulo Sapitula, hepe ng MPD-Station 3, na dakong ala-1 ng hapon nang maglibot sila sa mga Internet shops sa U-belt area, bilang bahagi ng “Oplan Sagip,” sa pakikipagtulungan ng mga opisyal ng DSWD na sina Arnald Punzal at Virgilio Medina, ng District III, Alvarez office, Maynila.

Sa walong Internet shops, dalawa ang nadatnang may mga kustomer na menor de edad na naglalaro sa “school hours.”

Apat na bagets naman ang nasagip sa Gigz Computer Center, na pagmamay-ari ni Oscar Valenzuela Jr., ng 515 San Rafael St., Quiapo, samantalang sa Genesis Point Internet Zone Co., sa 968 Arlegui St., ay anim na estudyante naman ang nahuli.

Kaagad na ipinatawag ng mga awtoridad ang mga magulang ng mga nahuling estudyante upang ipaalam ang ginagawa ng mga ito sa oras ng eskwela gayundin ang paaralan sa kanilang pinapasukan.

Kasabay nito ay binalaan ng MPD at DSWD ang mga Internet café na mananagot sila sa pagpapasok ng mga menor de edad, lalo na kung mga oras ng eskwela.
JR Reyes - Journal online

RP Internet cafés urged to adopt code of conduct

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- A local firm that owns Internet cafés nationwide is pushing for the adoption of a “code of conduct” for Internet shops, specifically to address child pornography on the Internet.

Local firm Everything Online Inc. (EOL), said the code of conduct was introduced during a conference this month, where lawmakers and representatives of ECPAT Philippines were present. ECPAT stands for “End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes.” It is a network of organizations and individuals working to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

In an interview, EOL chief operating officer Elmer Argano said EOL hopes to encourage other Internet shop owners to adopt the code of conduct, which focuses on “self regulation.”

The code of conduct was launched during the first National All I-Café Operators Conference held at the Grand Boulevard Hotel early this month.

The code of conduct is part of the ECPAT Philippines campaign, dubbed “Make-IT-Safe.” It hopes to raise awareness among communities and ICT stakeholders in the growing menace brought about by child pornography and the commercial sexual exploitation of children online.

Argano pointed out that the code of conduct is significant because majority of the Internet café patrons are children, young people and young adults.

“Internet Café Owners in the country are important community hubs and should be channels for development and for bridging the digital divide that still pervades in society. These channels play a major role in bridging the scientific and technological community with that of the general public and also setting the parameters on content,” said Argano.

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.