Another solon joins fights against online pornography Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net
September 07, 2007
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The House of Representatives’ chair of the information and communications technology committee has also joined the fight against online peddlers of pornography.
"We wholly support the fight against online pornography," said Catanduanes Representative Joseph Santiago in a statement, as he supported Senator Loren Legarda's war against pornography on the Internet.
Legarda has filed Senate Bill 1375 which hopes to impose stricter penalties on online smut. Under the bill, people found peddling child pornography and other "indecent materials" online would be punished with up to six years in prison or fined as much as P500,000, or both.
Legarda cited the online forum called "Boy Bastos," which has apparently decided to take down its forums and gallery recently after the solon singled it out as an example of websites peddling indecent materials.
In the "Boy Bastos" website, the words "Pahinga Muna" appears, which in English means "Taking a break." Toward the end of the message, the website owner indicates that the online forum will be back soon.
"The decision of Boy Bastos to close down its electronic gallery of Filipino women and girls indicates guilt, and that its administrator is fearful of the potential legal consequences of the (site's) lewd materials," Santiago said.
Legarda's Anti-Computer Pornography Act aims to "reinforce the war on electronic smut."
The proposed bill will make "any remote computer facility operator, electronic service provider or electronic bulletin board service provider to knowingly transmit, offer or attempt to send any communication that contains indecent material, to a person under 18 years of age" unlawful.
Legarda's bill also wants Congress "to protect children from indecent and immoral materials conveyed through computer technology." Santiago said that a few hours after Legarda exposed "boybastos," the online forum decided to shut down its gallery of "some 20,000 mostly lewd photographs of Filipino women and girls." Soon after, the solon said the online forum took down the entire website, except for some links to fee-based porn sites abroad.
"We've checked the domain name boybastos.com. It is registered with Network Solutions. The original domain name registrant is traceable, even if they tampered with the online listing on the day Senator Legarda assailed the site, and put in her name as registrant, apparently in a feeble attempt to mock her," Santiago said.
Santiago urged the National Bureau of Investigation find ways to remove the domain name with the help of Network Solutions Inc., a US company that registers and manages domain names.
Earlier, Legarda urged agencies like the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to look into websites containing porn or related materials. The IACAT is composed of the departments of justice, social welfare, foreign affairs and labor, as well as the immigration bureau, the police, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women and three groups representing women, children and overseas workers.
Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo Madrigal also filed a similar bill two years ago that wanted to make the mere possession of child pornography a crime.
Republic Act 7610, the "Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act," currently penalizes child prostitution and sexual abuse, child trafficking, and obscene publications and indecent shows involving minors.
State Prosecutor Geronimo Sy said there are other laws like Republic Act 8792, or the E-commerce Act, and the Republic Act 9208, also known as the Anti-Trafficking Persons Act, that can be used to penalize online peddlers of child pornography.
