Citizens’ rights group CitizenWatch Philippines has renewed its calls for the Senate to hasten the passage of anti-online piracy bills, saying that each day of delay translates into losses for the creative industry while scammers get richer with each victim.
“The inertia of delayed legislation casts a shadow upon progress, stifling the very essence of justice and societal advancement,” said lawyer Tim Abejo, co-convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines.
Abejo said in a statement that the implementers of anti-piracy policies themselves have already expressed strong support and readiness to take more aggressive measures to combat this bane.
“We have already lost so many years allowing these high-tech thieves, but thieves, nonetheless, get away with profiting from what isn’t theirs,” he said.
“What we have right now are just band-aid solutions that hardly address the problem, so it is high time we amend the existing law for a more comprehensive, sustainable approach to online piracy.”
Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code was passed in 1997 seeking to protect Filipinos’ intellectual property. While it established the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL), the law did not contemplate new technologies like the Internet. The IP Code in its current form does not include electronic and online content in its definition of pirated goods.
Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. authored Senate Bills 20150 and 2385, respectively, seeking to pass the Online Site Blocking Act to enable the IPOPHL to swiftly block sites carrying pirated content. These proposals are also being pushed by the Private Sector Advisory Council.