Group pushes IP Code amendments to boost fight against online piracy

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

THE Marcos administration was asked on Wednesday by CitizenWatch Philippines to certify as urgent the passage of anti-online piracy legislation now pending in the Senate to address the challenges of online piracy and accelerate the digitalization program of the government.

T im Abejo, co-convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines, said it is high time to amend 26-year-old Intellectual Property (IP) Code to respond to the context of digital online platforms.

Further, Abejo added the country needs a new intellectual law to boost the creative economy, prevent opportunity loss, protect the interest of the Philippines’ rich and diverse talent pool, and even shield our citizens, especially the vulnerable, from online predators.

“Online piracy harms the viability of the creative sector and undermines the values and creative spirit of our people,” Abejo noted.

It also unduly incentivizes those whose only contribution is to find ways to profit from what is not theirs to begin with,” he added.

A t present, electronic and online content are currently not included in the IP Code’s definition of pirated goods.

Meanwhile, House Bill 7600, which amends the IP Code, most notably in allowing authorities to block sites that provide pirated content, was approved last May in the House of Representatives.

T he bill gives authorize the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) to block websites that violate the IP Code and expands its enforcement functions to investigate, gather intelligence, and develop countermeasures to piracy. It also establishes guidelines for Internet service providers in blocking websites hosting pirated material.

Nevertheless, a counterpart bill in the Senate has yet to be passed, even as at least one version sponsored by Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

proposes a definite timeline of five days for IPOPHIL to process piracy complaints by content owners.

Pirates are fast and cunning. We must be faster and more aggressive. We can’t be stuck deliberating whether the present mechanisms are enough. While we are still talking about all these, these pirates and violators are already on their next move and profiting from their criminal acts,” Abejo said.

D ata from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the creative industry is a vital contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, accounting for approximately 7.3 percent or P1.6 trillion of the gross value added in 2022.

T his figure, however, is already lower than the 7.5 percent share reported in 2018, primarily due to piracy.

T he local film industry, specifically, bear the brunt of online piracy, even as it is already struggling to compete with foreign productions and streaming platforms. A

2018 report by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) revealed that online piracy caused a 47 percent decline in box office sales and a 72 percent drop in legitimate online transactions in the Philippines from 2012 to 2016.

T he pandemic-driven lockdowns enabled the pirates to gain heavily, with an estimated P1 billion in potential revenue losses to local video producers, distributors and aggregators, according to Media Partners Asia in 2020.

Instead of finding right value for their work and being compensated commensurately for it, those in the creatives industry continue to struggle against economic realities aggravated further by online piracy,” Abejo said.

He also warned that failure to protect intellectual property of the local talents might force them to seek opportunities where their works are protected complemented by fair compensation. I f this happens, Abejo pointed out the creatives industry, driven

PHL and Jordan eye bilateral agreement on deployment of skilled Pinoy workers

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig

JORDAN and the Philippines will soon negotiate for a new bilateral labor agreement that would allow Filipino skilled workers to work in the Arabian state.

Around 95 percent of the 43,000 OFWs in Jordan are domestic workers.

Jordan’s Ministry of Labor Secretary General Farouq Al-Hadidi met with Philippine Ambassador to Amman Wilfredo Santos, which “set in motion” the prospects of issuing “specialized work permit” for Fili- pino skilled workers.

I f Manila and Amman agree to deploy Filipino skilled workers to Jordan, it would “change the demographics of the Filipino workers in Jordan,” Santos told the BusinessMirror D uring their meeting, the labor minister “acknowledged the contribution of Filipino workers and informed the Ambassador of the increasing demand from various sectors for Filipino skilled/ specialized workers.”

He [Secretary General] informed the Ambassador of the

Kasuso Foundation seeks

CONGRESS should consider transferring even a small part of the P10-billion confidential funds in the 2024 budget to save the roughly 9,000 Filipinas who die of breast cancer every year.

In behalf of our Filipina sisters who are suffering and whose pain can be prevented and eased, Kasuso Foundation is joining other cancer groups in asking Congress for more funds for early cancer detection and treatment,” said Aileen Antolin, convenor of the Kasuso Foundation that has

Ministry’s enthusiasm to open proper channels with the Embassy and discuss ways and means to facilitate the entry to Jordan of these skilled workers,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

A mbassador Santos welcomed the offer and expressed his gratitude to Jordan for opening its doors to the 43,000 OFWs.

L ikewise, he thanked the Jordanian labor official for the “guarantees” instituted by the Jordanian government to promote the rights and protection of OFWs.

[Ambassador Santos] assured the Secretary General that the Embassy will work closely with the Ministry on this new endeavor and will continue to partner with the Ministry in other areas of mutual concern,” the DFA said.

N egotiations for the deployment of Filipino skilled workers will be led by the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers.

Accompanying the Ambassador to the meeting were Third Secretaries and Vice Consuls Angeli A. Payumo and Sheila Marie G. Andales and Labor Attaché Armi Evangel Peña.

Bite From Confi Funds For Cancer Fight

been trying to educate women on cancer prevention and survival.

E very year, around 27,000 new breast cancer cases are found among local women, while 9,000 who were diagnosed in previous years die.

D ata show only 1 percent of Filipinas get tested for cancer each year, probably the lowest in the world with neighboring countries posting around 20 percent and rich countries around 50 percent.

T he congressional budget for cancer was only about P1 billion and raised last year to around P1.5 billion.

A ntolin said the budget must be increased so if possible all public hospitals all over the country and even private ones can test women to prevent their cancer, if found positive, from progressing. At the moment, only about 23 public hospitals offer such service, denying an unknown number of women from such tests in the provinces.

For treatment, there are even fewer hospitals and the budget must be taken also from the P1.5 billion which can accommodate only from by the artistry, inventiveness, and skills of Filipinos, will suffer losses and demoralization. “Online pirates take away the rightful reward and recognition for their work, and this will eventually discourage creativity and innovation among our people and investors.”

200 to 300 cancer patients who must undergo 18 cycles of treatment using chemotherapy and/or targeted therapy, which does not kill healthy cells and has milder side effects.

Women, she said, usually come for help only when it is too late because they have no money for the early detection tests and because they know about the financial hardship they and their families have to suffer if found positive.

“ Let us save our women. Pakurot naman sa confidential funds,” she added.

To exacerbate the situation, Abejo noted some sites also carry content promoting the Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC), whereby minors are exploited to perform sexual acts and streamed online. Other sites deceive users to share sensitive data for cyber-attacks on individuals or institutions alike.

“ Right now, swift site blocking power is the apparent response to these threats,” Abejo said.

That technology creates boundless possibilities is proven true, and in this case, the possibilities go both ways,” he added. “We have to do everything in our power to limit the bad and destructive ways that technology can be used to the detriment of our people.”

Continued from A14

Moreover, the nutrition official said the measure will support the local economy, especially the farmers.

Diokno explained that the proposed tax program on junk food would impose P10 per 100 grams or P10 per 100 milliliters tax on prepackaged foods “lacking nutritional value” and those that contain nutritional levels “exceeding” the DOH’s specified thresholds for fat, salt, and sugar content.

The proposed tax measure would cover confectioneries, snacks, desserts and frozen confectioneries. Diokno disclosed that the DOF plans to hike the current sweetened beverage tax regime to P12 per liter regardless of sweetener used. Diokno added that the tax rate will be “indexed annually by 4 percent and exemptions would be eliminated to broaden the tax base.”

Diokno said the increase in sugar tax aims to “strengthen” the effectiveness of the current tax regime by “further discouraging the consumption of such beverages.” (Full story here: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/06/22/dof-doh-pushsugar-and-salt-tax-eye-p76-b-morerevenues/ ) Andrea E. San Juan trustworthy, and proficient in speaking and writing in English & Korean Hangul.

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng