Sotto bats for passage of cyber crime bill

MANILA, Philippines - After crying foul and claiming he was a victim of cyber bullying, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III called on President Aquino yesterday to sign the cybercrime act which provides heavier penalties for offenses like hacking, Internet fraud and identity theft.

Sotto expressed belief that some groups that are “professional faultfinders” could be behind the massive black propaganda campaign against him because of his open objection to certain provisions of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

“Definitely, there are groups who are professional faultfinders who have nothing to do but sit in front of their computers and dig for faults, when their real target is the RH bill,” Sotto said during a weekly forum at the Senate.

Sotto found it unfortunate that the President has not signed the cybercrime act into law which could have allowed authorities to question certain Internet groups.

“Once the cybercrime bill is enacted into law, they will be accountable for what they say or write,” the senator said.

Sotto said he was not keen on getting back at his accusers through cyberspace.

“Once the proper time comes, they will be accountable to God for all their criticisms,” Sotto said.

He also defended himself from his critics who accused him of plagiarizing several sources – including a blog – for his RH speeches.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, meanwhile, contested yesterday the claim of Sotto that plagiarism in not a crime under Philippine laws.

“Plagiarism is actionable under Philippine laws. It may give rise to a criminal action under the Intellectual Property Code, which imposes imprisonment and fines as penalties for infringement of any right secured by provisions of the said code,” De Lima told The STAR.

She said plagiarism could involve infringement of copyright, one of the rights protected by the IPC, and therefore can be considered a crime.

“Civil action may also be pursued under the Civil Code against those who violate the code,” she added.

Optimistic

A leader of the House of Representatives expressed optimism yesterday that the RH bill would be up for voting on second reading by early October as the chamber struggles to put in amendments to soften opposition to the controversial measure.

House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said the chamber’s leadership is trying to cool things down on the floor as the last three weeks, supposedly the period of amendments, were marked by heated exchanges between pro-RH and anti-RH lawmakers.

“The (proposed national) budget (for 2013) will be coming in (for plenary debates) maybe next week and we will devote entirely our time for the budget and after about two weeks, by Oct. 8, maybe we can put it on for voting (on second reading),” Gonzales said.

He said the proposed P2.006-trillion national budget would likely be voted on second reading by Oct. 15 or 16 so proponents of House Bill 4244 would push for its approval before that.

After several months of debates, the chamber finally ended interpellations on the measure earlier this month and entered the period of amendments.

The crucial vote on the RH bill is on second reading or after the amendments have already been put in.

The voting on third and final reading is virtually certain once a measure has been passed on second reading. – With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero