FOI, Apple and the evolution of Greed

FOR those who are not aware yet simply because not all are tech-savvy or concerned enough what’s happening in the world of modern technology, it has been a buzz, especially in the internet and social media, last month that a United States court ordered Samsung to pay at least $1.4 billion (US dollars) to Apple, makers of the pricey iPhones and iPads, on the grounds that Samsung allegedly copied the design of Apple’s devices.

Apple is raking billions worldwide even their devices are highly overpriced in exchange for “high end technology” projecting an elitist feel of a lifestyle, and here comes Samsung and other phone and digital device brands leveling the plains to consumers contrasting the attempt of a monopoly in the industry.

But Apple is smart, with the use of their existing laws, they wanted to beat the competition via legal means, and they also get billions for that expensive lawsuit. This was how greed redefined, even the law find Samsung guilty as charged. Take that from Apple, which is reportedly one of Samsung’s top clients in the purchases of hardware materials used for some components in their “iDevices.”

Sometimes I’d like to believe that there are laws out there that were specifically created to “legalize” greed, and there are also laws-to-be that are put into the garbage because it threatens the greed of which some lawmakers do for a living.

Take the instance in our dear country where the Congress recently junked the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill.

The FOI Bill, when enacted into law, could give way for a transparent governance because people has the right to ask government officials and agencies to disclose their dealings with the government, especially affairs that involve money. This is not just for every journalist’s consumption, but for the scrutinizing public as well.

And yesterday, it was thrown away in the kangkungan. Some lawmakers feared that this FOI Bill will be used against every government agency and officials as blackmail by corrupt media practitioners who are often called as “Haoshao” or in our local dialect, “Mga Tigbas,” as means of milking for bribe.

Granting that these “Tigbas” media people exist, it should never be an excuse. If government officials and agencies were doing an honest job, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Is there something to hide?

Sometimes, I’d also like to believe that the junking of the FOI Bill was not the voice of the people whom Congress is supposed to represent, but it was the voice of their greed to hide billion-worth of scrupulous commissions from every government project and for the upcoming 2013 elections, and of course they need that to pay for the “Tigbas” media people, too.

(Nef Luczon is a freelance journalist and a part-time communications instructor. He is also a film and art enthusiast. Send comments to nefluczon@gmail.com)