|
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Committee frowns on bid to relax rules for Cebu cafes
A Cebu City Council committee is not in favor of easing the requirements for Internet café operators to be granted a business permit.
The council’s committee on laws believes the City Government should give more weight to its responsibility to promote morals and help prevent Internet cafes from allowing online pornography.
Councilor Edgardo Labella, chairman of the committee, said that repealing a provision of the ordinance regulating the operations of Internet cafes would not be timely, since the City is facing an “alarming” problem with cybersex.
The committee gave their report on the proposed ordinance of Councilor Jose Daluz III, which seeks to repeal the provision of City Ordinance 1901 that requires Internet café operators to become members of an accredited Internet café association before they can be granted business permits.
An individual’s right to choose what organization or association to join, or not to join at all, is provided for in Section 8 of the Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution, Daluz said in the ordinance.
More compelling
While this right is protected by the law, Labella said “the more compelling need to ensure the promotion and protection of the physical, moral, intellectual and social well-being of the young people demands effective and circumspect action from government to check and prevent the proliferation of satanic, obscene and violent websites in the Internet business.”
Requiring an Internet operator to be a member of an accredited association could help prevent cybersex activities since the owner would have to submit to the self-disciplining, policing and regulating activities of the organization, the councilor said.
“Repealing the requirement of membership in an association or organization of Internet cafés may not be timely at this point, as the government is confronted with a serious problem of cybersex in Internet cafes,” he told the council yesterday.
Councilors Labella, Procopio Fernandez and Hilario Davide III approved the committee report.
Balancing
While he respects the comments of his fellow councilors and committee members, Daluz refrained from commenting on the report and said he will prepare his comments for the next session.
The committee admitted they are confronted with the issue of balancing interests: the right of the operators to choose what organization to join or not to join at all, versus the right of the local government unit to promote and protect the morals of its young citizens.
“After a thorough evaluation of these two conflicting issues and the prevailing concern about cybersex and private rooms in Internet cafes, it now appears that the public interest served by the requirement to be a member of any Internet organization is of such character that it outweighs the right of café operators whether or not to join an association,” the report read.
Besides, the committee members added, the ordinance merely requires membership in any accredited Internet café association and does not specify what particular association they should join. (LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 22, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
