Addressing one of the most controversial issues today, the Dr. Jovito R. Salonga Center for Law & Development conducted a forum on The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175) last Dec. 11 at the SU Justice Aldecoa Jr. Moot Court.
No less than the chair of the Office of Cybercrime of the Department of Justice, Assistant Secretary Geronimo L. Sy came to speak on the topic.
In his lecture, Assistant Secretary Sy clarified some of the most frequently asked questions about cybercrime: 1) data privacy, 2) cybercrime, and 3) cyber security.
He said their proposed version of the cybercrime law seeking to conform to the Budapest Cybercrime Convention was to address only the core cybercrime issues but the current version of the law passed by Congress contained many unnecessary provisions, including provisions on libel and child pornography, which he quipped were only inserted at the last minute.
The forum was well attended with students from Silliman University, Foundation University, Negros Oriental State University, St. Paul University-Dumaguete and the Asian College of Science & Technology. Dumaguete City Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova and Bais City Mayor Karen Villanueva also graced the forum.
The forum intended to discuss Republic Act 10175 otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which was approved on Sept. 12, 2012. It may be recalled that on Oct. 9, the Supreme Court issued a 120-day Temporary Restraining Order in light of a petition for certiorari to declare the law invalid. Oral arguments on the petition have been set for Jan. 15 next year. (Albert Jerome Babaylan)
