Support the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) Bill

[nirdle_phogi]

---

sourceforge.net - free/open source ilaha available downloads. nindot sad kasagaran.

[nirdle_phogi]

STI in partnership with DTI and DepEd, provides training for public school teachers in using Linux OS, and other open source apps. Mura kasagaran sa mga public school teachers na na-trained are now using Linux sa tunghaan na ilang gitrabaho-an.

[nirdle_phogi]

Sure ko na may mga tindahan karon na namiligya ug mga freewares na ilang na-download. Ilahang i-compile then ibaligya sa mga interesado ana na freewares. lol.

[eax]

sourceforge.net - free/open source ilaha available downloads. nindot sad kasagaran.

How about http://freshmeat.net

[asdfgh]

i am for promoting FOSS but i just like to post this fyi

http://philippineinternetreview.blog...urce-bill.html


Philippine Computer Society's (PCS) position on House Bill 5769 - the Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Bill Nov 20, '06 8:13 AM
for everyone
This is the Philippine Computer Society's (PCS) position on House Bill 5769 otherwise known as the Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Bill.

1. The Philippine Computer Society, composed of the country’s leading ICT professionals and practitioners from the business, academe and government sectors, believes strongly that both the government and the private sector should continue to have the freedom to choose either open source software or proprietary, commercial software. This is because the decision to choose one or the other -- or even both -- should be based on a careful assessment of the specific needs and objectives of an organization and not forced upon them by legal fiat;
2. Both open source and commercial software have their corresponding merits and benefits that they bring to an organization's operations in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness, mission-criticality, technical support, service level performance standards, and so on and so forth. The two kinds of software need not be mutually exclusive. In fact they can be used together in an integral and complimentary manner way, allowing a company access to the best of both worlds so to speak;
3. By mandating the use of open source software, the government will effectively deprive itself and the public from making full and optimal use of software, which has become essential to a company’s viability and competitiveness. Organizations in both the public and private sectors would be forced to use software that does not exactly meet their needs but that they have to make do with because that would be as far as the law would allow. That would be tantamount to handicapping private companies in doing their business, rather than giving them the freedom and flexibility to survive and progress in an increasingly-competitive global business environment. It may also handicapped government agencies in delivering services to their respective constituencies. Moreover, billions of pesos have already been invested in the acquisition, training and use of contracted software. To mandate the use of open source would be tantamount also to throwing these investments down the drain, so to speak. Incidentally, Article III, Section 10 of the Philippine Constitution states that “No law curtailing the obligation of contracts shall be passed”. Since the license and use of proprietary, commercial software are covered by contracts, mandating the use of open source may be a violation of the aforementioned constitutional provision;
4. The PCS is also not in favor of a certain provision in the bill declaring it unlawful for educational institutions to offer professional certification programs for proprietary software unless they also offer a similar certification program for FOSS. We believe that this is not only an encroachment on academic freedom – it adds additional burden and expense to schools that they may not be able to fulfill and may result in their closure. Longer-term, it could have the effect of reducing the number of schools offering such certification courses and limiting opportunities for Filipinos to take up certification programs that would assure them of guaranteed employment here or abroad;
5. Passage of the FOSS Bill will also effectively isolate the Philippine ICT industry from the rest of the world where dynamic growth continues to take place precisely because an environment of freedom and competitiveness and protection for intellectual property rights exists in most other countries. At this time when the Philippines is finally making good economic progress, with ICT as one of its main drivers, the Philippines cannot afford to be put at a great disadvantage as the FOSS bill would surely do if passed into law;
6. We strongly believe that Government policies should remain neutral and not show preference or bias towards certain operating and application systems over others. The government must protect freedom of choice and competition for it is through competition where innovation thrives and new, revolutionary products emerge.

In conclusion, the PCS is not against FOSS. On the contrary, the PCS is for encouraging organizations, government and private, to avail for themselves the best of both worlds. But what we cannot agree to is curtailing the freedom of organizations, including government agencies, government-owned and/or -controlled corporations, public elementary and high schools, and state colleges and universities, to decide for themselves the most appropriate and cost-effective software to utilize to address their needs. Thus, we pray that this freedom should not be taken away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PSIA Opposes HOUSE BILL NO. 5769, the Free Open Source Software Act of 2006 Nov 16, '06 9:20 PM
for everyone
Below is PSIA's position paper on HOUSE BILL NO. 5769, the Free Open Source Software Act of 2006.

As the representative organization of the Philippine software industry, the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) strongly opposes HOUSE BILL NO. 5769, the Free Open Source Software Act of 2006, as sponsored by House Representative Teodoro Casino.

As an industry association, we encourage the fostering of forward-thinking, innovation and creativity – necessary characteristics of a healthy software industry and essential pillars of the FLY HIGH 2010 software industry targets. This runs counter to the promotion of one technology platform or business model over another.

The companies comprising the Philippine software industry employ a diverse range of technology platforms – using both open source and proprietary software – running the entire gamut of functionalities and price-points. We believe that both users and developers of software should have the freedom of choice as to which technology can best address their unique business needs and requirements. In this sense, technology is only a tool and not an end in itself. As anyone running a business will attest, the point is never the tool itself but the business requirement it seeks to address.

To mandate the use of one technology platform over all others, without consideration of what best serves a specific business requirement, is short-sighted, myopic and a disservice to both users and developers of software – as well as to the Filipino people, whose best interests are compromised by limiting the technology options from which to choose to serve their requirements.

If government’s aim is to optimize the use of technology in the exercise of its agencies’ obligations to the public, then this objective is best met by observing the following:

1. Government needs to spend more time defining its information system requirements and the evaluation criteria which will determine which solution and technology platform can best serve such requirements.
2. Government’s procurement processes must be examined and modified to ensure a fair, transparent and rational technology selection process. This will lead to healthy competition among providers ensuring that government is able to choose the best and most appropriate solutions to meet its requirements.
3. Government has no business or expertise mandating the use of one technology platform over the other. Government’s role is to partner with the private sector in providing the environment and business framework in which innovation, creativity and freedom of informed choice can thrive, especially in the area of technology which is characterized by dynamism and disruptive change.

Separately, the government should consider the role of the Philippine software industry as a generator of revenue and employment for the country. In 2005 alone, PSIA member firms accounted for over $200 million in earnings and 14,000 in employment. Our targets are to increase these numbers to $1 billion and 100,000 respectively by 2010. However, our achievement of these targets will be a function of our ability to offer the global market diverse, flexible and scaleable skill sets across various technology platforms. HOUSE BILL 5769 compromises this ability in several ways. Among them are:

1. As a major user of IT, government has the opportunity, some will say – the responsibility, to jump start the creation of industry skills across these various platforms . By limiting government agencies to a technology platform, government prevents a level playing field in which various technology providers can compete and establish an experience and revenue base in the domestic market.
2. As a supposed enabler of the local software industry, one of government’s roles should be to collaborate with the private sector and academe in ensuring that our educational institutions are able to prepare our graduates with the correct skill sets required by the market. In this context, imposing restrictions on what kind of training can be offered defies all logic and reason.

We urge the proponents of HOUSE BILL NO. 5769 to step back and reconsider the implications of their proposal. We should focus on common interests and not positions. Mandating a technology platform over all others is a position. Ensuring that government agencies and the Filipino people are able to optimize their technology choices in is an interest we all share.

Signed:

PHILIPPINE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

[Tin_Tin]

naa moy link sa complete provisions ani nga bill....?

[ix_888]

any more ideas gyz?

[eax]

I think na stalled ni because of the political turmoil sa Manile .

[reg777]

http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/News/...d815f2c62.html

Philippines open source bill gets Sun's support
Not surprisingly, Microsoft opposes the bill mandating open source software in government and education
By: Tom S. Noda
Computerworld Philippines (DW) (22 Feb 200

MANILA -- Familiar battle lines are being drawn over pending legslation mandating free and open source (FOSS) software for government and educational use in the Philippines.

While Microsoft and the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) are opposing the controversial free and open source software (FOSS) act (House Bill 1716) filed in the Philippine Congress, Sun Microsystems Inc. plans to support the bill.

In an exclusive interview with Computerworld Philippines, Matt Thompson, Sun's senior director for Technology Outreach & Sun Developer Network group, announced plans to support the pending FOSS bill in Congress, as part of Sun's commitment to drive network participation through open source.

"I would certainly work with our local field (SunPhil) here to put some support behind something like this. There is no reason we wouldn't. I'm just wasn't aware of it before," Thompson said, referring to the FOSS bill filed in congress last September 2006 by Rep. Teodoro Casiño, which mandates the use of FOSS in government and educational institutions. "Any software company that looks at this as close-minded is looking at last century and not this century," Thompson said.

Describing the Philippine FOSS bill as "fantastic," Thompson said that Sun actually worked with the Malaysian government to establish a similar policy supporting all open source technology for all government work. However, unlike Casiño's bill, the one in Malaysia does not include the adoption of open source among schools.

Thompson added the approval of open source laws in countries will also help build local IT economies versus a net importer of IT technologies because it simply allows a country's expertise in technology to be built in-house. "We're extremely supportive of these kinds of policies. We think it makes a lot of sense, it helps investment," the Sun executive said.

Thompson said he expects Microsoft to also oppose the open source policy in Malaysia but reminded that open source is not something to be confronted with.

"The reality is open source is not something you can fight. It is something that you learn to adopt and extend and adapt to," he explained, noting even Microsoft has recently started to include open source as part of its development performance.


Citing reports from the Microsoft Software Technology News (MSTN), Thompson said the software firm now has open source experts within their organization and is now talking to different developers on how the latter could be allowed access to Microsoft's source code under different licenses than the licenses it offers for sale.

"For Sun's part, we've gone the open source route," Thompson said. "Every piece of software Sun produces is, or will be open source. For us it's a simple argument that the more people who get access to our software, the better off we are. It makes economic sense."

Thompson, along with Naveen Asrani, Sun's manager for Developer Relations, came in the Philippines to celebrate the third year anniversary of Sun's Java Education and Development Initiative (JEDI) held on Feb. 21 at the Heritage hotel in Pasay City.

More than 300 members of the local JEDI team, composed mostly by university professors and college instructors, attended the JEDI celebration led by members of both the University of the Philippines Java Research & Development Center (UP-JRDC), and Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE).

[MelodyMan]

freaking govt. dapat open-source na ilang gamit. most of their agencies naman wlay gamit!
i know taas ug learning curve ang open source and kung mo hawa ang employee it's quite tedious and gasto to educate the new ones kay wla man gud na sa school ang using open source. pero dugay man sad na mang hawa ang govt employees. unsaon nalang ang retirement fee?