It was exciting to know that a FOSS Bill was filed late last year in the Philippine House of Representatives. Although it received lackadaisical support from Filipino congressmen I still have high hopes that soon many will push for the adaption of FOSS in the country. The lawmakers’ ignorance of the philosophy and benefits of free/open source software is most probably the reason why the bill underwent only one hearing in Congress.

Authored by Teddy Casino of the Bayan Muna party list, House Bill 5769 is officially called “Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) Act of 2006”. The goal of the bill is to promote the development and use of free/open source software in all government agencies and public educational institutions all over the country. To realize this goal, the bill proposes that:
     a.) the government promote the awareness of Filipinos in free/open source software (section 10.1)
     b.) the government shall only use ICT goods and services that are, support and/or interoperable with open standards, protocols or specifications (section 6.1)
     c.) the government shall apply only FOSS or FOSS solutions (section 6.2).

Section 4 contains the bill’s definition of free/open source software, and it seems that it is generally patterned after the definition enshrined in the GNU General Public License (GPL) and The Open Source Definition. Essentially, the definition seeks to guarantee that all software developers and users are free to run, study, redistribute and modify free/open source software.

House Bill 5769 does not prohibit the use nor purchase of proprietary software. It does not also mandate that free/open source software be gratis. Section 6.4 states that when extraordinary circumstances exist, the government may use proprietary standards and software. These so called extrardinary cirscumtances exist when there is no FOSS available for a particular need or area of activity.

The benefits of using and developing free/open source software in a third-world country like the Philippines are many. Just think of how much the country can save if it chooses free/open source software over its closed-sourced counterparts. High licensing fees and vendor lock-ins are bundled with proprietary software. And we all know that the Philippines cannot afford the unreasonable price tag. There are already so many well-developed, well-tested and well-maintained open source applications available that offer affordable and sustainable solutions to our country’s digital needs. In short, we have so many better choices at our disposal.

But the benefits of FOSS go beyond the financial territory. FOSS is not only cost-effective but also stable, dynamic, scalable, and immune to the viruses that plague Microsoft softwares. I must add that its being low-cost does not mean it is of low quality. On the contrary, FOSS provides high levels of quality, security and functionality (take Linux as a good example). Its being free (as in freedom) makes it a platform for democratic action. And since it is based on sharing, FOSS can promote the culture of cooperation and teamwork among its users and developers.

If you care about what kind of software our government uses and develops, please express your support for House Bill 5769 by telling the congressman of your district about it through email or other forms of communication. Let us all push for FOSS to be adapted here in our beloved country.

If you are interested to know more about the benefits of free/open source, please find time to read the following:

1. Why Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS)? Look at the Numbers!
2. The hidden benefits of free software
3. Free Software and its Benefits
4. Why schools should use exclusively free software

If you have links that might be helpful, please let me know about it.