Former Duterte spokesman Harry Roque is running for the Senate under the Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte party, the UniTeam it is called. Here is a preview of what Filipinos can expect from him if he is elected to the Senate.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1167492 |
UniTeam senatorial candidate Harry Roque would push for Internet connection as a human right of all Filipinos.
“Right to connectivity, right to Internet ay kinikilala na ngayon na karapatang pantao (is now being recognized as a human right),” he said in an interview with lawyer Trixie Angeles on Thursday.
Roque, a human rights lawyer, said the Internet had played a significant role for people worldwide since most activities and business transactions were being done online.
He said the Department of Education was able to implement blended learning because of Internet connectivity.
As a member of the House of Representatives' 17th Congress, Roque pushed for the establishment of more Internet sites but the foreign contractor established only 1,000 of the 10,000 proposed sites.
Roque said he convinced the Department of Information and Technology (DICT) to take over what the foreign contractor had failed to finish.
The DICT has already installed Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) sites over 8,900 spots under the "Free WiFi for All" program, which seeks to access opportunities, education, and information.
Roque said the government should completely deregulate private internet providers to give the Filipinos satisfactory service.
“(If they can’t provide quality service, we would find one. We have to completely deregulate especially the Internet business because is important not only to the economy but also to our everyday connectivity),” he said.
The United Nations and other organizations are pushing this line that the internet access is a human right. But not everyone agrees. The internet is a modern technology that humanity lived without for thousands of years. We don't need it as an essential part of a healthy life.
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| https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/vint-cerf-internet-access-isnt-a-human-right/ |
"Technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself," Cerf, who is also a Google's chief Internet evangelist, wrote yesterday in an editorial in The New York Times. "There is a high bar for something to be considered a human right. Loosely put, it must be among the things we as humans need in order to lead healthy, meaningful lives, like freedom from torture or freedom of conscience. It is a mistake to place any particular technology in this exalted category, since over time we will end up valuing the wrong things."
If the access to the internet is a human right then it follows that having devices which allow one to connect to the internet is also a human right. Therefore under this reasoning the government must provide these devices whether they be phones, tablets, or computers.
But here is the thing. This is the Philippines. In this nation the cops regularly murder citizens or extort money from them. In this nation the President can put you on his list of drug dealers, say your name on TV, and then you can end up dead. That is what Roque has been defending during his time as Presidential spokesman. And he wants to tell us access to the internet is a human right and that will be part of his focus!!!
What a joke. This is a man who pushed for the Philippines to join the International Criminal Court and when Duterte unilaterally nullified that treaty he defended that move.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/03/15/1797012/roque-defends-icc-withdrawal-despite-work-he-put-philippines-membership |
Asked in an interview with ANC, he said that he has not changed his mind about the Philippines' membership with the ICC.
"I acknowledge, I was at the forefront of ratifying the ICC. I was convenor for [PCICC]. I filed cases but I agree with the decision of the president," he added.
Imagine cheering as your boss destroys your life's work. This guy is so out of touch he just doesn't get it. Internet access is important in this day and age but it is far from being a human right. Not being murdered or extorted by the police IS a human right. How about Roque speaks up about that?
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