Lawmaker wants strict regulation of internet cafes

A party-list lawmaker on Sunday called for stricter regulation of the internet café industry, especially those offering online games that are often “violent and have no educational value." An Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem" Noel said internet cafes have been cashing on the unlimited daily supply of young customers who have been hooked to violent internet games. “The internet games have no educational value at all. What positive values could we get from games whose main objective is to invade a territory, destroy a military base and fight-off zombies with blazing guns and tanks?" Noel said. He added: “Soon we will be producing adults who are war-freak and utak-pulbura who will approach their daily problems with the mindset of a warrior or a terminator." Noel said he received complaints from parents who said their children have become so “addicted" to internet games that they have to skip classes. He said some of these “addicted" children won’t be able to graduate this year due to poor grades. He said young internet café users have been spending their “baon" in internet cafes harnessing their talents in killing their “enemies." Noel said he also received reports that internet cafes inside shopping malls are accepting students even during class hours. “A responsible internet café operator should shoo away uniformed customers who are obviously skipping their classes," he stressed. Noel said internet cafes will have a “grand fiesta" of idle and bored young minds now that classes are over. “This coming summer is open season for internet café operators. They have their student-customers for themselves, no distraction from classes," Noel said. “This is the new form of brainwashing where hordes of young children are hooked into deadly internet games with internet café operators as their masters," the lawmaker said. Internet gaming has become a $13.4-million industry in 2005 with a customer base of about four million. Noel said of the four million, he would bet that three million of them are minors or in their pre-adolescent years. He said local government units should set a condition that minors should not be allowed in the cafes during specific times before business permits are issued. “We appeal to [local government officials] to compel internet operators to impose a strict ‘student color-coding’ scheme wherein there’s a time limit for students or minors accessing internet games," Noel said. He said internet café operators should also be conscientious in offering internet games that provide good and positive values to children. Noel clarified that he’s not anti-enterprise and even support entrepreneurs who set up internet cafés. He, however, said internet cafés should not depend solely on the army of minors and students for their revenue. – GMANews.TV