computerwoche.de

Archiv

Philippine software lobby opposes open-source bill

15.11.2006
The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) is opposing a proposed bill in Congress mandating the use open-source software in government, saying the bill limits government's ability to choose the best solutions and could hamper the growth of the local software industry.

House Bill 5679 or the Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Act of 2006, filed by Congressman Teodoro Casino, seeks to mandate government agencies and public schools to use FOSS instead of proprietary software.

The bill, scheduled for hearing in Congress this week, also requires the Commission on ICT (CICT) to enforce migration from proprietary to FOSS, and also suggests non-fiscal incentives to private businesses that adhere to it.

According to Casino and FOSS advocates, government and small businesses will benefit from using low-cost software. They also expect this to level the playing field for local software companies against bigger and foreign competitors.

But in a position paper e-mailed by PSIA president Fermin Taruc, PSIA said the proposed bill -- through 'promotion of one technology platform or business model over the other' -- hampers innovation and creativity within the local software industry.

It pointed out that local software companies employ and diverse range of technology platforms and develop products using both open-source and proprietary software.