Open source Valentine

It’s a hot date before the big day. Bayan Muna has scheduled a round table on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 13, at the Rajah Park Hotel function room in Fuente Osmeña to discuss free and open source software.

Organizers are still finalizing details but I was told it’s open to anyone interested to discuss free and open source software, one of the advocacies of Bayan Muna, particularly Rep. Teddy Casiño.

Casiño is the author of House Bill 5769 or the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) Act of 2006. The measure, according to Casiño’s explanatory notes, “mandates the use of FOSS in all government agencies and encourages the use and development of FOSS in the private and public sectors.”

The bill is still with the House committee on information communications technology. There is no chance it will be passed by this Congress but I was told they will reintroduce the bill in the next Congress.

Among the provisions of the bill is the requirement that “government shall apply only FOSS or FOSS solutions… in all ICT projects and activities.”

The bill also makes it “unlawful for any higher educational institution to offer, as part of its curriculum, a professional certification program on the use and implementation of proprietary software and solutions if it does not offer…a similar certification program for FOSS and open standards.”

If you’re interested in joining the discussion, contact me and I’ll get you in touch with the organizers. I will be attending the discussion to cover the event. See you there.

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One response

  1. Apolonio M. Fortaliza Avatar
    Apolonio M. Fortaliza

    I am free tomorrow, February 13, 2007. I won’t miss this event. Can you give me the time when it start? Please reply at my email address. Thanks.

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