SEPT. 11, 2006 (MST)—Rep. Teodoro Casiño is expected to file a bill this week mandating the use of free and open source software and open standards in all government projects.
A draft furnished to Standard Today showed that the bill allows the use of proprietary software in government only when no open source alternatives are readily available, or when a proprietary system is already widely in use.
The bill also prohibits any government agency from procuring technology goods and services that are locked in to or dependent on a single vendor.
The bill defines a FOSS license as any license or end-user agreement that ensures free access to open source software and the right to freely redistribute it.
Unlike proprietary programs that are often distributed as executable files, open source software gives users access to human readable instructions, enabling them to modify the software to suit their needs.
Open source software is also often free or much cheaper than proprietary systems.
A FOSS law would likely hurt the government accounts of proprietary companies such as Microsoft, but a spokesman for the software giant’s Philippine office said they had not yet seen a copy of the bill.
Casiño’s bill tasks the Commission on Higher Education, the National Computing Center and the Department of Science and Technology to promote free and open source software in the academic community by providing libraries, organizing competitions, and encouraging research in the field.
A curriculum on the use and development of free and open source software will be developed for high schools, colleges and universities within 18 months of the bill’s passage.
No college or university will be allowed to offer certification programs in proprietary software or solutions, if it does not also offer as part of its curriculum a similar certification program for free and open source software.
Significantly, the bill provides legal recognition of free and open source licenses, a sticking point in some public biddings.
‘‘There have been cases when government agencies make it difficult for a bidder to propose an open source software-based solution because of the inability to transfer licenses,’’ said William Emmanuel Yu of the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science at the Ateneo de Manila University. ‘‘This is because these licenses are not commercial and thus nontransferable. At least, with this bill, FOSS licensed software can be included in bids without this form of discrimination.’’
The Casiño bill would also amend Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines to prohibit the patenting on free and open source software.
While open source proponents welcomed the Casiño bill, there was some concern that requiring government agencies and schools to use FOSS would run counter to the freedom of choice that the movement espouses.
‘‘The mandatory use of open standards is definitely a good move. This can possibly promote interoperable solutions and systems,’’ Yu said. ‘‘However… forcing the use of open source software is against the principles of open source itself which is essentially choice.’’
Yu suggested instead that all government bids must have at least one FOSS solution.
In addition, Yu urged lawmakers to respect academic freedom.
‘‘Schools should be able to teach whatever they see fit to teach,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t think the government should start intervening in this respect.’’
From Manila Standard Today, Sept. 11, 2006
