IN AN ATTEMPT to diminish the exposure of violent video games to the youth, representative Rosanna "Ria" Vergara has introduced a new bill to address the issue: House Bill No. 3112 or the "Internet Games Review and Classification Act."
Its primary purpose is to classify and examine internet games into age-appropriate categories, similar to the Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB. The online games that will be assessed are the ones that will be included in internet cafes.
And who will assess these games? The bill proposes an Internet Game Review and Classification Board or IGRCB, which will have a chairperson and two other officials, one with the expertise in information technology and the other in child psychology.
Each will have a six-year term.
How IGRCB will work
With the IGRCB involved, gaming titles will have to undergo a rating assessment before they can appear in computer shops. Any attempts to break the law will lead to the closure of these public establishments. In addition, punishments range from imprisonment of three months to a year, as well as a fine amounting to P50,000 to P300,000.
All internet cafes will also be required to register with IGRCB, which is also needed for the issuance or renewal of business permits.
To implement the bill, the IGRCB will work together with numerous other government agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
The bill was proposed by Vergara in the first regular session of the Nineteenth Congress.
This bill, wrote the Nueva Ecija third district representative in her explanatory note, will hopefully "empower parents to monitor the gaming activities of their children and to guide the stakeholders (gamers, parents, producers, distributors, internet cafe and computer shop operators, government, and other entities involved in [the] online gaming industry) as to who may access, buy, use or play a particular online video game."
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