Press Release
September 21, 2011

KEYNOTE ADDRESS OF SENATE MAJORITY LEADER VICENTE SOTTO III AT THE 9TH PHILIPPINE YOUTH CONGRESS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (Y4iT 2011)
UP THEATER, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY
SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

Dr. Jaime D. L. Caro, AVP for Development, UP System and Director, UP Information Technology Training Center,

Organizers of the 9th Philippine Youth Congress for Information Technology,

Distinguished guests,

Participants to the Congress,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am honored to be your keynote speaker here at the 9th Philippine Youth Congress for Information Technology . I shall not presume to educate you on the subject in which you are more conversant, being students and members of the participating agencies and organizations in this conference.

The young in this digital age amuse and confuse me. You have your special language in this day and age.

LOL is laughing out loud pala.
NASL is name, age, sex, and location pala.
A3 is Any where, Any time, Any place
WCIS is What Can I Say
TWITA is That's What I'm Talking About
WDYW is What Do You Want?
YMMS is You Make Me Smile

Di ko naman kayo masisi. Kami nag-umpisa ng ganyang biruan. Tito, Vic and Joey became TVJ. On the serious side, I wish to inform you that the Committee on Science and Technology of the Senate has proposed the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology or the DICT, and it is already being discussed in the plenary.

The creation of the DICT does not necessarily mean that we are adding an unnecessary layer to bureaucracy, on the other hand, it will harmonize the agencies concerned.

I believe that you can give inputs on how to make the proposed law effective and fruitful, especially with this kind of gathering.

The potential and capacity of digital technology is reaching more people, with more applications and choices, at faster and faster speed. Universal portability and connectivity is now a reality in our hands, figuratively and literally speaking.

Revolutions in information, technology and communication bring about changes in society. The invention of the printing press presaged the revolution in religious beliefs when the bible became accessible and was translated to different languages. The invention of radio brought the news to the ears of everyone as events happened during World War II. The emergence of television brought information and entertainment to the eyes and ears of the audience.

Today, in the digital age, you make your own television special about yourself and all others in the You.Tube. You communicate by sight and sound through your hand-held cellphone. You research your homework in your desktop or laptop. And you vote your choice of winners in a singing or beauty contest.

The world had changed because of technology. But you who will reap the rewards of present technology should not lose your way in the field of life. We must hang on to our values as we progress in our material world. There must be a higher and nobler purpose for the advances that we have in information and communications. To be unlimited in our freedoms is to court disaster. Discipline for the good of country and family must still rule our lives.

Technology, like any tool, is indifferent until it is used for good or bad purposes. The discovery of atomic fission led to advances in medicine and power generation, but it also led to weapons of mass destruction and war.

In the same way, the technology in our hands must be put to good use. Your internet can either be used for education or enslavement of the soul. You can access the true, the good, the beautiful through various search engines; but that same desktop can bring you ruin when you enter the website of the violent, the immoral, and the pervert. The good and the bad will have tools to increase their power and capacity to either ennoble themselves or cause their own downfall. Your cellphone and laptops can help you court your future wife, or lead you to the road to darkness. If you can't be good, try to be good, and be careful. There may be facebook relationships, but there are also facebook separations.

Technology must serve to lift the spirit of man toward his God. It must help him help his fellowmen. It must help him serve his country and the world at large.

And when we find ourselves near the pinnacle of our progress, and we text or call on our God in our final moments, may we have enough battery charge, and that the answer of St. Peter in heaven not be - the God you dialed is out of reach.

Thank you and good day.

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