THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: Sending text messages via cell phones has become very popular in parts of Asia. In the Philippines alone, more than 18 million text messages are transmitted each day, that's twice as many as in all of Europe. Most of these so-called texters are students, who send each other the digital messages even during classes. And as GMA 7 News reports, some Philippine officials believe it's time to stop the chat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TINA PAHANIBAN, GMA 7 NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Texting. What started out as a craze for teenagers is now a primary tool of communication for millions of Filipinos. Not only is it cheaper than making a call, the text graphics also provide a comic relief from the daily problems Filipinos face.
But for some, texting among young people has reached a level so alarming that a congressman is planning to file a bill to limit texting for elementary and high school students. Congressman Allan Gaetano (ph) wants to impose the text curfew on those who are 17 years old and younger. The text curfew will take effect at 12:00 midnight, so it will not interfere with school work.
Since he admits it would be hard to implement this, he wants parents and teachers to monitor these young texters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The text curfew should be more of a regulation by the parents and by the schools.
PAHANIBAN: Several congressmen support the proposal.
RITA ROSALES, FORMER TEACHER: Young kids would not know how to regulate themselves, and their tendency is to abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) alarming (UNINTELLIGIBLE), aside from the fact that what you get from your text messages are sometimes very damaging. You know, damaging as to the reputation of somebody, damaging to the reputation of a certain firm or company.
PAHANIBAN: Some congressmen, however, are against the proposal, for fear it may infringe on the freedom of speech.
(on camera): The Philippines is known as a text capital of the world, but this may soon change because Congress may not only impose a text curfew but also declare several no-cell zones.
(voice-over): The no-cell zones will initially cover places of worship, hospitals, movie houses and schools. Although the proposal has not yet been officially found at the lower house, the Batasa (ph) national high school has already banned students from bringing their cell phones, and students have also expressed their willingness to support the text curfew.
These students say texting interferes with school work.
She says the curfew should be selective. Text messages about school assignments should be allowed.
Whether or not the text curfew is imposed and no-cell zones are declared all over the country, texting will always be a part of the Filipino culture. What legislators, cell phone service providers and subscribers should do is to promote responsible texting.
From GMA News Manila, this is Tina Pahaniban Perez for the CNN WORLD REPORT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
|
![[CNN.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/newsnet/cnnlogo.gray.gif){kind=small}
TOP STORIES![[SI.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/si.logo.gif){kind=logo}
SPORTS
All Scoreboards
![[CNN Money]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/fn.logo.newsnet.gif){kind=logo}
(