It’s impossible to ban cellphones in campuses

By Alex P. Vidal

“What if I got hit by lightning while walking with an umbrella? Ban umbrellas! Fight the menace of lightning!”―Cory Doctorow, Little Brother

IF the Philippine National Police (PNP) hierarchy wanted to ban the use of cellphones for cops who are on duty, Filipino Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is toying with the idea of banning the use of cellphones in schools.

In fact, the senator has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to come up with an order to deny the students access to cellphones while in school.

We doubt if Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio, a leading presidential wanna-be in 2028, will lend her ears to Gatchalian on this controversial matter unless she wants to lose votes among the cellphone-crazed students.

Whether they like it or don’t, PNP chief, Police Major General Rommel Francisco Marbil, and Senator Gatchalian are bound to fail.

It’s impossible to separate man from the most valuable gadget owned—and being enjoyed to the fullest—by a human being in the age of technology.

It’s like proposing to ban prostitution, marijuana, religion, gay marriage, to name only a few.

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Prostitution is bad per se, but it’s impossible to eradicate the oldest profession on earth. Religion has been exploited and used to control the mind of man and to scam the gullible, but the likes of Quiboloy continue to attract a horde of followers and enrich themselves.

The church opposes gay marriage? Everyday gay couples are in the news not only for defying the ecclesiastical authorities but for also publicly exchanging marriage vows.

Authorities have fought tongs and hammer against marijuana for more than 50 years to no avail. In fact, marijuana—or the use of marijuana—has been legalized in many states in America.

Marbil will look like a fool if he really believes cops enamored of the smart phones will totally shun the gadget.

Gatchalian will look like stupid if he thinks the school authorities will succeed in preventing students from having access to mobile phones. There are always a thousand ways to skin a cat, so to speak.

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate basic education committee, made the proposal as an alternative to his plan to file a bill banning the use of mobile phones so that students will be encouraged to read more books than scroll through social media.

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In a recent radio interview in Manila, Gatchalian said, “We have no control over them outside the schools. But inside, the DepEd has jurisdiction to release a policy banning phones during class hours and inside classrooms. We can also come up with a bill which will have the force of law.”

He added: “Based on my observation, many students use their phones during recess, during lunch break, instead of talking among each other or studying or reading. Cellphones can be addictive. Adults can get addicted to YouTube or TikTok. How much more the children?”

“I have read new research over the weekend that excessive use of gadgets and cell phones have a negative effect on the youth,” Gatchalian added.

The senator has proposed that the Senate can revive a similar House proposal during the previous Congress for a cellphone ban in schools.

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SEX SCANDAL. French President Francois Faure expired in 1899 during sex, which so terrified his lady of the evening that her vagina constricted intractably, necessitating the surgical removal of the dead president’s weapon.

ANCIENT CONDOM. The earliest known illustration of a man using a condom during sexual intercourse is painted on the wall of a cave in France. It is dated between 12,000 and 15,000 years old.

THREE SECONDS ONLY. A typical orgasm lasts from three to 10 seconds, with contractions occurring every 0.8 seconds for both men and women.

DON’T TRUST. We can’t trust all who are dear to us. Julius Caesar trusted Brutus and paid dearly for it with his life. Jesus Christ trusted Judas only to be sold to his torturers; Leon Trotsky trusted Lenin; Michael Jackson trusted his doctors, to name only a few.

Self-centeredness inhibits our love for others, and we are all afflicted by it to one degree or another. For true happiness to come about, we need a calm mind, and such peace of mind is brought about only by a compassionate attitude. (How to develop compassion, The Compassionate Life)

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)