The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has called on Congress to hasten the passage of an amended Intellectual Property Code (IPC) which will include provisions against high-tech online piracy.

DICT spokesperson Renato Paraiso stressed that the IPC is in need of a strong defense to repel digital theft amid the evolving technological complexities in cybercrimes.

Paraiso was referring to at least two Senate bills and a House-approved measure which seek to strengthen the powers of the 27-year-old IPC in the face of unabated infringement on the Filipino artists’ rights to creative assets.

Authored by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Bill 2150 which seeks to strengthen the powers and functions of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to combat online piracy remained unacted upon at the Senate committee on trade and industry.

Another pending measure, which also seeks to enhance the powers of the IPOPHIL to curb digital theft, is Senate Bill 2385 authored by Senator Bong Revilla.

At the House of Representatives, Albay lawmaker Joey Salceda’s House Bill 7600 was already approved on third and final reading and is also pending at the Senate.

No Senate action was heard in the past months on the three unfinished legislations which seeks to broaden the powers of the IPOPHIL to better adapt to advancements in technology and address the chronic issue on cybercrimes such as digital piracy.

Paraiso said that the instruction of DICT chief Ivan Uy to the agency’s technical and legal teams was very clear -- extend full support to legislative committees working on the immediate revision of the old IPC.

At present, a collaborative effort by the National Telecommunications Commission, the IPOPHIL and the internet service providers is all that the Filipino artists could rely on for the stopgap protection of their creative works against the infringement.

According to Paraiso, revising the old IPC with provisions that confront the emerging cutting-edge technology being adopted by cyber criminals should be the first approach to effectively end online piracy.

The Philippine Statistics Authority has earlier said that digital content theft is taking away at least 7.1 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

It added that the piracy has resulted in forgone revenue for the country and loss of livelihood, and even threatens to inflict malware on web devices that consume pirated content.

The Philippines reportedly lost around $700 million due to the piracy of Filipino made TV shows and movies, as the country has been named as one of the top consumers of pirated content in Asia.