Facebook, gambling banned in Cavite capitol

SAN PEDRO, Laguna—Dare not sneak a peek at your Facebook account from any computer at the Cavite capitol.

This was the message conveyed by Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla when he issued a new policy prohibiting the capitol’s 2,200 employees from browsing Facebook and other social networking sites during office hours.

He said the policy aimed to make the employees become “more effective and efficient [at work].”

All computers and laptops at the capitol building were reconfigured and reconnected to a single server, “for us to see whoever opens his Facebook [page] at work,” said provincial information officer Joan Loyola in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Loyola said the policy was part of the governor’s program, as he also strictly prohibited gambling and vices, such as drinking liquor inside the capitol’s premises.

She said that last month, three employees were caught playing cards inside their office, “and outright, the governor asked them to resign from their jobs.”

Although Remulla did not mention a penalty for the Facebook ban, Loyola said violators could face the same consequence.

“It is really improper anyway to use the government’s property and time [if not for official business],” she added.

Cavite’s provincial capitol in Trece Martires City houses 27 government departments and units, which perform public transactions to serve the highly-populated province of nearly three million residents.

The policy initially disappointed those who treated social networks as part of their “way of life,” said Loyola.

“But they are adjusting already so far. After all, Facebook did not exist before,” she said.