Category: Online Research

DATA A DAY: Is the Bangsamoro an Islamic state?

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

ON MONDAY, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission submitted to Malacanang the draft Basic Law that would create a new political entity that would take the place of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The envisioned Bangsamoro is the latest, and hopefully, the lasting solution to decades of conflict in the Southern Philippines. After a thorough review by Malacanang, the draft law will be submitted to Congress for its consideration. Once passed by Congress, the Bangsamoro Basic Law would be presented to the residents of the ARMM in a referendum. Only those areas that vote to be part of the new Bangsamoro substate would be included in the new political entity.

MILF 2

All of the various political entities created by the government since the time of President Ferdinand Marcos have generated controversy in a land that has long been afflicted by divisions and mistrust. The persistent suspicion of those who have opposed the previous autonomous regions in Mindanao is that government has bent over backwards to grant Muslim rebels their own Islamic state, one that is governed solely through Shariah or Islamic Law that is enforced by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

For today’s Data a Day:

TRUE OR FALSE: The Bangsamoro political entity will be an Islamic state.

For the answer to that question, visit the PCIJ’s Data a Day site, or come take a look at the PCIJ’s MoneyPolitics Online website for more relevant information.

 

DATA A DAY: Is Cotabato part of ARMM?

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

MAGUINDANAO MOSQUE

TODAY’S DATA A DAY question would appear to be a no-brainer. The operative phrase, of course, is “would appear.”

Anyone interested in visiting the offices of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) must go to the ORG complex in Cotabato City. ORG is the acronym for the Office of the Regional Governor of the ARMM. It is a sprawling complex off the main road called Sinsuat Avenue that houses the offices, departments, and bureaus that govern the five provinces that comprise the ARMM.

With that in mind, try to answer today’s Data a Day question carefully:

TRUE OR FALSE: The cities of Cotabato and Isabela are part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM.

For the answer to that question, visit the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s Data a Day site, or drop in at our MoneyPolitics Online database for a healthy dose of relevant information.

 

 

 

DATA A DAY: Is ‘spamming’ a cybercrime offense?

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

NO ONE likes spam, unless it comes from a can.

That being said, spamming, or the transmission of unsolicited commercial communications, was included in the list of offenses in Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

However, the Supreme Court promulgated its ruling on the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Cybercrime Prevention Act last February. Other controversial provisions in that law include articles on cyber libel and child pornography.

For today’s Data a Day:

Is spamming considered a cybercrime?

For the answer to that question, visit the PCIJ’s Data a Day site, or go straight to the PCIJ’s MoneyPolitics Online database.

DATA A DAY: When did we get connected?

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

THESE DAYS, people take the internet for granted. People grump when they can’t download their movies fast enough (yes, many of you still do that!), or if they can only get 3G on their phones, and not HSDPA or LTE.

But time was when a 64 kbps connection was enough to draw cheers from people peering into their green CRT monitors.

Today’s DATA A DAY should be really easy for those who have followed the PCIJ blog in the past few days:

When was the Philippines connected to the internet?

For the answer to that question, check out the PCIJ’s Data a Day subsite, or go visit the PCIJ’s MoneyPolitics Online website.

 

 

 

PH internet at 20

Ed Lingao Leave a comment

THIS WEEKEND, the internet in the Philippines quietly turned 20 years old.

It’s been a wild and woolly two decades, as Filipino netizens evolved from dial-up creatures who treasured those US Robotics modems and thrilled to the wonky sounds of the connection handshake, to the modern day road warrior who uses his latest phablet as a wifi hub and tweets what he had for breakfast.

In the old days, people used the internet with all seriousness and purpose, not necessarily because they were intense people, but because the terribly slow connection speeds were enough to deter internet use except only by those with true seriousness and purpose. These days, of course, it seems everyone can go online; even the fellow who can’t spell USB probably has more than one Facebook account.

TORRES

In line with this, we revisit an old PCIJ interview with William Torres, a man who, despite having such a ubiquitous name, carries the unique title of Father of Philippine internet.

Torres is credited with laying down the foundations of the Internet infrastructure in the country, his negotiating with the US National Science Foundation having been the bedwork for the campaign to bring the Net to the Philippines.

Another role that Torres had, but for which he is barely known for, is his participation in the walkout of technicians and computer experts during the tabulation of the results of the 1986 snap elections at the Philippine International Convention Center. That walkout is one of the iconic images that helped spark the People Power Revolt.

In fact, this downloadable podcast interview with Torres was conducted in 2006, as part of the 20th anniversary commemoration of the Edsa People Power Revolt. In this interview, Torres talks about his role in 1986, and the role of technology in nation building.