Category: Philippine News

The danger of eliminating anonymity in social media

Ellen
A fake Facebook report quoting Sen. Francis Pangilinan fact-checked by VERA Filkes.

One of the attributes of Facebook (now called Meta) that attracted many to the platform, which is now the biggest in the universe (with 2.89 billion users), is anonymity.

One can be Maria even if she is Juana, or be a 35-year-old engineer from China even if he is a 25-year-old writer from the Philippines.

Officially, Facebook has a real-name policy, which requires users to “provide the name they use in real life.” In practice, however, those who are creative can go around that rule and hide their real identity.

Anonymity is not evil. It can be used for something good. However, as in all things in this world, malevolent minds are using it to do vicious acts while escaping accountability.

That has been the focus in the series of public hearings conducted by the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, chaired by Francis Pangilinan: “to conduct a review, in aid of legislation, of the country’s existing criminal laws to consider the rise of social media platforms and the rapid advancement of technology.”

Pangilinan and Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon shared their experience of having been subjected to “defamatory” posts on social media.

Drilon said there are existing legal remedies that the defamed can avail of, but they have to know the identities of the defamers. He wants to compel platforms to reveal the identity of the owners of the social media accounts that carry vicious posts.

“We are not asking you to sanction them. We will ask the court to make them accountable. But we have to know their identity to bring them to court, “Drilon said.

There was no commitment from Facebook representatives at the hearings. All they could say was, they have cooperated with Philippine authorities in a number of cases, especially those involving the exploitation of children.

During the second hearing last Dec. 15, retired Supreme Court justice Antonio T. Carpio made a number suggestions which should send chills down the spine not only of those who are fond of posting untruthful and defamatory posts but also of the platforms.

He said that unlike in the United States where online platforms can take refuge under the safe harbor clause in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 of the United States not to be accountable for the libelous comments of their users, in the Philippines, they can be held liable for libelous comments of their users, just like in any print, TV or radio media.

Online platforms are publishers, Carpio said. Thus, public officials or public figures libeled online by fake or fictitious persons can sue the online platform.

There is, however, the burden of proving malice for the libel charge to prosper.

“There is a gap between the existing libel law and what should be the ideal justice in case of online libel. The use of fake or fictitious names in online platforms to libel a person is per se proof of malice, and this should be written in the law,” Carpio said, and went on to propose “that existing law should be amended so that malice is presumed on the part of the online publishers if they allow fake or fictitious users to post on their platforms libelous comments against public officials or public figures.”

He continued: “We are all for freedom of expression, but we are also for the truth and for a level playing field. Anyone who imputes in social media a crime or derogatory act on another person must disclose his real identity to allow the libeled person a legal remedy against his or her defamer. The defamer must not be allowed to hide behind a fake or fictitious name. The burden must be placed on the online platform publishers to require those who post comments on their platforms to disclose their real identities.

Carpio noted that many posters with dubious aliases have been traced to China. He proposed further: “The online publishers should also secure the country of residence and addresses of those who post comments on their platforms. The country of residence and addresses of those who post comments can be given to the libeled person upon request to allow him or her to exercise his or her legal remedy.”

Another resource person, Jonathan Corpus Ong, co-author of “Architects of Networked Disinformation,” a definitive study on fake news production in the Philippines, sounded a note of caution on “legislation that will undermine online anonymity and privacy of users.”
He cited progressive movements such as #MeToo and #BLM which, he said, “were amplified by pseudo-anonymous accounts.”

“Unmasking low level ‘trolls’ allows the real masterminds to get away: the top-level political marketers and their political clients,” he said.

The disinformation expert added, “Overbroad legal frameworks to catch ‘cybercrime’ or ‘fake news’ vaguely defined have dealt catastrophic harms to vulnerable communities.”

Ong’s concern is reinforced by the recent decision of the Supreme Court upholding the repugnant Anti-Terror Act.

He suggested that instead of top-down legislation, the lawmakers must “provide infrastructure and funding to support bottom-up interventions done by journalists, civil society and academics who have already been doing the work of monitoring disinformation and engaging platforms in a thoughtful and responsible way.”

He said other approaches can include “funding research, creating media literacy initiatives and developing interventions that prebunk harmful speech and misleading narratives such as historical revisionism.”

It’s good that the committee is listening to many voices. What we should guard against in our search for a solution to the problem of a toxic social media is the possibility of coming up with a medicine that is worse than the disease.

This column appeared also in:

ABS-CBN online
https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/12/20/21/the-danger-of-eliminating-anonymity-in-social-media

Malaya Business Insight
https://malayaph.com/news_opinion/the-danger-of-eliminating-anonymity-in-social-media/

VERA Files
https://verafiles.org/articles/danger-eliminating-anonymity-social-media

Bobby Romulo’s urgent appeal goes viral

Ellen
Photo from Zuellig Foundation

Former foreign secretary Roberto R. Romulo is supposed to take things easy for health reasons. He has even suspended his columns in Philippine Star until November. But he just had to send out an urgent appeal to his fellow members of the business community. And he was surprised by the reactions.

The appeal has gone viral. Someone translated it to Tagalog and Cebuano.

As expected, it has elicited the ire of Duterte fanatics.

Read what Romulo has written:

“This letter is about the sad plight of our country under the Presidency of Duterte which has been characterized by incompetence, brutality, corruption, incivility, abuse of power, and dishonesty. In a span of five years, he has reversed the gains that the Aquino Presidency has bequeathed him – a robust economy, a healthy balance sheet, shrinking poverty levels, the confidence of foreign investors, international credit rating agencies and corruption ranking institutions and the respect of other countries. He has squandered the weight of global public opinion in our favor following the ruling of the UN arbitration court invalidating China’s claim on the South China Sea by meekly standing by while she continues encroaching on our territory and denying our fishermen access to traditional fishing grounds. His brutal implementation of his anti-drug war has caused the lives of thousands with little success to show for it. His incompetent management of the pandemic resulted in unnecessary deaths and impoverished the poor even more. The simplicity, dignity, moral values and respect for democratic ideals that the under-appreciated Noynoy Aquino brought stands in stark contrast to Duterte. Do we really want six more years of this dark age in our history? Six more years of Harry Roque and Jose Calida?

“The next election will be fought in cyberspace – be it the social media trolls or even outright digital shenanigans by the side that have the means to do so or is friendly with those who have. Truth is the counter weapon of choice against those who will bend it to change the narrative. I strongly suggest that you highlight Aquino legacies to your family, friends, and acquaintances. If possible, provide moral and financial support to those who are in social media. It is my understanding that there are trolls on our side but regrettably weak in comparison to Duterte trolls.

“Do not put priority on the ‘winnability’ of a candidate but rather on someone who will bring back competence, dignity, civility and true love of country and her people. Together we can make that candidate winnable. But do not wait for that individual to emerge. Our primary objective now is to show our countrymen that Duterte and his anointed are unacceptable.

“At the age of 82, I assure you I have no personal agenda, political or otherwise. In truth, it is my fervent prayer for the return of democracy and its institutions, which the incumbent has trampled.

“Thank you for the messages and prayers. It is my hope that Divine Intervention will assist me in my medical challenge even as I devoutly pray that HE will bring enlightenment to our citizenry that will lead to the political demise of the incumbent President and his allies.

“ Feel free to send to others!!!”

Pacquiao is hindrance to Duterte’s staying in power beyond June 2022

Ellen
President Duterte attended Sen.Manny Pacquiao’s 38th birthday celebration in General Santos on Dec. 17, 2018. Malacanang photo by Richard Madelo.

Boxing champ and Sen. Manny Pacquiao and President Rodrigo Duterte used to be allies.

Despite his being a born-again Christian, Pacquiao did not condemn the extra-judicial killings that became a daily occurrence as Duterte waged his war on drugs. He supported Duterte’s initiative to re-impose death penalty. He voted for the abhorrent anti-terror law.

He was silent when former senator Antonio Trillanes IV exposed Duterte’s bank deposits in hundreds of millions of pesos in 2016 which remain unexplained up to now.

Now, he talks about corruption in the Duterte government.

Duterte was in the audience at the Axiata Arena in Malaysia when Pacquiao won over Argentine Lucas Matthysse in July 2018 and called him an inspiration to “Filipinos not only in boxing but also in the public service.” Never mind that Pacquaio is known for his absenteeism in the Senate.

Now, Duterte is talking about Pacquiao’s absenteeism. A few days ago, during the inauguration of the Light Rail Transit extension, Duterte said: “Eh kung mag-report ka lang, dalawa, isang buwan, then I would say that you are a s***. A s*** is a s***. Magtrabaho ka, hiningi mo ‘yan, nandiyan ‘yong mga papel.

(When you report [to work] twice in a month, then I would say you are a s***. A s*** is a s***. You work. You asked for it. The papers are there.)

“Start investigating. Do not go elsewhere. Comply first with your duty as a senator. Tapusin mo ‘yan, nandiyan ‘yong mga papeles. Huwag kang pa-absent-absent. (Finish that first, the papers are there. Don’t be absent.)

The change of tune, no doubt, is related to the 2022 elections.

Duterte’s term ends on June 30, 2022. But it’s obvious he wants to stay in power beyond the constitutional limit to protect himself and other officials who have helped him execute his controversial policies and programs like bloody war on drugs.

The Constitution does not allow a re-election for the president. His allies’ attempts to change the Constitution miserably failed.

He floated the utterly ridiculous idea of him running for vice president to his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, or his aide-turned-senator, Christopher “Bong” Go, which he later admitted to be just an anti-lame duck scheme.

The promotion of the 43-year-old Duterte-Carpio to succeed the 76-year-old Duterte seems to be working because she is leading the surveys on possible presidential candidates for 2022.

Of the names in the top five of the February 2021 Pulse Asia survey (Duterte-Carpio, Bongbong Marcos, Grace Poe, Ishko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao), it’s Pacquiao who is expected to compete with Duterte-Carpio for the Mindanao votes and more importantly of the vote-rich masa.

Thus, he has to be eliminated from the competition. It started with attempts to oust him as acting president of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Last Thursday, Duterte erroneously announced that the 42-year-old Pacquiao backed out of his fight with 31-year-old Errol Spence Jr. in Las Vegas scheduled on August 21. There is no official announcement of Pacquaio withdrawing from the fight although he is facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit from Paradigm Sports Management which sought injunction against the Pacquiao -Spence bout.

The boxer-senator needs to win this fight, not only for the money but also to boost his presidential ambition. Duterte is just one of those who want to see him fail.

This column also appeared in VERA Files.

Beware of this ‘Bishop Ted Bacani’ impostor

Ellen

Last Friday afternoon, June 11, I got a call from an unidentified number while I was attending a VERA Files activity. The caller introduced himself as “Bishop Ted Bacani.”

I had to ask him twice who he was because he was not speaking gently the way I remember Bishop Ted Bacani spoke. Anyway, he said, “Si Bishop Bacani ito.”

He said he had learned that VERA Files is the owner of Facebook Philippines. I immediately corrected him. VERA Files does not own Facebook Philippines. We are just one of the three third-party fact-checkers of Facebook in the country.

He said he got the information from Christine Herrera of the Inquirer.

I said, “Christine Herrera? Patay na po si Christine Herrera (Christine Herrera has passed away).” He kept on repeating the name of Christine Herrera.

Herrera had long left the Philippine Daily Inquirer and was reporting for The Manila Standard when she died of cardiac aneurysm in November 2017.

It was a red flag. But I still asked him what I can do for him. He said his Facebook account was suspended the previous day because of violations of community standards. I told him to write to Facebook. I even asked him to send me a copy and I’ll see what I can do about it.
He said, “Paano ‘yung pagmumura. ‘Yung putang-ina. Bakit n’yo tinatanggal ang putang-ina sa comment ko. (How about the curses. The son of a bitch. Why do you delete the son of a bitch in my comments?)

Then he cursed me several times. I had to cut him off and blocked his number.

A VERA Files colleague told me that the impostor “Bishop Ted Bacani” also harassed Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party-list). Here’s a portion of a post in Gabriela Women’s Party FB page:

“Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party-list) said Friday that she is eyeing to file charges against a pro-Duterte vlogger who subjected her to a peppering of vulgar and lewd language over a phone call.

Brosas told a news conference that their group is still studying what charges to file against Niño Barzaga, who recorded the conversation and uploaded it on social media, but said that among these would be a violation of the anti-wiretapping law.

’What he did to me is not a mere practical joke, but emotional and sexual harassment. This is a serious criminal offense and we will file a formal case soon,’she said.

Brosas said that last June 2, she received a call from an unknown number who claimed to be Bishop Ted Bacani and proceeded to ask about the activities of Gabriela Women’s Party.

She said she detailed the activities of Gabriela, but then the call suddenly took a turn.

Laking gulat ko nang bigla na lang akong minura ng caller, pinagsisigawan, at sinabihan ng mga malalaswang bagay,” she said.
(I was completely shocked when the caller cursed me, yelled at me and told me lewd things.)

She said she then hung up, but was then faced with a barrage of hate texts and calls on her personal phone number.
’Malakas ang loob ng mga DDS (Diehard Duterte Supporters) vloggers na ito dahil kasangga nila ang presidenteng wala ring respeto sa kababaihan,” Brosas said.
(These DDS vloggers have bravado because they are allied with the president who also has no respect for women.)”

I remember this Niño Barzaga. On Oct. 26, 2018, following Facebook’s takedown of 95 pages and 39 accounts in the Philippines for violating its spam and authenticity policies, DZRH’s Cesar Chavez interviewed him because his accounts were among those removed from the social media platform.

Chavez called me up and I explained that as Facebook’s third-party fact-checker, VERA Files does not delete, block, or remove posts, pages or accounts. We just fact check and tag fake, false, and misleading posts.

After Chavez’s program, I received a text message from an unidentified number cursing me.

So, he is still at it. And now, he is masquerading as “Bishop Ted Bacani.” Beware.

‘Ridiculous,’ SC says on drug war records as ‘national security’

Ellen

Several times, President Rodrigo Duterte has proudly taken responsibility for the killings in his bloody campaign against illegal drugs. It goes without saying, therefore, that the prosecution of the drug-related killings would have to reach his level.

If he thinks that citing “national security” will save him and the top officials who implemented his war on drugs, including his first police chief, now Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, from being accountable for all those killings, he is wrong.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) already used that line in the 2018 case of Aileen Almora, et al. Vs. Director General Ronald Dela Rosa, et al./Sr. Ma. Juanita R. Daño, et al. Vs. The Philippine National Police, et al. and the Supreme Court vehemently rejected it.
The Supreme Court’s words: “It is simply ridiculous to claim that these information and documents on police operations against drug pushers and users involve national security matter.”

In his Talk to the People last May 31, Duterte lengthily defended the Philippine National Police in refusing to make public records of police operations in the war on drugs.

He said: “Now this is really a lesson for the human rights; everyday until now nandiyan ‘yan. I suggest that you go to the police and look into the records of these deaths. Now gusto ninyong kunin, may — hindi namin maibigay lahat not because we are hiding some facts that [are] known to us, unknown to you. Eh kasali na dito ‘yong — eh national security issue ‘to eh kagaya rin ng mga NPA. We have records that those who have died but who have derogatory records in our files and may mga references sila na tao and what they do, we cannot divulge it to anybody but only to the military and to the police.”

He said he himself has not asked for it. “I do not even know kung sino ‘yang mga ‘yan. I do not ask [for] it and I do not bother to really go out of my way knowing because kasali ako sa mga tao na hindi alam. What I get is the result of the operations. But as to the basis and to the people involved and suspects and ‘yong mga references nila at ‘yong mga sources ng information, this cannot be revealed,” he added.

He further said: “As a matter of fact, ang sinabi ko itong mga pulis o military who perform their duties and had to kill their adversaries, lalo na sa droga pati itong mga NPA, hindi ho namin puwede ibigay lahat. You can go into the… maybe query as to how the battle was fought, how the gunfight started. But pero kung sabihin mo what prompted the police and the military to go into this kind of operation based on their reports and collated mga dossier, hindi ho ninyo puwedeng pakialaman ‘yan. Truth — as a matter of fact, sabihin ko totoo ‘yan. Maski tanungin ninyo, ni hindi ako minsan nagtanong kung ano-ano ‘yan.It’s because I know that it’s just confidential. And kung hindi nila ipresenta sa akin, I do not ask for it.
“Kaya ako mismo hindi naka — nakakakita ng mga records na ‘yan. And I can understand when the military and the police would withhold them kasi hindi talaga dapat malaman ninyo. Iyan ang na … you know … hindi dito sabihin mo na public documents. “
It is Duterte’s choice if he is not interested to see the documentation of the killings based on his orders. But the public should not be prevented from knowing the truth.
The Supreme Court was very clear about this when the OSG refused to submit documents demanded by the relatives of the victims which include, among others, list of persons killed in legitimate police operations from July 1, 2016 to Nov. 30, 2018; list of deaths under investigation from July 1, 2016 to November 30, 2017; list of Chinese and Fil-Chinese drug lords who have been neutralized; and, list of drugs involved, whether shabu, cocaine, marijuana, or opioids.
The OSG unilaterally categorized the documents and claimed that those under Category 1 “contain very sensitive information with law enforcement and national security implications.”

The Supreme Court reprimanded the OSG, saying it “cannot unilaterally arrogate to itself the power to determine which documents it should furnish petitioners.”

The High Court also reminded the OSG of its earlier Resolution that “the requested information and documents do not obviously involve state secrets affecting national security.”

“The information and documents relate to routine police operations involving violations of laws against the sale or use of illegal drugs. There is no showing that the country’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty, independence, or foreign relations will be compromised or prejudiced by the release of these information and documents to this Court or even to the public. These information and documents do not involve rebellion, invasion, terrorism, espionage, infringement of our sovereignty or sovereign rights by foreign powers, or any military, diplomatic or state secret involving national security,“ it added.

The High Court declared: “It is simply ridiculous to claim that these information and documents on police operations against drug pushers and users involve national security matter.”

Ridiculous, indeed!

***

This column appeared also in ABS-CBN online and VERA Files