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Contents

Volume 27 • Number 3

Cover Story Cybersecurity Beyond Passwords Convenience Comes With A Cost AI Influencers Are Multiplying. Should We Be Alarmed? When Critical Thinking Becomes Cybersecurity

6 8 12 16

Feature The Industry is Catching Up to the Fold. Samsung is Eight Generations Ahead

Parade Acer Predator Atlas 7 Dyson CameraJet Garmin fenix 9 | fenix 9 Pro Honor Magic V6 POCO F9 Ultra | F9 Pro Redmi Note 17 Series Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Samsung P7 Portable SSD TCL Smart Washer-Dryer Toshiba Japandi Refrigerator

26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44

Gadgets Lab Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Tecno Camon Slim 5G

46 50

Mobility VinFast MPV 7: The Family Car Recharged The Mitsubishi Pajero Techs Up Nissan Kicks e-Power Rebooted Yamaha Fights Through ARRC Round 5 Royal Enfield Goes Two Ways Filipino Skills Shine At Toyota ASPAC Petron Car Care Center Eyes 100 Outlets

54 58 64 68 72 76 78

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Cybersecurity Protecting Children Online When Trust Becomes The Bait Closing The Fraud Intelligence Gap

80 82 84

FinTech BPI Sets New Security Benchmark for Philippine Universal Banks

Innovation A Smarter Way To Manage Dialysis At Home Turning Local Problems Into STEM Solutions One Challenge Eight Markets

88 90 92

Campus Voices A Free Article Isn’t Always Free

Education Learning To Think With AI Preparing Educators For The AI Classroom New Tools Bring Source Checks To Academic AI

96 98 100

Employment Ready For Work In The AI Age

102

Enterprise Southeast Asia Leads The Mobile Shopping Race Coconut Enterprises Find Bigger Markets

104

106 Newsbytes

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UPMG Brings Reading Campaign to Students Casino Plus Awards Biggest Jackpot in Philippine Slot Machine History iProov Publishes HAPS to Verify Human Approval of AI Agent Actions EY GDS Philippines Plans 2,000 Additional Hires As It Marks 11th Anniversary

Gaming Trails In THe Sky: 2nd Chapter

108

Wellness The Workflow Supporting Health Care Heart Health Starts Before Symptoms

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116 117 118 119

Relic Intrusion Detection System 5

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Cover Story

Volume 27 No. 3

CYBERSECURITY BEYOND PASSWORDS THE BATTLE FOR TRUST IN THE AI ERA

very October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month reminds us to protect our passwords and devices. But that’s no longer the whole story.

A voice message from a relative abroad asks you to send money via GCash, and it sounds exactly like them. A celebrity you’ve followed for years appears in your feed, explaining how they doubled their savings and why you should get in early. The face is right. The voice is right. So you tap the link, and the page looks just like the real thing. AI hasn’t just made scams smarter. It has made them easier to believe. So this issue looks beyond the software to the trust behind it. How do we know what’s real? What do our habits give away? And who, or what, deserves our belief? Because the next scam may not need to hack anything; it just needs you to believe it.

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Cover Story

CONVENIENCE COMES WITH A COST HOW OUR DAILY DIGITAL HABITS ARE QUIETLY OPENING DOORS FOR SCAMMERS Words by Phia Manuell Layoso

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Recognizing that our own behavior is an important part of security is one step toward staying safer online.

peed and convenience make our modern world feel effortless. We tap to autofill passwords, glance to approve payments, and log in seamlessly without missing a beat. Technology makes life easier, but every shortcut can come with a hidden cost.

The True Cost of Maximum Convenience Security sometimes relies on helpful speed bumps. Typing a password or waiting for a confirmation code can give us a moment to think and stay aware. But as apps compete to become faster and easier to use, almost any delay can feel like a problem. Password managers can fill in our details, single-click logins simplify sign-ins, and instant checkout features can finish purchases in seconds.

Every time we prioritize speed over scrutiny, we leave a digital door slightly open. The very features designed to simplify our lives can also encourage habits that scammers take advantage of, sometimes before we realize what is happening. The Price of Everyday Speed We all love the easy side of tech. It saves us time and gives us the feeling of seamless efficiency. But convenience has never been free. In our rush to shave seconds off everyday interactions, we rarely ask what we are giving up in return. Every automated feature feels like a small gift from software developers. Autofilling our home address saves a dozen keystrokes, while saving credit card details on a favorite retail site turns buying a gift into a two-second task. Over time, these subtle design choices build a subconscious mental model where digital experiences should always be free of hurdles. When an online interaction suddenly requires extra steps, such as multi-factor authentication or reentering a security code, it often triggers mild annoyance rather than reassurance. This mindset creates an opportunity for online scammers. They design fake messages and links to look like the apps and services we already use because they know we tend to take the easiest path. When a fake message asks us to “Click here to confirm your address,” we may click without thinking because it matches our daily habits. Moving too fast can make us miss warning signs and become easier targets for scams. Today’s online security threats are not

always about hackers directly breaking through security defenses. Sometimes, scammers don’t need to break in; they can trick us into giving them what they want. As artificial intelligence makes fake messages more convincing, our habit of trusting quick and familiar interactions can leave us vulnerable. Why Human Behavior Is the Ultimate Target To understand how many scams happen, we need to focus not only on computer code but also on human habits and psychology. Modern apps and devices have strong security measures that can make some direct technical attacks more difficult. Knowing this, scammers can take another approach: instead of trying to break through a secure system, they focus on tricking the person using it. Human psychology relies on predictable shortcuts to process massive amounts of information every day. We trust familiar company logos, react quickly to urgent messages, and follow instructions from official-looking sources. Scammers exploit these exact habits. By creating fake situations that play on fear, curiosity, or urgency, they try to make us react emotionally without thinking things through.

These tools are not necessarily unsafe. In fact, features such as password managers and secure authentication can improve security. The problem comes when we become so used to moving quickly that we stop paying attention to what we are approving. When pop-up prompts ask for access or permissions, muscle memory can take over before we evaluate the request. Scammers can exploit this habit by copying familiar checkout pages, login screens, and standard prompts. In a world where everything happens instantly, slowing down can feel like an inconvenience we would rather avoid. In app design, “friction” means any step that slows a user down. For years, tech companies have tried to eliminate unnecessary friction to keep digital experiences smooth and easy. If checking out takes five steps instead of one, some people simply give up. However, some intentional pauses can serve a protective purpose by giving us a few extra seconds to doublecheck what we are doing. Expecting everything to happen instantly can lower our guard. Viewing certain security pauses as useful protections rather than annoying delays can help us stay more aware.

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Cover Story

How AI Exploits Our Daily Habits Advances in artificial intelligence have changed how convincing scams can become. Scam emails were once easier to spot because of bad grammar, awkward wording, or other obvious mistakes. Today, AI tools can generate more natural and polished messages that resemble official bank notices or work communications. AI can also create convincing synthetic audio and video. When scammers combine these tools with personal information gathered online and our habit of responding quickly to familiar people, an urgent message that appears to come from a manager or family member can become much harder to judge. The danger is not just AI technology itself, but how easily it can take advantage of information we make publicly available and behaviors we already have. The Psychology Behind Misplaced Digital Trust Biometric sign-ins such as face recognition and fingerprint scans were introduced as a convenient and secure alternative to relying entirely on traditional passwords. As face and fingerprint scans became standard for everyday actions such as opening banking apps or approving payments, however, the process became almost automatic. Scanning a face or tapping a fingerprint is now so routine that we may not always stop to read what we are actually approving. That does not make biometric authentication unsafe. The problem is treating every biometric prompt

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as proof that the action behind it is trustworthy. Biometrics can verify that we authorized an action, but they cannot tell us whether the request that led to it was legitimate. Because fingerprints and faces are unique, biometrics can also create a strong sense of security. But biometric authentication is only one layer of protection. It cannot stop every suspicious website, malicious app, or deceptive request from reaching us. Relying on any single security measure can create overconfidence and make other online risks easier to overlook. The Subtle Risks of Constant Digital Connectivity Modern phones, smartwatches, and home devices rely on constant internet connections to update in real time. Devices automatically join familiar WiFi networks, scan for nearby Bluetooth devices, and refresh background data without requiring much action from us. This keeps everything ready whenever we need it. However, constant connectivity also means having more networks, apps, permissions, and services to keep secure. Public Wi-Fi networks require caution, software and apps need to stay updated, and permissions we granted in the past may no longer be necessary. For years, online security advice focused heavily on antivirus software, firewalls, and other technical protection. Software security still matters, but it is only part of the picture. Our daily habits and routines matter too. Is it the app maker’s job to protect users from deceptive designs, or is it our

own duty to double-check our habits? Responsibility becomes complicated when convenience is built directly into almost every app we use. Actionable Steps Toward Better Habits Improving security requires paying more attention to our habits, not just securing our devices. Many scams succeed not because someone defeats sophisticated security technology, but because we move too quickly or trust something automatically. Building safer habits means adding small, intentional pauses back into our routine. It means pausing to review unexpected face or fingerprint prompts, double-checking unusual payment requests through a separate contact method, and taking a few minutes to review device privacy settings and remove app permissions we no longer use. This doesn’t mean giving up password managers, biometrics, or the other tools that make work and daily life easier. These technologies can provide both convenience and security when used properly. The goal is simply to avoid letting convenience turn into automatic trust. In a digital world designed for speed, staying secure sometimes means slowing down long enough to notice when something doesn’t feel right. By developing simple habits such as reviewing permissions, accepting useful security pauses, and treating unexpected or urgent requests with healthy skepticism, we can enjoy the convenience of modern technology without giving up control of our security.

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Cover Story

I AI INFLUENCERS ARE MULTIPLYING. SHOULD WE BE ALARMED?

nfluencers are everywhere, and AI is in everything. We see influencers telling us what to wear, what to eat, what to buy, and where to go. At the same time, AI is creeping into almost everything we do online. So what happens when the two finally meet? Apparently, we get AI influencers. We already have millions of real people competing for our attention, yet the internet has decided it also needs personalities that do not even exist. These digital personalities are not just collecting followers, either. Some promote products, work with brands, and build businesses.

Words by Aljhelyn Piador

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real identity and their digital persona may be appealing. Then there is predictability. Human creators have moods, schedules, bad days, and lives off-screen. A digital personality can be designed to appear consistent and available around the clock. Companies can see the appeal too. An AI influencer does not need to travel to a photoshoot, coordinate schedules, or physically appear at an event. A digital character can be reused across campaigns and adapted for different markets or formats. That does not mean creating and maintaining one costs nothing, but it can give brands and creators greater control over how a character appears and behaves. So the attraction is understandable. AI influencers sit at the intersection of identity, creative freedom, constant connection, and business. For some creators, they are another way to express themselves. For companies, they can become another way to reach an audience. Why Are We Humans Doing This?

Since When Is This Happening?

Creating an AI persona can be like designing another version of yourself, or an entirely different person. You can choose the face, clothes, personality, aesthetic, and even the way that character communicates. For creators, it offers another form of identity experimentation without necessarily exposing as much of their offline lives.

Digital characters did not suddenly appear with the current AI boom. Virtual personalities have been around for years. What has changed is how easy it has become to create realisticlooking faces, voices, images, and videos.

There is also the question of control. A creator can decide how much of their real identity they want to reveal, including details such as their age, gender, appearance, or personal life. For people who have experienced harassment or discrimination online, keeping some distance between their

Lil Miquela, for example, has been presented as a virtual influencer for years, while Spain’s Aitana López is another widely discussed digital personality. The Philippines has also seen locally created virtual personalities such as Lina Lately. These characters show that an influencer doesn’t necessarily have to be a real person to attract attention online.

But there is an important difference between a fictional digital personality that is presented as fictional and AIgenerated content that impersonates an actual person. One creates a new identity. The other borrows somebody else’s. That difference becomes important when we start talking about cybersecurity. Why Do People Even Follow Them? Maybe because humans have always been perfectly capable of becoming emotionally attached to fictional characters. We follow stories, obsess over fictional relationships, and sometimes care far too much about people who were never real in the first place. An AI influencer simply brings that relationship into a space where fictional characters can now talk back, post regularly, and interact with followers. There is also the curiosity factor. Some AI influencers look realistic enough to make people stop scrolling just to figure out whether they are looking at a real person. Others deliberately lean into their artificial nature. Then there is the uncanny valley. The closer something gets to looking human without quite getting there, the more unsettling it can become. A face may look almost perfect, but something about the eyes, expressions, or movement still feels slightly wrong. Strangely, that artificiality does not necessarily stop people from following. In some cases, knowing that the character is fictional is part of the appeal. Followers are not always being fooled. Sometimes, they are willingly participating in the fiction.

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Cover Story

That raises an interesting question about authenticity online. If people knowingly follow a fictional personality, does it matter that the person is not real? Maybe authenticity online was never entirely about being real. Maybe it also depends on whether people understand what they are interacting with. When an Influencer Becomes a Security Risk This is where things get more complicated. Cybersecurity is not only about protecting passwords and devices. It also involves knowing who or what we can trust online. If a familiar influencer recommends an investment, announces a giveaway, promotes a product, or sends followers to a website, people may act because they already trust that person’s face and voice. But what if the person in the video never actually said any of it? In 2025, videos circulated online that appeared to show businessman Ramon Ang promoting investment opportunities. Fact-checkers found signs that AI had been used to manipulate his face and voice. Similar deepfake content has used the likenesses of other prominent Filipinos, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to direct viewers toward investment offers or suspicious links. This is very different from following a disclosed virtual influencer. The danger comes from using AI to make a real person’s identity appear to endorse something they never endorsed.

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Scammers can effectively borrow trust by copying someone’s face or voice. A scammer doesn’t necessarily need to hack a person’s social media account if they can create convincing content that makes it seem as though the person is speaking directly to an audience. This doesn’t apply only to celebrities. Business owners, executives, government officials, family members, and ordinary people can also be impersonated. As more of our faces, voices, photographs, and videos become part of our digital footprint, those pieces of our identities can potentially be used in ways we never intended.

Who Is Responsible? The law is still catching up with what AI can do. In the Philippines, there is no single law that covers every issue involving AI-generated people or deepfake content. Depending on how the technology is used, questions involving privacy, consumer protection, intellectual property, fraud, and cybercrime may come into play. The National Privacy Commission has also raised concerns about how personal information is used

“Scammers can effectively borrow trust by copying someone’s face or voice. A scammer doesn’t necessarily need to hack a person’s social media account if they can create convincing content that makes it seem as though the person is speaking directly to an audience.”

in AI systems. A person’s face, voice, images, and other identifying information can involve privacy and data-protection issues, particularly when they are collected or processed without proper authority. But accountability can become difficult when content moves quickly across platforms, and the person who created it may be hard to identify. Who is responsible when a fake identity causes real-world harm: the person who created it, the platform that distributed it, the company that used it, or some combination of them?

Those questions become more difficult as synthetic content becomes easier to produce. What Can We Actually Do About It? AI-generated content is not going away, and not every virtual personality is trying to deceive us. A fictional digital character that openly presents itself as synthetic is fundamentally different from someone secretly using AI to impersonate a real person. The bigger problem is deception. That means platforms, brands,

creators, and regulators all have a role to play. Clear disclosure can help audiences understand when a personality or piece of content is artificially generated. Better identity verification and reporting systems can make impersonation more difficult to spread, while detection tools may help platforms identify manipulated content. For the rest of us, digital literacy increasingly includes knowing when an identity deserves a second look. A familiar face, recognizable voice, or polished video is no longer enough on its own to prove that the person really said what we are seeing or hearing. The goal is not to distrust everyone we meet online. It is to understand the difference between an identity that is deliberately fictional and one that is deliberately pretending to be real.

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Cover Story

Words by Chris Noel Hidalgo

WHEN CRITICAL THINKING BECOMES CYBERSECURITY Volume 27 No. 3

he Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) ended its three-year examination of the Philippines’ education system with an uncomfortable conclusion: “Most Filipino learners are not mastering foundational competencies—literacy and numeracy— leading to lifelong handicaps.”

THE FOUNDATIONS ARE ALREADY SHAKY

The problem does not end with literacy and numeracy. EDCOM 2’s National Achievement Test findings point to weaknesses in the skills students need to work with information itself. National averages for Grade 10 problem solving, information literacy, and critical thinking ranged from 42 to 45 points. Its National Education Plan for 2026–2035 treats the development of critical thinking and digital skills as one of six major priorities for Philippine education reform.

The numbers behind the learning crisis are difficult to ignore. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reported that only 24% of 15-yearold Filipino students reached at least Level 2 proficiency in reading, versus the OECD average of 74%. At this level, students can identify the main idea of a moderately long text, locate information according to specified criteria, and reflect on a text’s purpose and form when directed to do so.

While none of these problems began with AI, the country will be trying to solve them in the midst of a generative AI boom. Students can now use AI tools to simplify lessons and help with homework. Those same students are also growing up alongside its more nefarious applications.

The World Bank’s April 2024 Philippines brief put the country’s learning poverty rate at 91%, based on the latest available pre-pandemic data. Learning poverty measures whether children by late-gradeschool age can read and understand a simple age-appropriate text.

AI can generate lifelike text, images, audio, video, and online personas at scale. A polished message is not necessarily legitimate. A photograph may not document something exactly as it happened. A familiar voice may just be an imitation.

It would be a leap to take these figures and conclude that Filipino students are therefore unusually susceptible to scams, deepfakes, or social engineering. The data does not establish that. What it does establish is a serious learning problem, as deception becomes cheaper to personalize and harder to judge from appearances alone.

Cybersecurity usually involves passwords, firewalls, data access limits, and device protection. But some attacks do not need to defeat these at all. They just need to defeat the person. Social engineering works by manipulating someone until they willingly give up information, money, access, or control by mistake. For a country still trying to strengthen foundational and higher-order skills, what happens when the same abilities students struggle to develop in school become part of what protects them from manipulation outside it?

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Cover Story

WHEN THE PERSON BECOMES PART OF THE SECURITY SYSTEM AI did not invent social engineering. It changed some of its economics. A 2026 study involving 7,700 participants used large language models to automatically search for information about individual targets and generate personalized phishing emails from what they found. The AI-personalized messages produced almost three times the click rate of generic phishing, while the researchers estimated that personalizing each message cost only around USD0.03 (just under PHP2). Familiar AI tells are disappearing too. A 2024 assessment by the UK National Cyber Security Centre noted that generative AI can help produce phishing material without the spelling, grammatical, and translation mistakes that often signify a scam. Voice cloning and deepfakes further push impersonation beyond text. The goal of social engineering remains the same in the age of AI: have someone believe in something long enough and strongly enough to act on it. AI makes some of the work involved cheaper, faster, and easier to repeat at scale. That changes what the person on the receiving end has to do. Not clicking a suspicious link or sharing a one-time

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PIN remains good practice. But now, you also have to be wary of who is actually contacting you, recognize when urgency or emotion is being used to make you act without thinking, check whether the request makes sense, and verify it somewhere else before doing anything. Those checks sound more like critical thinking and information literacy than traditional cybersecurity. Research suggests the connection is more than conceptual. A study published in Human Factors tested people’s ability to distinguish legitimate content from phishing emails, scam text messages, and false news headlines. Participants with lower digital literacy and lower cognitive reflection, or the tendency to reconsider an intuitive response, were poorer at distinguishing legitimate material from deception across all three. That does not mean weaker critical thinking automatically turns someone into an easy scam victim, much less prove that Filipino students are unusually vulnerable. But the research does show that some of the mental work students practice in school can matter when they have to judge deception outside it. Paradoxically, the same technology that makes social engineering easier is also becoming a tool students can use to avoid doing some of that mental work themselves.

THE SAME AI CAN STRENGTHEN THE SKILL. OR BYPASS IT Generative AI can help students learn. It can simplify a difficult concept, quiz you until you know a topic’s ins and outs, critique an argument, or explain it from another angle. The problem begins when assistance becomes a permanent crutch. A 2025 Microsoft Research study surveyed 319 knowledge workers about 936 examples of using generative AI in their work. Higher confidence in AI was associated with less self-reported critical-thinking effort, while higher confidence in one’s own ability was associated with more. The researchers also found that AI could shift cognitive work away from performing a task and toward verifying, integrating, and overseeing its outputs. These were adult knowledge workers, not Philippine students, so the research does not show that generative AI is reducing critical thinking among Filipino learners. But the distinction it draws is useful. Asking AI to explain why your answer is wrong requires something different from asking it for the answer. Arguing with AI is different from asking it to write the argument. Getting it to summarize everything so you never wrestle with the original material removes cognitive work that asking it to explain the section you could not understand would still require. UNESCO’s student AI framework similarly emphasizes critical judgment of AI systems rather than simply knowing how to operate them. While AI can remove some unnecessary effort, education has to decide which effort was never unnecessary in the first place. If reading carefully, comparing evidence, recognizing manipulation, solving unfamiliar problems, and evaluating claims help people resist social engineering, students still need opportunities to do those things themselves, away from the conveniences of AI.

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Cover Story

SOCIAL ENGINEERING CANNOT BE HOMEWORK FOR THE USER That does not make the student the entire security system. Skills in critical thinking, information literacy, and verification can make someone harder to deceive. But they cannot guarantee that a student will recognize every sophisticated scam. Social engineering often takes advantage of situations where judgment is rushed, distracted, emotional, or working with incomplete information.

verify a suspicious bank request, but that works better when the bank provides a trusted channel through which the request can actually be checked. Platforms can make impersonation harder to sustain and respond faster when fraudulent accounts are reported. AI developers can place safeguards around tools that can be abused for impersonation. Government agencies investigate fraud and set the rules under which those systems operate.

Schools nevertheless have a role in developing that judgment. Under the Strengthened SHS Curriculum, fully implemented for incoming Grade 11 students beginning SY 2026–2027, the Department of Education identifies information, media, technology, digital literacy, and critical thinking as competencies meant to run across the curriculum. Its 2026 framework for responsible AI integration likewise calls for AI literacy while protecting human agency and judgment through risk-proportionate safeguards.

Some of that work is already happening locally. In August 2026, Meta committed to more proactive removal of harmful AIgenerated deepfakes and stronger local cooperation on cybercrime investigations. The National Privacy Commission has separately clarified that a person’s face and likeness are personal information under the Data Privacy Act, and that creating or sharing AI-generated media using a person’s likeness constitutes personal-data processing. Social engineering attacks trust. Defending against it cannot depend on teaching students to become permanently suspicious of everything.

Whether students can effectively apply those lessons also depends on the systems around them. A student can be taught to

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TEACHING WHOM AND WHAT TO TRUST Again, the answer cannot be to teach today’s students to distrust everything online. Everyday digital life would be nearly impossible if we treated every message, request, account, or interaction as hostile by default. The better question is what earns that trust. A message from a bank should not become legitimate simply because it looks professional. A relative asking for money is not necessarily your relative because the account has the right photograph or the voice sounds right. An urgent request from somebody claiming authority should still survive a few moments of scrutiny before you act on it. This is where the learning crisis and AIassisted social engineering converge. A student who learns to read closely, question a claim, compare information, recognize emotional manipulation, and verify something independently is gaining more than a good exam score. Those habits can make it harder for an attacker to turn familiarity, authority, fear, or urgency into a successful scam. The goal, then, is to teach students how to decide what deserves trust, and to build institutions and digital systems that give them reliable ways to check. Cybersecurity Awareness Month often focuses on protecting accounts, devices, and personal information. In the age of generative AI, another part of that protection is knowing whether something deserves to be believed.

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Feature

The in up to th eight g

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Words by Aljhelyn Piador

ndustry is catching he Fold. Samsung is generations ahead. As Apple is strongly rumored to be preparing to enter the foldable market, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Series shows what years of refinement the form factor can deliver.

here was a time when “foldable smartphone” felt more at home in a sci-fi movie than in someone’s pocket. Today, with more brands entering the category, simply having a phone that folds is no longer enough. People want a foldable that can hold up to everyday use, feels natural in the hand, performs like a proper flagship, and makes the most of its unique form. Samsung has had years to figure out what that looks like. As the pioneer that helped establish the modern foldable category, the company has refined the idea generation after generation, gradually turning the fold from a novelty into something people can actually see themselves using every day. That progress comes to life in the latest Galaxy Z Series, where Samsung once again pushes the boundaries of what a foldable can be. The Galaxy Z Flip8 brings a sharper, more expressive take on the iconic clamshell, pairing a refined silhouette with a compact form that opens into a full-sized smartphone experience. The Galaxy Z Fold8, meanwhile, represents a bold step forward in the evolution of the foldable form factor. Its new, distinctive passport-style design gives it a striking new presence, while its wider canvas opens up more room for immersive content, multitasking, and everything in between. More than simply refining the foldable formula, the Fold8

demonstrates how far the category has come — and how much further it can go. At the top of the lineup, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra takes that evolution even further, bringing a larger display, 200MP camera system, and a powerful, workstation-like design to a form factor built for those who expect more from their smartphone. Together, the latest Galaxy Z Series shows that foldables are no longer simply an alternative to the traditional smartphone—they are redefining what a smartphone can be.

That practicality starts before you even unfold the phone. After all, a device can be impressive on paper, but switching to it should not feel like a chore. This is where Samsung Smart Switch comes in.

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Feature The Fold Starts With the Switch

devices through wired or wireless connections, as well as supported cloud and desktop backups.

Switching phones sounds simple until you remember everything stored on the old one. Photos, messages, contacts, apps, settings, and the little details built up over the years can make starting over feel like more work than it’s worth. Samsung Smart Switch is designed to make that transition easier, letting users move their data to Galaxy from compatible Android, iOS, Windows, and BlackBerry

And it goes beyond the basics. Smart Switch can transfer messages, documents, settings, home screen layouts, wallpapers, Wi-Fi networks, notes, calendars, compatible apps, accounts, and supported passkeys. Users can also choose what they want to bring along. The result is getting a new phone without feeling like you have to rebuild your digital life from scratch.

Eight Generations of Turning User Habits Into Better Design The earliest foldables proved that a smartphone could bend, expand, and offer more screen when you needed it. But making the form factor work in everyday life required more than simply adding a hinge. Across eight generations, Samsung has refined the design by paying attention to how people actually hold, open, carry, and interact with their foldables. That learning is evident in the Galaxy Z Fold8. At just 4.5mm when unfolded and 201g, it is slimmer and lighter without losing the expansive experience that defines the Fold series. Its redesigned proportions also make the cover screen feel more natural for everyday tasks, while unfolding reveals a 7.6-inch display designed for immersive content, multitasking, and larger-screen work. Even the details reflect years of learning. The hinge remains essential to the foldable experience, but it no longer demands attention every time the phone is opened. Instead, the engineering works quietly in the background. That may be one of the clearest signs of maturity: when technology becomes so refined that users stop thinking about how it works and simply enjoy what it lets them do.

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More Than Just A Fold The latest Galaxy Z Series shows how Samsung has moved foldables beyond their form factor to deliver a more complete flagship experience. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra leads this approach with a 200MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide, 8K video recording, and advanced imaging and editing tools, while its expansive display and workstation-like design are built for productivity and demanding everyday use. The Galaxy Z Fold8 builds on the same foundation with a thinner, more natural design and a wider inner display, making the larger-screen experience easier and more intuitive to embrace. Beyond hardware, Samsung has continued to make the foldable experience more useful through One UI and Galaxy AI. Features such as multi-window, floating apps, Flex Mode, Now Bar, Now Nudge, and Now Brief make better use of the larger display by bringing information, suggested actions, and multiple tasks together in one experience. On the Galaxy Z Flip8, the expanded 4.1inch FlexWindow takes a different approach, keeping notifications, messaging, apps, and camera controls accessible without having to open the phone. Together, these innovations show that the value of a foldable isn’t simply having more screen—it is having more ways to interact, create, and get things done.

Setting the Standard for Foldables

The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is the clearest example of how far Samsung has taken that idea. It brings together years of work across design, cameras, performance, productivity, software, and everyday usability.

Apple’s potential entry into the category will bring more attention to foldables and give more people a reason to consider a form factor that once felt experimental. But entering the category and defining it are two different things. A mature foldable should feel easy to live with. It should be durable, comfortable to use, powerful enough to stand alongside other flagships, and supported by software and AI that make the fold genuinely useful. Most of all, it should give users more without asking them to settle for less.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 shows where things could go next, with a thinner and more natural design that builds on the larger-screen experience that has made the Fold series so popular. The industry may be catching up to the fold. Samsung has already spent eight generations figuring out what makes it work.

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PARADE gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Acer Predator Atlas 7 Gaming Handheld

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secondary plastic fan. Acer’s Vortex Flow design uses internal channels to direct heat away from the system during sustained gaming loads. Battery capacity reaches up to 80Wh, with the larger-battery configuration weighing under 750g.

Cooling is handled by a dual-fan system combining an 89-blade Predator AeroBlade metal fan with a

Connectivity includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a UHS-II microSD card reader, Wi-Fi 7,

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Its 7-inch FHD touchscreen uses a 16:9 aspect ratio with a 120Hz refresh rate, Variable Refresh Rate support, 500 nits of brightness, and 10-point multi-touch. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus with DXC treatment adds scratch resistance and glare reduction, and Acer also includes a tempered-glass screen protector.

For controls, the Atlas 7 features contoured grips, an enlarged palm rest area, recessed keys, and an anti-slip texture. Buyers can choose models with TMR joysticks designed for precise, anti-drift input, while Hall-effect analog triggers provide variable response for compatible games. A fingerprint reader integrated into the power button supports Windows Hello login.

Bluetooth 5.4, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Dual 2W speakers with DTS Ultra provide audio, while dual microphones use Acer PurifiedVoice for AI-assisted noise reduction. PredatorSense provides system monitoring, performance modes, RGB lighting controls, and gaming settings.

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THE ACER Predator Atlas 7 brings the brand’s handheld gaming hardware into a more compact 7-inch form factor. Running Windows 11, it can be configured with up to an Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor and Intel Arc B390 graphics, together with up to 24GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD.

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Dyson CameraJet gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Dental Care

THE DYSON CameraJet combines an electric toothbrush, precision water jet, imaging system, and connected oral-care tools in a single device. At its core is a 100k-pixel macro camera paired with Dyson’s Gap Optical Targeting machine-learning system, which identifies spaces between teeth in real time and triggers a targeted jet of mouthrinse while the user brushes. The camera scans 28 live images per second and can detect a gap and activate the jet within 100 milliseconds. Dyson says the machine-learning system was developed using more than 470,000 dental images, while the CameraJet itself runs on 16 million lines of code. Instead of the narrow needle-type stream used by many water flossers, Dyson developed a broader conical jet designed to sweep across plaque while operating at lower pressure for gentler contact with gums and enamel. A compact 12.5ml anti-gravity mouthrinse tank uses a diaphragm pump and pressure chamber to maintain consistent fluid delivery even when the toothbrush is tilted or held horizontally. The accompanying docking station can refill the toothbrush in about three seconds while also charging and storing it between uses. A travel case is included for use away from home.

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The brush head uses two types of bristles: firmer inner bristles to lift surface stains and softer outer bristles to clean along the gumline. Dyson’s variable sonic oscillation changes the angle of movement while brushing to help prevent the bristles from stalling against the tooth surface, particularly in harder-to-reach areas. Each brush head also contains an RFID tag that tracks usage and alerts the user when replacement is due. Connectivity extends the system beyond brushing. The CameraJet supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with the MyDyson app offering live camera viewing, guided cleaning, brushing and flossing insights, coverage mapping, and personalized feedback. The camera is active only during live viewing or automatic jetting, and does not record images or store them on the device or in the cloud. Users can also switch between automatic and manual jetting and adjust brushing intensity through the app. Dyson has also developed dedicated nonfoaming toothpaste and low-foaming mouthrinse formulations intended to work with the CameraJet system without obstructing the camera.

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Volume 27 No. 3

PARADE gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Garmin fenix 9 | fenix 9 Pro Smartwatch PHP62,690 - fēnix 9

PHP72,690 - fēnix 9 Pro

GARMIN expands its flagship multisport smartwatch lineup with the fēnix 9 and fēnix 9 Pro, both designed for athletes and outdoor users who want advanced training, navigation, and endurance tracking. The fēnix 9 comes in 43mm, 47mm, and 51mm sizes, with an AMOLED display that is twice as bright as its predecessor, a scratchresistant sapphire lens, leakproof buttons, and a 40-meter dive rating.

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New training tools include stamina zones and stamina curve, which track how endurance changes over time based on fitness gains and training history. Indoor rowing activities can provide VO2 Max and power curve data when used with a compatible power meter-equipped rowing machine, while expanded rucking features allow users to adjust pack weight during an activity, follow GORUCK workouts, and set target metrics with up to 100kg of pack weight.

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Navigation also receives an upgrade. With 50% more RAM than the fēnix 8 and an updated map engine, Garmin says map panning is up to 30% faster. A new perspective view adds more detail to upcoming terrain, while 64GB of onboard storage allows users to download more maps and store up to 7,000 songs. Garmin Epic adds a new way to organize activities in Garmin Connect by grouping sessions recorded over several days, weeks, or months into one shareable story. Users can view associated health and performance data, add photos, and share the completed Epic with others. The fēnix 9 Pro builds on these features with a titanium watch case, a first for the fēnix series. Its AMOLED displays reach up to 3,000 nits, while the 51mm Pro introduces Garmin’s first 1.5-inch AMOLED display, offering 15% more display area than the fēnix 8 without increasing the case size. Select Pro models also add solar charging, while the integrated LED flashlight gains a green-light mode designed to help preserve night vision.

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Battery life reaches up to 29 days in smartwatch mode on the largest fēnix 9, while the largest AMOLED fēnix 9 Pro offers up to 31 days. Select solar-charging Pro models extend that figure to as much as 57 days under Garmin’s specified solaruse conditions.

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HONOR Magic V6 Smartphone

PHP119,999

The phone has a 6.52-inch outer display and a 7.95-inch inner foldable display, both supporting adaptive 1–120Hz refresh rates. Peak brightness reaches 6,000 nits on the outer display and 5,000 nits on the inner screen, while both displays support 4320Hz PWM dimming. The inner display uses UTG flexible glass, while the outer screen is protected by HONOR Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield. The Magic V6 also carries IP68 and IP69 ratings for resistance to water, dust, and high-pressure sprays.

storage. HONOR also equips it with its E2 Power Enhanced Chip and RF enhancements for power management and connectivity. The HONOR AI Falcon Camera System combines a 50MP main camera, a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with a 1/2-inch sensor and CIPA 6.5-stop image stabilization, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. Imaging tools include AI Color Engine, Magic Color 2.0, Magic Video Color, and AI Image to Video 2.0. Running MagicOS 10, the Magic V6 adds AI Settings Agent, AI Photos Agent, AI Suggestion, and AI Screen Suggestions. Fast Flex can activate dual split-screen through a folding

motion, while Multi-Flex supports three apps simultaneously on the inner display. HONOR Share also enables interoperability with iPhone, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch for functions including file transfers, notification sharing, and dual-screen Mac workflows, while Quick Share supports file transfers between Android and compatible Apple devices. Google Gemini is integrated into the device for text, voice, image, camera, and screen-based assistance through Gemini Live. The Magic V6 also includes a three-month Google AI Pro trial.

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THE HONOR Magic V6 combines a slim foldable form with a large battery, flagship hardware, and productivity features built around its dual displays. The white version measures 8.75mm when folded and 4.0mm when unfolded, and weighs around 219g. Its HONOR Super Steel Hinge has a rated tensile strength of 2800MPa and works with an AIassisted bionic cushioning system designed to absorb and distribute impact.

It comes in Red, Gold, and White.

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Inside is a 6,660mAh HONOR Silicon-carbon Battery with support for 80W wired and 66W wireless HONOR SuperCharge, as well as wireless reverse charging. The Magic V6 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform and pairs LPDDR5X RAM with UFS 4.1

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POCO F9 Ultra | F9 Pro Smartphone

PHP55,999 - F9 Ultra

PHP49,999 - F9 Pro

THE POCO F9 Series brings flagshiplevel gaming hardware, high-refreshrate displays, upgraded cameras, and Sound by Bose audio to the brand’s performance-focused smartphone lineup. Both the POCO F9 Ultra and F9 Pro use a dual-chip architecture that pairs their flagship mobile processors with the dedicated VisionBoost D8 chipset, enabling Smart frame rate at up to 185FPS together with AI Super Resolution.

Both phones feature 185Hz POCO HyperRGB AMOLED displays. The F9 Ultra uses a 6.9-inch panel, while the F9 Pro comes with a more compact 6.59-inch display. The screens use a full RGB subpixel structure and M11 luminescent material, with brightness up to 4,500 nits in supported scenarios and up to 10,000 nits for HDR content. It also includes Xiaomi Vision Care and TÜV Rheinland Quadruple Eye Care certification.

The POCO F9 Ultra runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform and supports storage configurations up to 1TB. Both models use POCO’s WildBoost Engine and 3D IceLoop cooling system for sustained gaming performance, while compatible titles can run at up to 185FPS. Touch response includes a 4,800Hz instant touch sampling rate, 480Hz 10-point touch sampling, and 200Hz gyro sampling.

Audio is jointly tuned using Sound by Bose technology. The F9 Ultra combines dual symmetrical 1115D stereo speakers with a dedicated 1620 subwoofer for a 2.1-channel setup, while the F9 Pro uses dual 1115F super-linear stereo speakers with a sealed-cavity design. Both models offer dynamic and balanced sound profiles, along with a Game audio mode designed to make directional cues such as footsteps easier to identify.

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The series also introduces POCO’s first 200MP ultra-clear camera system with optical image stabilization. Both models have a 32MP front camera, while the F9 Ultra adds a 5x periscope telephoto camera with 10x lossless zoom and 20x AI Ultra Zoom. The F9 Pro instead uses a 50MP 2.5x floating telephoto camera that can focus from as close as 10cm. Both support 4K video through Live cinematography features. The F9 Ultra packs an 8,050mAh battery, the largest yet in the POCO F Series, while the F9 Pro has a 6,330mAh battery. Both support 100W wired and 50W wireless HyperCharge, along with 27W wired and 22.5W wireless reverse charging. The POCO F9 Ultra comes in Dark Cherry and Black for the 12GB+256GB version. The POCO F9 Pro is offered in White, Aurora Green, and Black for the 12GB+256GB configuration.

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REDMI Note 17 Series gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Smartphones

THE REDMI NOTE 17 SERIES brings Xiaomi’s durability-focused approach to four smartphones: the REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G, REDMI Note 17 Pro 5G, REDMI Note 17 5G, and REDMI Note 17. Across the lineup, the emphasis is on longer battery life, stronger protection, brighter displays, and extended software support, with up to six years of security updates. At the top of the range, the REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G carries Xiaomi’s largest smartphone battery to date at 10,000mAh, paired with 100W HyperCharge and 27W reverse charging. It uses a 6.83-inch 1.5K display with up to 3,500nits of peak brightness and is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 Mobile Platform. Xiaomi HyperAI, Google Gemini, Circle to Search with Google, 4K 30fps video, and AI-assisted photo editing add productivity and creative tools. The REDMI Note 17 Pro 5G shares much of the Pro Max model’s durability architecture and 6.83-inch display, but pairs it with an 8,340mAh battery and 67W HyperCharge. Both Pro models carry TÜV SÜD 5-star Titan Durability Certification, IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, Gorilla

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Glass Victus 2, and reinforced internal structures designed to improve resistance against drops, water, and everyday wear. The REDMI Note 17 5G and REDMI Note 17 move to larger 6.99-inch displays and use 7,700mAh batteries with 45W charging. Both retain the series’ focus on battery longevity and receive TÜV SÜD 5-star Battery Performance Certification, while Google Gemini and Circle to Search with Google extend AI features across the entire range.

The REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G comes in Cloud Blush, Purple, and Black. Cloud Blush uses a photochromic back that shifts from white to a pink-orange tone under UV light. The REDMI Note 17 Pro 5G comes in Sky Blue, Purple, and Black. The REDMI Note 17 5G comes in Celestial Purple, Sky Teal, and Black. The REDMI Note 17 comes in Celestial Purple, Sky Teal, and Black.

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Volume 27 No. 3

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Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Smartphone

PHP46,990 (128GB) / PHP53,990 (256GB) / PHP67,990 (512GB)

Its triple-camera system combines a 50MP wide camera with optical image stabilization, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom. A 12MP front camera handles selfies and video calls. Camera features include Nightography for low-light shooting, Super Steady with Horizontal Lock for smoother video, and My FanCam, which automatically tracks a selected person and reframes video to keep the subject centered.

The Galaxy S26 FE is powered by the 3nm Exynos 2500 processor with 8GB of memory and storage options of 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB. Its 4,900mAh battery supports 45W wired charging, reaching up to 69% in about 30 minutes with a compatible adapter, plus 15W wireless charging and Wireless PowerShare. The phone also carries an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. Its 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display supports a 120Hz refresh rate and reaches up to 1,900 nits of brightness. The phone measures 7.4mm thick, weighs 193g, and comes in Blueberry, Graphite, and Pistachio. Samsung also provides up to seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates.

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AI-assisted editing centers on Photo Assist, which can modify images through natural-language prompts, including adding elements, restoring missing areas, or changing a scene’s appearance. Gemini Omni can also use photos and videos from the Gallery to create and edit video clips.

One UI 9 introduces more contextaware Galaxy AI features. Now Brief offers customizable briefing cards for information such as weather and wellness, while Now Nudge can surface relevant suggestions from supported third-party apps and notifications. Circle to Search with Google can identify multiple items within a single image.

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THE SAMSUNG Galaxy S26 FE brings key features from the Galaxy S26 series into a more accessible model, combining a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, upgraded cameras, Galaxy AI, and long-term software support. It is also the first model in the Galaxy S26 lineup to launch with One UI 9, running on Android 17.

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External Drive

USD2,900

THE SAMSUNG P7 PORTABLE SSD brings USB4 connectivity to the company’s portable storage lineup, delivering transfer speeds of up to 4,000MB/s. Samsung positions the drive for high-bandwidth workloads such as ultra-high-resolution video, AI-generated content, large game files, and direct recording workflows of up to 12K.

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Samsung P7 Portable SSD

The P7 will be offered in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8 TB capacities. Samsung says the 8TB version is the world’s first 8TB portable SSD with USB4 connectivity, combining high-capacity storage with the faster interface for users handling large media libraries and demanding professional workloads.

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Compatibility extends across desktops, laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and cameras, allowing the P7 to serve as portable storage across a range of work and entertainment setups. The drive also underwent 2-meter drop testing, along with shock and vibration durability testing, for added protection during travel and mobile use.

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TCL Smart Washer-Dryer Home Appliances

The TCL C682 is positioned as the premium model in the series. It features an ultra-spacious Super Drum, Auto-Dosed detergent control, Steam & Air Wash sanitation, and Wi-Fi Smart Control, giving users more automated control over washing and fabric care. For households that prioritize speed and efficiency, the TCL S30 uses a BLDC Inverter Motor together with Turbo Wash & Dry modes. The combination is designed to reduce the time needed for regular laundry while maintaining efficient operation for users with busier schedules.

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THE TCL Smart Washer-Dryer Laundry Expert Series brings together three models designed around different laundry needs, from larger family loads to quicker everyday wash-and-dry cycles. Across the lineup, TCL combines automated garment care, efficient washing systems, and smart features intended to simplify regular laundry routines.

The TCL C20 takes a more straightforward approach to everyday laundry. Its Smart DD Direct Drive Motor is paired with Air Wash for garment refreshing, an automated Drum Clean function, and a One-Hour Wash & Dry cycle for loads that need to be cleaned and ready more quickly.

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Together, the three models give households a choice between more advanced garment-care features, faster wash-and-dry performance, and practical everyday convenience.

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Toshiba Japandi Refrigerator gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Refrigerator

THE TOSHIBA Japandi Refrigerator combines food-preservation technology with a design intended to complement contemporary kitchens. Inspired by the clean, understated character associated with Japandi interiors, it is positioned as both a practical home appliance and a visual centerpiece for modern living spaces. At the core of its food-storage system is Toshiba’s HydroFRESH technology, designed to maintain optimal moisture levels to help preserve the freshness, texture, color, and natural nutrients of stored ingredients. This makes it particularly useful for fresh produce as well as meat and fish that need consistent storage conditions before cooking.

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The refrigerator also features PureAIR technology, which helps maintain a cleaner storage environment through antibacterial protection while minimizing unwanted odors and preserving the original flavors of food. Together, HydroFRESH and PureAIR keep ingredients in better condition for everyday cooking, whether you’re preparing simple family meals or more elaborate dishes at home.

preservation expected of a modern refrigerator.

Beyond food preservation, the Toshiba Japandi Refrigerator reflects the growing convergence between appliance technology and interior design. Its streamlined aesthetics help it integrate more naturally into a contemporary kitchen while delivering the storage and

By combining freshness technologies with an understated design philosophy, the Toshiba Japandi Refrigerator targets homeowners who want kitchen appliances to contribute not only to everyday convenience but also to the overall look and feel of their living space.

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Volume 27 No. 3

REVIEWED BY ALJHELYN PIADOR

SAMSUNG GALAXY S26 FE

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SMARTPHONE

Before I make you scroll through all the specs and everything else that comes with a phone review, here’s where I stand after weeks of using the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE. I’d describe it as a tastefully sensible choice for a phone. Not trying too hard, not underthinking things either. Basically, Volume 27 No. 3

it knows when to be smart and when to just stay out of your way. This is for the person who: •

Buys a phone mainly for convenience, especially someone looking for a device that can AI its way into everyday life and make things simpler,

• •

but doesn’t need it to AI everything. Appreciates technology but doesn’t want to make a hobby out of comparing processors. Takes photos and videos for memories and for the people of the internet, but isn’t trying to turn every shot into a magazine cover.

•

Most of all, doesn’t think their phone is their personality. You just want a reliable little rectangle in your pocket that makes life easier.

If that sounds like you, then there’s more to unpack here. Now, let’s dig into the details.

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DESIGN The Galaxy S26 FE comes with a 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,900 nits HBM. And this might be one of its strongest arguments for anyone who has accepted that their screen time is already beyond saving. The display is very content-consumption friendly. Whether you’re watching streaming services, scrolling through TikTok, checking photos, reading articles, or going down one of those YouTube rabbit holes, the vibrant screen makes it easy to stay there. Even in broad daylight, you can clearly see what you’re looking at without constantly having to find shade or tilt the phone at a very specific angle just to figure out what is happening on screen. That 1,900-nit brightness really comes in handy.

The design itself is also well thought out. The Blueberry color somehow feels elegantly chic without being overly cute. It feels stylish while still having a serious tone. The phone is relatively slim for what it offers, and personally, I prefer this kind of glossy finish over the matte finishes that have become so common lately. I also appreciate that the phone can lie flat on a surface. There is no unnecessarily huge camera bump making the phone wobble around when you put it down. One thing I still find a little behind the times, though, is the lack of a built-in magnet for wireless charging. Wireless charging is there, but the experience is not as seamless as what you get from phones with magnetic alignment. There are also some compromises in the hardware, including the USB port, which feels like one of those areas where the FE branding reminds you that this is not quite the full flagship experience.

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Samsung Galaxy S26 FE

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HARDWARE The Galaxy S26 FE runs on Samsung’s Exynos 2500 3nm chipset with 8GB of RAM. Storage options include 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB UFS 4.0. The processor could be better, especially considering the price. But I also think this is where you have to ask yourself what you actually need from a phone. For someone who wants to push their phone to its limits, run demanding games, or obsess over benchmark numbers, this might not be the most exciting proposition. But for someone who just needs an efficient helper, the performance is alright. Apps run smoothly, everyday tasks feel responsive, and the 120Hz display definitely helps make the experience feel more fluid. The 4,900mAh battery is paired with 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, with Wireless PowerShare thrown in. Charging is good. Decent, basically. Nothing here feels particularly revolutionary, but it gets the job done.

USER EXPERIENCE The Galaxy AI features on Samsung phones are something I genuinely admire, Volume 27 No. 3

not because I believe we should AI everything, but because many of them actually feel useful instead of gimmicky. AI should be able to make everyday life more convenient and reduce repetitive tasks. It does not always need to turn a photo of an artist into a dancing video just because it can. The My Fancam feature is one of my new favorites because it actually makes sense. You can have one group video from a concert and, with a few clicks, create individual fancams from it. I would like to think that Samsung, being from a country so closely associated with pop culture, really considered concertgoers when developing this feature. It is a small thing, but it is exactly the kind of AI tool that feels well thought out. The Audio Eraser is another one of those features that quickly becomes something I can rely on. It is easy to use and useful in those moments when you have a recording with unwanted background noise. Then there is the Weather Wallpaper. I mean, a weather forecast for a visual person? Great. Instead of simply telling you the weather, it gives you a visual representation of what is happening outside. Then there is the ever-helpful Now Brief. One thing I particularly appreciate is how

often it recommends a YouTube video that I actually want to watch. It genuinely surprised me how often it got it right. It never feels like Samsung is just throwing random information at me to prove that AI is working.

In terms of cameras, the Galaxy S26 FE comes with a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto, and 12MP front-facing camera. Each camera serves its purpose, although they do not perform equally. The photos from the main camera are something you can post on Instagram without editing, especially when taken in daylight. The phone also supports 8K video, which, again, I found more useful in good lighting conditions. This is a very good device for channeling your inner content creator, and that goes back to my main point about its convenience. You have the tools when you need them, and you do not necessarily have to become a photography nerd to get a decent-looking result.

connectivity, and a generally polished Samsung experience without going all the way into top flagship territory. But the compromises become more noticeable when you start looking at the phone primarily through its technical specifications. For people who see a phone for what is inside and always consider the technicalities, the S26 FE can feel like a less competitive choice for its price. There are areas where you can reasonably expect more, especially from a device sitting this close to premium flagship pricing. But that is also why I think the FE series is interesting. It is not really trying to win every specification battle. It is trying to find the point where most people get what they actually need without paying for everything a flagship can technically do.

The speakers are not particularly impressive, but they are decent. They probably will not crack your eardrums, but you will still appreciate what you are listening to or watching. If you really care about audio quality, you will probably reach for your headphones or earbuds anyway. But for casually watching a video or listening to something while doing chores, the speakers are perfectly fine.

VALUE The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is available in the Philippines in three storage configurations: • 8GB + 128GB — PHP46,990 • 8GB + 256GB — PHP53,990 • 8GB + 512GB — PHP67,990 At these prices, I would describe the S26 FE as a sensible choice for someone who is after convenience and quality. You get a flagship-like display, capable processing, useful AI features, a versatile camera system, IP68 water resistance, 5G

• 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display • 120Hz refresh rate (60/120Hz) • 1,900 nits HBM • Exynos 2500 (3nm) chipset • 8GB RAM • 128GB / 256GB / 512GB UFS 4.0 storage • 50MP f/1.8 main camera, 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 8MP f/2.4 telephoto, 12MP front-facing camera • One UI 9 / Android 17 OS • 4,900mAh battery • 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, Wireless PowerShare • 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4, eSIM connectivity • IP68 water resistance • 161.6 × 76.9 × 7.4mm dimensions • 193g weight • Blueberry, Graphite, Pistachio colors

WHAT'S HOT

BOTTOMLINE The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is not the phone for someone who wants to talk about specs all day. It is for someone who is techy without needing to be obsessed with technology, someone who appreciates good design without needing their phone to be their personality, and someone who values useful features more than having every possible feature. The 120Hz AMOLED display makes content consumption enjoyable, the cameras can handle your everyday photo and video needs, and the Galaxy AI features are useful. There are compromises, especially with the processor, telephoto camera, speakers, and wireless charging, but they become less significant if what you really value is convenience. Not necessarily the most exciting phone on paper, but one that makes a lot of sense to live with.

AI that actually earns its keep A screen made for long screen-time days Daylight camera performance A capable content creator companion Tastefully chic design Convenient everyday performance

WHAT'S NOT The telephoto camera gets muddy The processor could be better Wireless charging feels a little behind Speakers are just decent USB 2.0 feels like a downgrade The price makes the compromises harder to ignore Volume 27 No. 3

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The telephoto camera, however, gets a little muddy. It is useful for seeing something that is too far away for your 20/20 vision, but if you are expecting to zoom in that far and get something worthy of branded content, that is probably asking too much. The telephoto camera is there to give you reach, not necessarily to replace a dedicated camera.

SPECIFICATIONS

REVIEWED BY ALJHELYN PIADOR

TECNO CAMON SLIM 5G

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SMARTPHONE

This generation values chicness, as the “kinda chic to whatsoever” trend makes clear. Aesthetics matter, but so does ease of use. We were raised to believe we can have it all, even in something as compact as a phone. Volume 27 No. 3

After days of use, it’s easy to see that the TECNO CAMON Slim 5G understands the assignment. It feels like its makers know the trend game, while aiming for a refreshingly chill price point compared with other phones chasing the same look.

Who would love this phone? Here’s who I think they are: • People who value elegant design and aesthetics. The true design-first consumers. • The “girl grip” type: always carrying everything at once and constantly on

the go. • Practical AI users who want smart features that solve everyday problems, not just impressive demo tricks. • People who don’t believe that a jack of all trades is a master of none. • Those who always forget what phone

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DESIGN

slide out of your fingers, even when you’re holding a frappe at the same time.

The first thing you notice is exactly what TECNO intended: just how incredibly thin it is.

The Burgundy Red variant is easily the standout. Its deep wine finish and darker metallic camera accents give it a rich, autumn runway energy. The camera area almost looks like the eye patch of a fashionforward pirate, in the best way possible.

At 6.39mm and only 171g, the CAMON Slim 5G feels light without feeling fragile. Some ultra-slim phones are almost intimidating to hold, but this one passes what I’m calling the girl grip test. It’s easy to hold securely with one hand and, more importantly, never feels like it’s about to

My only design complaint is the printed text on the exterior. Details like the Dolby Atmos branding beside the speaker and the model name beside the cameras slightly

interrupt the otherwise minimalist look. The typography is tasteful, but I still wish TECNO had trusted the hardware enough to let it speak for itself. The front is equally impressive. The 6.78inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate makes scrolling feel incredibly fluid, while its high brightness keeps it comfortably visible outdoors. Late-night doomscrolling is also kinder on the eyes thanks to 2160Hz PWM dimming and TÜV-certified blue light protection. A doomscroller-friendly phone, I must say. Volume 27 No. 3

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TECNO CAMON Slim 5G

HARDWARE Slim phones usually come with an unspoken compromise in battery life, and TECNO clearly took that personally. Despite its 6.39mm body, the CAMON Slim 5G packs a 6,000mAh battery. That’s probably the spec that surprised me most in real use. It comfortably lasted through a full workday of messaging, social media, photos, and video streaming without making me anxious about finding a charger. When you do need power, 45W

Super Charging keeps downtime relatively short.

USER EXPERIENCE

Inside is the MediaTek Dimensity 7300e, paired with 8GB of RAM, expandable with Extended RAM, and 256GB of storage. It isn’t trying to compete with gaming flagships, but it feels consistently smooth when multitasking, editing social content, streaming, and switching between apps.

One thing I appreciate about TECNO’s AI direction is its focus on removing small daily inconveniences. Instead of asking me to reinvent how I use my phone, it quietly improves routines I already have.

Durability also deserves credit. With IP68/ IP69 water and dust resistance, MIL-STD810H protection, and Rain Touch, it’s built for real life, not just careful desk setups.

AI Recording Notes can transcribe lectures and meetings into organized notes, while AI Class Schedule turns a photographed timetable into a usable widget. AI Healthy Eating estimates calories from food photos, and imaging tools like AI LightMaster 2.0 clean up glare and harsh shadows with surprisingly little effort. None of these features feels revolutionary on its own, but together, they’re genuinely useful. The camera system is anchored by a 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C sensor with OIS, alongside an 8MP ultra-wide camera. What I liked most wasn’t sharpness but restraint. Daylight images keep good detail without looking aggressively processed, while night shots retain vibrant colors without turning every scene into an artificially bright HDR painting. The 32MP selfie camera also deserves praise. It avoids the overly smooth, creamy look that many phones still default to. Skin texture stays believable, and portraits feel detailed without becoming unflattering.

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SPECIFICATIONS

VALUE

It’s proof that being a jack of all trades doesn’t automatically mean being a master of none. The balance is the value here. You’re paying for a phone that does many things genuinely well instead of excelling at one while compromising everything else.

BOTTOMLINE The TECNO CAMON Slim 5G is for people who want their phone to feel as curated as the rest of their everyday carry. It shows that going slim doesn’t have to mean sacrificing battery life, usability,

It feels well thought out for the audience it’s clearly targeting: people who want a stylish phone that’s just as practical as it is aesthetic.

WHAT'S NOT WHAT'S HOT Ultra-slim 6.39mm design with excellent one-hand grip Beautiful Burgundy Red finish 6,000mAh battery despite the thin profile Bright, smooth 144Hz AMOLED display Natural-looking selfies Practical AI tools that feel genuinely useful

Printed exterior branding slightly takes away from the otherwise clean, elegant design Ultra-wide camera doesn’t quite match the color and detail of the excellent 50MP main sensor High-performance gaming isn’t its strongest suit; this phone is built for everyday lifestyle and practicality

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The CAMON Slim 5G feels made for buyers who don’t believe they should have to choose between style and substance. At its expected price point, it offers an ultraslim premium design, a 6,000mAh battery, a smooth AMOLED display, practical AI features, and cameras that deliver consistently natural results.

or personality. This phone understands why design matters and knows that good design should make life easier, not just prettier.

Dimensions & Weight: 6.39mm thin | 171g Display: 6.78” 1.5K Flat AMOLED, 144Hz, 2160Hz PWM dimming Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7300e (4nm) Memory & Storage: 256GB ROM + 24GB RAM (8GB physical + 16GB Extended) Battery & Charging: 6,000mAh | 45W Super Charge Rear Cameras: 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C (OIS) + 8MP ultrawide Front Camera: 32MP Durability: IP69K / IP69 / IP68 water and dust resistance, MILSTD-810H, Rain Touch Software: HiOS 16 (Android 16) | 3 years of OS updates / 5 years of security updates Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, eSIM, FreeLink

MOBILITY

VINFAST MPV 7: THE FAMILY CAR RECHARGED Seven-seat practicality meets electric performance, practical range, and a more flexible approach to EV ownership.

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10.1-inch infotainment screen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth music, and USB multimedia capability.

he family car has always had a demanding job. It has to handle the morning school run, weekday traffic, grocery stops, airport pickups, and the occasional weekend escape, often with several people and plenty of luggage along for the ride. For Filipino families, that has helped make the seven-seater one of the most practical vehicle formats around. Now that same formula is entering the electric era. The VinFast MPV 7 doesn’t try to reinvent what families need from a vehicle. Instead, it changes what powers it and adds an EV ownership ecosystem around it. The result is a seven-seat electric MPV suited to the needs of Filipino families, combining familiar practicality with responsive electric performance, flexible three-row seating, and enough rated range to make electrification easier to fit into everyday family life. The Power The electric transformation starts underneath. A single permanent-magnet synchronous motor powers the front wheels, producing 201hp (150kW) and 280Nm of torque. The MPV 7 accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in under 10 seconds and has a maximum speed of 140km/h.

drivetrain, the MPV 7 delivers smooth, responsive performance even when the whole family is along for the ride. The MPV 7 has the proportions to match that family-oriented mission. It measures 4,740mm long, 1,872mm wide, and 1,734mm high, with a 2,840mm wheelbase and 185mm of ground clearance. MacPherson independent front suspension is paired with a multi-link rear setup, while braking comes from ventilated front and solid rear discs. Visually, the MPV 7 keeps things contemporary rather than overly futuristic. LED projector headlamps, LED daytime running lights, and 19-inch alloy wheels give it a confident road presence, with power-adjustable and folding side mirrors adding everyday convenience. The Cabin For an MPV, however, the real story begins when the doors open. The MPV 7 accommodates seven occupants across three rows, with PVC leather upholstery

Those numbers provide useful context, but outright acceleration isn’t really the point of a family MPV. More relevant for everyday family driving is the immediate response of the electric motor. With 280Nm of torque from the electric

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throughout. The second row uses a 60:40 split and a fold-and-tumble mechanism, while the third row can be folded when additional cargo capacity takes priority over passenger space.

The emphasis is less on filling the cabin with technology for its own sake and more on giving occupants the connectivity and convenience features likely to be used every day.

That flexibility matters because family vehicles rarely do the same job every day. All three rows might be occupied during a weekend trip, while another day might require fewer passengers and more space for luggage, shopping, sports equipment, or larger items. Rather than treating seven seats simply as a number on the specification sheet, the MPV 7 allows the available space to be rearranged around whatever the day requires.

The Range Of course, moving a family from an internal-combustion vehicle into an EV

The MPV 7 uses a 60.13kWh usable Gotion LFP battery, delivering up to 450km of NEDC-rated range. Actual driving range will vary with conditions and vehicle use, but that gives the MPV 7 plenty of scope for the routines that make up family life, from commuting and school runs to errands and weekend trips. That is an important distinction. Living with an EV isn’t necessarily about achieving its maximum possible range every time you leave home. For everyday driving, it’s about having enough range that charging doesn’t have to dictate the day’s schedule.

Technology inside follows a similarly functional approach. The centerpiece is a 10.1-inch infotainment screen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth music, and USB multimedia capability. There is also keyless start, one-touch powered windows, automatic single-zone air-conditioning, and PM2.5 cabin filtration. Volume 27 No. 3

raises an obvious question: How far can it go?

When the battery needs replenishing, the MPV 7 uses a Type 2 CCS2 connector and supports a 7.4kW wall or home charger. Under the specified fast-charging conditions, the battery can be charged 10 to 70 percent in

approximately 30 minutes, giving owners more flexibility in deciding when and how to charge. Technology Beyond the Screen Some of the MPV 7’s more important technology isn’t something passengers will necessarily notice. Its safety systems include ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution, brake assist, electronic stability control, traction control, hillstart assist, rollover mitigation, and Auto Hold. Four airbags provide front-seat side protection, while ISOFIX mounting points and child-proof locks address the requirements of younger passengers. Rear parking assist and a rear-view camera help when maneuvering the MPV, while basic cruise control and a speed limiter provide additional driver assistance. In many ways, this illustrates where automotive technology is heading. The most useful systems aren’t necessarily the ones demanding the driver’s attention. Increasingly, they’re the ones quietly working in the background.

until March 2029. Battery Subscription offers another approach to EV ownership, while bank partnerships and the Residual Value Guarantee program provide additional options as you make the move to electric mobility. Together, these programs extend the MPV 7 proposition beyond the vehicle itself. The vehicle determines what an EV is like to drive and use, while the supporting ecosystem can significantly affect how easily it fits into everyday life. For someone making the transition from gasoline to electric mobility, both sides of that equation matter. Recharging the Family-Car Formula Look beyond the electric drivetrain and the MPV 7 remains recognizably a family vehicle: seven seats, three rows, flexible seating, and the ability to adapt between passenger and cargo needs. What changes is what powers it. There is 201hp and 280Nm from an electric motor instead of an internal-combustion engine.

The Ownership Making the switch to an EV involves more than choosing the right vehicle. There’s also charging to think about, along with how you buy the vehicle and what ownership will look like in the years ahead. The MPV 7 comes with an ecosystem designed to make those considerations easier to manage.

A 60.13kWh LFP battery provides up to 450km of NEDC-rated range, while fast charging can take it from 10 to 70 percent in approximately 30 minutes. Inside, the combination of configurable seating, smartphone connectivity, cabin filtration, and everyday convenience features keeps the technology focused on usability rather than novelty. The ownership ecosystem adds another layer, bringing charging access and alternative ownership programs into the equation. Together with the electric drivetrain and flexible cabin, it broadens the MPV 7’s proposition beyond simply replacing an internal-combustion engine with a battery and motor. That makes the VinFast MPV 7 an interesting example of what happens when electrification reaches one of the most practical categories in the automotive market. The family car hasn’t changed its fundamental purpose. It still needs to get everyone and everything where they need to go. It has simply been recharged for what comes next. The VinFast MPV 7 is available for viewing at authorized VinFast dealerships nationwide, where prospective buyers can explore its seven-seat cabin, discover its features, and arrange a test drive.

Eligible VinFast owners can take advantage of V-GREEN free charging

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THE MITSUBISHI PAJERO TECHS UP The all-new flagship brings one of Mitsubishi’s most storied 4WD nameplates into the digital age with connected technology, intelligent vehicle control, and a renewed focus on off-road comfort.

ew Mitsubishi nameplates carry as much history as the Pajero. Introduced in 1982, the cross-country 4WD built its reputation on combining serious off-road capability with the comfort needed for everyday driving. Across four generations, Mitsubishi produced more than 3.29 million units, with the Pajero finding customers in over 170 countries and regions. Now, after two decades since the fourth-generation model was introduced, Mitsubishi is starting a new chapter. The fully redesigned allnew Pajero returns as the company’s next-generation flagship, combining the familiar strengths of a ladder-frame SUV with a significantly more digital cabin, advanced vehicle-control technology, and a new emphasis on premium quality. Mitsubishi defines that evolution through three ideas: Confidence, Comfort, and Prestige. The first two have long been part of the Pajero formula. Prestige is the new addition, reflecting Mitsubishi’s intention to move the model further upmarket without losing the engineering that established its reputation in the first place.

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Heritage goes digital The connection to earlier Pajeros is immediately visible, but Mitsubishi has resisted simply recreating the past. The new model follows a design concept called “Grand Charisma,” combining upright proportions and strong horizontal lines with more sculpted surfaces and distinctly modern detailing. Powerful fenders reinforce the Pajero’s off-road stance, while the front is inspired by the discipline and composure associated with the Japanese martial art of kendo. Two grille treatments are available: a horizontalbar design influenced by Japanese craftsmanship and a honeycomb version intended to communicate functional strength. T-shaped headlights complete the more contemporary face.

from the original Pajero, but the centerpiece is now a monolithic display integrating two 14.3-inch screens. Even the old triple-meter cluster has been reinvented digitally. Mitsubishi’s new Multi-Meter can display altitude, compass heading, temperature, vehicle pitch and roll angles, and Active Yaw Control status. The display also offers 16 background themes that change with the time of day, along with dedicated animations and graphics for the different drive modes.

The design also includes subtler references to Pajero history. The C-pillar draws inspiration from the roll bar of the first-generation model, while a hexagonal motif at the rear reinterprets the externally mounted spare tire associated with previous generations. Inside, that heritage becomes more overtly technological. The horizontally oriented instrument panel takes cues Volume 27 No. 3

It is an interesting way to modernize an automotive icon: instead of abandoning the tools associated with serious offroad driving, Mitsubishi has turned them into part of the digital interface. Connected for the road ahead The Pajero’s Smartphone-link Display Audio system supports wireless smartphone connectivity, providing access to compatible navigation, music, and other apps. Rather than treating infotainment as a separate layer added

to a rugged SUV, Mitsubishi has integrated the digital experience into the vehicle’s broader adventure-focused character. The cabin itself combines that technology with traditional craftsmanship. Soft-touch material on the instrument panel and door trims uses a stitching technique inspired by Kimekomi, a traditional Japanese craft, adding texture and depth to the interior. Mitsubishi has also placed considerable emphasis on quietness. Acoustic glass is used not only for the windshield but also for the front and rear door windows, while additional noisereduction measures throughout the body are designed to suppress wind and engine noise.

That matters because the new Pajero is positioned not merely as a machine for reaching difficult places, but as a place where occupants can remain comfortable along the way. The threerow, seven-seat cabin is packaged to provide usable space across all rows, with attention to third-row comfort, accessibility, climate control, and ease of entry and exit. Diesel power meets smarter control Under the hood is a specially developed 2.4-liter clean diesel engine with a wide-range single variable geometry turbocharger. Mitsubishi quotes maximum torque of 480Nm, with the engine paired to a newly developed eight-speed automatic transmission with Sport mode.

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The powertrain remains conventional compared with the increasing number of electrified SUVs entering the market, but the technology around how that power reaches the ground has evolved considerably. The new Pajero combines Super Select 4WD-II with Mitsubishi’s Super-All Wheel Control system. SS4-II gives drivers four drivetrain settings: 2H for rear-wheel drive, 4H for full-time four-wheel drive, 4HLc with the center differential locked, and 4LLc, which adds low-range gearing for more demanding terrain. S-AWC adds another layer of electronic control by coordinating Active Yaw Control, Active Stability and Traction Control, and the Anti-lock Braking System. The system manages driving and braking forces across the four wheels based on road conditions and driver inputs, aiming to make the Pajero easier and more predictable to control. Seven selectable modes further adapt the vehicle to different surfaces: Normal, Eco, Gravel, Snow, Mud, Sand, and Rock. Together, these systems bring software and electronic control into an area where the Pajero has traditionally relied heavily on mechanical capability. Built for terrain and the trip there Beneath all that technology remains the hardware expected of a Pajero. A highly rigid ladder frame uses more hightensile steel, while changes to its crosssectional structure improve torsional and bending rigidity without ignoring weight reduction. Volume 27 No. 3

The suspension combines an independent double-wishbone setup at the front with a newly developed five-link rigid rear axle. Mitsubishi developed the chassis around what it calls “off-road comfort,” an approach intended to maintain capability over difficult terrain without sacrificing refinement during long journeys.

departure angles are 30.4 degrees, 22.6 degrees, and 25.8 degrees, respectively.

Strengthened body mounts help suppress unwanted vibration on rough roads, while the suspension is designed to maintain tire contact over uneven surfaces. Large 18-inch brake rotors and an electric brake booster support braking performance.

A flagship for a new Pajero era

The Pajero measures 4,920mm long, 1,925mm wide, and 1,910mm high, with a 2,870mm wheelbase. Ground clearance is 230mm, while the approach, ramp breakover, and

Mitsubishi has also targeted a 52:48 front-to-rear weight distribution, combining it with the rigid frame and long-travel suspension to balance off-road ability with more predictable behavior on paved roads.

The all-new Pajero will initially launch in Thailand, followed by Japan and Australia during Mitsubishi Motors’ fiscal 2026. From fiscal 2027 onward, Mitsubishi plans to expand the model to around 100 countries, including markets across ASEAN, Latin America, and the Middle East. This first reveal indicates where Mitsubishi wants to take one of its

defining vehicles. The new Pajero still uses diesel power, a ladder frame, low-range gearing, and the sort of mechanical foundations expected of a serious cross-country SUV. What has changed is everything built around them. Twin 14.3-inch displays have replaced analog instrumentation; heritage gauges now live inside a configurable digital interface; smartphone connectivity sits alongside altitude and pitch information; and sophisticated vehiclecontrol systems help manage conditions that once relied much more heavily on driver experience. The Pajero has always been about going farther. This time, Mitsubishi is also asking what the journey should feel like once technology becomes part of the adventure.

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NISSAN KICKS E-POWER REBOOTED

The all-new subcompact SUV pairs electric-motor driving with smarter driver assistance, improved comfort, and a bolder new look.

he Nissan Kicks helped introduce many Filipino drivers to a different kind of electrified mobility when it arrived locally in 2022. Instead of plugging into a charger, its e-POWER system used a gasoline engine to generate electricity while an electric motor alone drove the wheels, delivering the responsive character of electric propulsion without changing the familiar routine of stopping at a fuel station. 65

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Four years later, the all-new Nissan Kicks e-POWER builds on that idea with a new-generation design, upgraded comfort, and a broader set of driverassistance technologies. The formula remains familiar, but the experience around it has evolved to better suit daily commuting, longer drives, and the connected lifestyle expected from a modern crossover. Electric drive without the plug At the heart of the new Kicks is Nissan’s e-POWER system, which delivers a 100 percent electric motordriven experience. The electric motor produces 136PS and 280Nm of torque, giving the crossover the immediate response associated with electric propulsion. What makes e-POWER different from a conventional battery-electric vehicle is how it generates that electricity. A 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine works as a generator for the battery, while the electric motor is responsible for driving the wheels. Volume 27 No. 3

For the driver, the system is designed to retain the smooth, responsive feel of electric-motor propulsion without requiring external charging. Refueling remains familiar, making the Kicks an accessible entry point for motorists interested in electrified driving but not yet ready to build their routines around charging infrastructure.

Rather than treating comfort as a luxury feature, the new Kicks integrates it into the daily driving experience. That makes the cabin feel more lifestylefocused, especially for users who treat their vehicle as an extension of their connected work and leisure routines.

Made for everyday comfort

The exterior receives a stronger visual identity while retaining familiar Nissan design cues. Up front, the latest V-Motion grille is paired with a new lighting signature and triple-arrow Daytime Running Lights, giving the Kicks a more distinctive face.

The cabin has also been reworked around the realities of daily use. Nissan’s Zero Gravity seats are designed to support a more comfortable seating position, while anti-heat leather upholstery helps reduce heat buildup in warm conditions, a particularly practical feature in the Philippine climate. Rear passengers get an optimized seatback angle and a rear armrest, while the driver benefits from a six-way power-adjustable seat. These are relatively straightforward upgrades, but they matter in a vehicle likely to spend much of its life navigating city traffic, school runs, work commutes, and weekend road trips.

A sharper digital-era look

At the rear, hexagon-shaped lamps reinforce the updated design, while improved headlights provide wider and longer illumination for better visibility in low-light conditions. The overall effect is a more expressive take on the compact crossover, with styling that feels better aligned with the technology underneath. Color choices include Aquamarine Metallic, Gun Metallic, Pearl White,

and Moon Pearl Gray. The LE Plus adds an available Black Roof and receives a Moonstone interior combination, while the VE and VL use a Black interior.

useful layer for tight parking spaces and crowded urban environments. Together, these systems give the Kicks a distinctly technology-led character. The emphasis is less on adding gadgets for their own sake and more on using sensors, cameras, and assistance systems to make routine driving easier to manage.

ProPILOT takes on the commute The larger technology story beyond e-POWER is Nissan ProPILOT, which brings more driver assistance into the new Kicks. The system can assist with steering, acceleration, and braking, particularly during highway driving and longer journeys. Intelligent Lane Keep Assist helps keep the vehicle centered within its lane, while Intelligent Cruise Control maintains a preset speed and distance from the vehicle ahead. In heavier traffic, Traffic Jam Assist can stop the vehicle and resume driving when conditions allow. For drivers who regularly deal with congestion, that combination may matter more than headline performance figures. The goal is not autonomous driving, but reducing some of the repetitive workload that comes with long highway stretches and stop-and-go traffic.

More eyes around the car Beyond ProPILOT, Nissan equips the all-new Kicks e-POWER with a broad selection of safety and driverassistance technologies. These include Leading Car Departure Notification, Intelligent Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Forward Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning with Blind Spot Intervention, and Lane Departure Warning with Lane Departure Prevention. Rear Automatic Emergency Braking, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, High Beam Assist, and Driver Attention Alert further expand the safety package. The Intelligent Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection adds another

A different route to electrified mobility The all-new Nissan Kicks e-POWER is offered in VE, VL, and LE Plus variants. What continues to make the Kicks distinctive is that it does not ask drivers to choose between the familiar routine of refueling and the feel of electric propulsion. Its gasoline engine generates the electricity, while the electric motor handles the actual driving. That makes the Kicks e-POWER less about changing how drivers live and more about changing what happens underneath the hood. For a techlifestyle audience, that may be its most interesting proposition: an electrified driving experience designed to fit into habits people already have.

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YAMAHA FIGHTS THROUGH ARRC 5 April King Mascardo and Timothy Rojas charge through the UB150 field while McKinley Kyle Paz adds another pair of top-ten finishes in SS600.

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he Yamaha Philippines Racing Team came away from Round 5 of the 2026 Asia Road Racing Championship with a weekend defined less by dominant starting positions and more by determined recovery drives. At the Petronas Sepang International Circuit, April King Mascardo and Timothy Rojas worked their way through the Underbone 150 field, while McKinley Kyle Paz continued his steady points-scoring run in Supersport 600.

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Sepang presented a very different challenge from the previous round. Mascardo and Rojas both started deep in the UB150 grid, forcing them to make up ground almost immediately, while Paz entered the weekend carrying momentum from his season-best second-place finish at Mandalika in Indonesia.

He remained among the frontrunners in Race 2 and finished P5, completing a solid turnaround after a more difficult previous round in Indonesia. The two results put Mascardo firmly back among the competitive runners in the closely fought UB150 field.

Mascardo charges forward

Timothy Rojas had even more ground to make up after qualifying P22, but he made significant progress once racing began. In Race 1, Rojas gained 15 positions to finish P7, turning a difficult start into a points-scoring result.

Starting from P19, Mascardo faced an uphill battle in the opening UB150 race. The Yamaha Racetech Philippines Racing Team rider responded by gaining 15 positions to finish P4, producing one of his strongest recovery performances of the season.

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Rojas climbs from P22

He improved further in Race 2, crossing the line in P6 for his best result of the

weekend. Together with Mascardo’s performances, the result gave the Yamaha Racetech Philippines Racing Team two riders inside the top ten in both UB150 races. Paz stays in the points In Supersport 600, McKinley Kyle Paz returned to competition following his P2 finish at Mandalika, his best result of the 2026 season. Racing for the Hong Leong Yamaha Racing Team, Paz qualified P5 for both races, putting himself within reach of the leading group. He ultimately finished P7 in Race 1 and P7 again in Race 2. While he couldn’t repeat his podium performance from Indonesia, the pair of top-ten finishes extended his run of consistent results in SS600. Across the season, Paz has steadily established himself as a regular presence near the front of the category, with podium finishes in both Thailand and Indonesia highlighting his campaign.

through podium breakthroughs, difficult weekends, recovery rides, and steady progression. With one event remaining, Mascardo, Rojas, and Paz now have one final opportunity to close their international campaign on a strong note. The 2026 Asia Road Racing Championship concludes from December 4 to 6 at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, returning the team to the venue where Paz secured his first podium of the season. Mascardo and Rojas will head into the finale carrying momentum from their charge through the Sepang field, while Paz will look to build on another consistent SS600 weekend. With only one round left, the focus now shifts to finishing the season as strongly as possible.

One round to go Five rounds across Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia have tested the Yamaha Philippines Racing Team

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ROYAL ENFIELD GOES TWO WAYS The Guerrilla 450 Apex and Goan Classic 350 arrive in the Philippines with two distinct takes on mid-size motorcycling, one tuned for sharper street performance and the other for laid-back retro style.

oyal Enfield is expanding its Philippine lineup with two motorcycles aimed at very different kinds of riders. The Guerrilla 450 Apex sharpens the brand’s modern roadster formula with a sportier riding position, roadbiased tires, updated ride modes, and a connected TFT display, while the Goan Classic 350 takes a more relaxed route with bobber-inspired styling, a lowerkey riding character, and just enough modern technology for everyday use. Volume 27 No. 3

The contrast is part of the appeal. One motorcycle is designed around responsiveness and urban performance, while the other leans into selfexpression, slower-paced cruising, and the visual culture of classic custom bikes. Both, however, show how Royal Enfield is blending traditional motorcycle character with features that fit a more connected riding lifestyle.

and confidence across changing road conditions. Connected without overcomplicating the ride The Guerrilla 450 also carries one of the pair’s more obvious tech-lifestyle features. Royal Enfield’s Tripper Dash uses a circular 4-inch TFT display with Google Maps-powered navigation and smartphone connectivity, bringing turnby-turn guidance and ride information into the rider’s direct field of view.

Guerrilla 450 Apex: Built for the street The 2026 Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Apex takes the existing Guerrilla platform and pushes it further toward road-focused performance. Lowered and repositioned aluminum handlebars create a more forward-leaning riding triangle, giving the rider a sportier stance and a more direct connection with the motorcycle. The Apex also switches to 17-inch Vredestein Centuro ST road-biased tires, which Royal Enfield says are designed to improve grip on wet and

low-friction surfaces. Refined Street and Sport ride modes now include mode retention, allowing the motorcycle to remember the last selected setting even after the ignition has been switched off. Power still comes from the Sherpa platform, with the engine producing 40PS and 40Nm of torque. A balanced steel twin-spar frame underpins the chassis, tuned for stability under acceleration, agility through corners,

It is the kind of technology that fits naturally into everyday riding. Rather than replacing the analog feel of motorcycling with a screen-heavy interface, the Tripper Dash adds navigation and connectivity while keeping the cockpit relatively simple. Goan Classic 350: Retro with a modern layer If the Guerrilla Apex is about sharper road manners, the Goan Classic

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350 is built around a more relaxed philosophy. Inspired by the freespirited motorcycle culture associated with Goa in the 1970s and 1980s, it combines bobber styling with the familiar engineering of Royal Enfield’s 350 platform. At its core is a 349cc air-oil-cooled single-cylinder engine producing 20.2bhp at 6,100rpm and 27Nm at 4,000rpm. It is paired with a five-speed gearbox, with the powertrain tuned more for smooth, unhurried cruising than outright performance.

tires, while braking comes from a 300mm front disc and 270mm rear disc with dual-channel ABS. Classic form, useful tech

dashboard includes a gear-position indicator and a Tripper navigation pod for turn-by-turn directions, while a USB Type-C charging port helps keep devices powered on longer rides.

The Goan Classic 350 keeps the visual language deliberately retro, but it does not ignore modern conveniences. Its

LED lighting powers the headlamp, pilot lamps, and turn indicators, while aluminum switch cubes add a more

The chassis uses a twin downtube spine frame, paired with 41mm telescopic front forks and twin rear shock absorbers. It rides on edge-laced 19inch front and 16-inch rear aluminum spoke wheels with whitewall tubeless Volume 27 No. 3

premium tactile feel. The pillion seat uses an easy bolt-on arrangement, allowing the motorcycle to switch between single-seat and dual-seat configurations depending on how the owner wants to use it. That adaptability suits the Goan Classic’s lifestyle positioning. It can function as a stripped-back solo bobber or convert into a more practical two-up motorcycle without losing the design identity that defines it. Pricing and availability The Guerrilla 450 Apex is available in Apex Red, Apex Green, and Apex Black, with styling details that include rim tapes, a sculpted rear-seat cowl, and a color-coded front cowl. It also includes complimentary handguards

and a headlight grille. It is priced at PHP289,000. The Goan Classic 350 is available in four colorways. Shack Black and Purple Haze are priced at PHP249,000, while Rave Red and Trip Teal are priced at PHP262,000. All four feature chrome accents and slash-cut silencers that reinforce the bobber-inspired look.

For riders choosing between them, the decision is less about which is objectively better and more about how they want to ride. One is built to make the street feel more involving; the other is designed to make the journey itself the point.

Two different expressions of Royal Enfield Together, the Guerrilla 450 Apex and Goan Classic 350 show two very different interpretations of modern mid-size motorcycling. The Guerrilla is the more performance-oriented and digitally connected option, while the Goan Classic puts style, comfort, and character ahead of outright speed.

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FILIPINO SKILLS SHINE AT TOYOTA ASPAC Toyota Motor Philippines’ six-medal haul at the 2026 Asia Pacific Skills Contest highlights the technical talent supporting the country’s automotive manufacturing capability.

oyota Motor Philippines brought home a landmark result for the country after its Filipino delegation earned six medals across all categories at the 2026 Toyota Asia Pacific Skills Contest. Held at Toyota Motor Thailand’s Ban Pho Plant in Chachoengsao Province, the competition brought together line team members and leaders from 11 Toyota affiliates across Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Pakistan, and India. The result marked Toyota Motor Philippines’ first complete podium sweep across all categories since it began participating in the annual competition in 2006. Volume 27 No. 3

Filipino talent among Asia’s best The Asia Pacific Skills Contest is organized by Toyota Motor Asia to test technical mastery in shopfloor skills anchored on the Toyota Production System. Participants compete in disciplines such as painting, logistics, assembly, quality control, and welding. Christian Cobilla earned silver in the Painting – Team Leader category, while Wilmer Penalla took silver in Logistics – Team Member. Noel Elpos, Edwin Bocaya, Loreto Muyna, and Ramel Sarmiento secured bronze medals in Logistics, Assembly, Quality Control, and Welding. Since joining the competition in 2006, Toyota Motor Philippines has brought home 14 medals for the Philippines, including its fourth gold medal in 2025. The latest six-medal performance further underscores the technical capability of Filipino workers in automotive manufacturing. Supporting local production The achievement comes as Toyota Motor Philippines continues to expand its local manufacturing capability. The company has produced more than 1.2 million

vehicles in the Philippines, supported by a skilled workforce at its Santa Rosa plant. Toyota Motor Philippines can now produce more than 60,000 completely knocked-down units annually, covering the locally assembled Vios, Innova, and Next Generation Tamaraw. These manufacturing operations depend on the flexibility and precision of Filipino team members working across multiple production disciplines. The skills demonstrated at the regional competition reflect the same technical capabilities required on the production floor. Expanding manufacturing capability Toyota Motor Philippines has also expanded its operations through its in-house vehicle conversion facility. This gives the company the capability to convert the Next Generation Tamaraw into six body configurations for different applications.

enable the production of vehicles suited to local requirements, including utility vans, ambulances, and other specialized configurations. A milestone for Filipino manufacturing The six-medal result also comes as Toyota Motor Philippines celebrates its 38th anniversary, reflecting the company’s continued focus on local production and workforce development. Beyond the medal count, the achievement highlights the role of technical skills in strengthening the country’s automotive industry. For Toyota Motor Philippines, the performance of its Filipino team members further indicates the manufacturing expertise being developed locally.

The facility supports the development of a broader automotive manufacturing ecosystem involving Filipino vehicle designers, engineers, parts suppliers, and body builders. These capabilities

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CCC Camiling Tarlac bagged the top award for Petron CCC Excellence among stand-alone outlets

PETRON CAR CARE CENTER EYES 100 OUTLETS As it marks 20 years, Petron’s automotive service network is expanding its nationwide footprint and broadening its offerings for Filipino motorists.

Petron SVP and CFO Mr Emmanuel Eraña opens the program.

The expansion follows Petron’s opening of 22 new Car Care Center locations over the past three years, along with a refreshed look and broader services across the network. Two decades of automotive care

For many motorists, keeping a vehicle on the road is as much about access to reliable maintenance as it is about the vehicle itself. Petron Car Care Center has spent the past two decades building its automotive service network around that need, and the company is now preparing for another stage of expansion. Volume 27 No. 3

As Petron Car Care Center marks its 20th anniversary, the automotive care brand has set a goal of growing to 100 outlets nationwide. Around 60 Petron Car Care Centers currently operate in key locations across the Philippines, with more outlets scheduled to open this year.

Petron marked the milestone during its first national Car Care Center convention, which brought franchisees from across the country together with Petron leaders, partners, and suppliers. The event looked back at the milestones and operating practices that have shaped the business over the past two decades, while also previewing

CCC Marikina was awarded the Petron CCC Excellence among in-station outlets.

upcoming programs. Franchisees were recognized across 14 award categories, including the CCC Excellence Award for top-performing stand-alone and instation Car Care Centers.

maintenance more accessible across more parts of the country. Each Car Care Center serves as a destination for automotive services supported by Petron lubricant products.

Petron CCC Camiling Tarlac received the recognition for the stand-alone category, while Petron CCC Marikina was named the top in-station location.

Growing the network

Building around specialist service Petron positions its Car Care Centers as Automotive Fluids Specialists, combining vehicle diagnosis and maintenance services with the company’s lubricant products. “At CCC, we call ourselves the Automotive Fluids Specialist. It carries with it the assurance that every diagnosis and repair is handled with precision and skill, that every motorist is treated with genuine care and malasakit,” said Virgilio V. Centeno, Petron vice president for industrial sales.

The push toward 100 outlets represents a significant expansion from the approximately 60 locations currently operating nationwide. With more branches planned and service offerings continuing to broaden, Petron is positioning the Car Care Center network for a larger role in the country’s automotive after-sales market.

Petron VP for Industrial Sales Mr. Virgilio Centeno

That growth also reflects a broader reality of vehicle ownership. As cars become more sophisticated and motorists keep vehicles for longer periods, maintenance, fluids, diagnostics, and dependable service become an increasingly important part of the mobility experience. After 20 years, Petron Car Care Center is entering its next phase with a larger footprint in mind. The target is clear: bring the network from around 60 locations today to 100 outlets nationwide, extending access to automotive care for more Filipino motorists.

Petron team with Petron Car Care Center franchisees from Visayas and Mindanao

Petron Lubricants Trade Manager Leojun Gonzales provides CCC franchisees an update on the business

Petron team with Petron Car Care Center franchisees from Metro Manila

Petron team with Petron Car Care Center franchisees from North Luzon

He added that franchisees play a central role in delivering that service promise and in supporting the continued development of the network. For customers, the expanding footprint is intended to make professional vehicle

Volume 27 No. 3

Cyber Security

PROTECTING CHILDREN ONLINE PROTECTA Pilipinas calls for stronger legal frameworks and coordinated action against emerging digital threats

or children today, being online is part of everyday life. They use connected devices to learn, play, communicate, and participate in the world around them. Keeping that digital environment safe, however, increasingly requires more than parental controls or cybersecurity tools. It also calls for laws,

reporting mechanisms, and coordinated action capable of responding to new forms of online harm. That challenge was at the center of a forum led by PROTECTA Pilipinas, which brought together representatives from government, law enforcement, telecommunications, education, media, and the private sector to strengthen efforts to protect children against online violence and exploitation. “Protecting the connectivity that Filipinos depend on includes protecting the people, especially the children, who rely on that connectivity every single day,” said Atty. Roy D. Ibay, Smart vice president and head of regulatory affairs and lead convenor of PROTECTA Pilipinas. He pointed out that infrastructure resilience is typically associated with disasters, cable theft, and cyberattacks, but another form of resilience is needed to protect children who use these networks to learn, play, and connect with the world.

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Strengthening digital safeguards Beyond expanding reporting and coordination mechanisms, Ibay called for the consistent adoption of platforms and tools against online child exploitation, as well as the inclusion of fintech partners in the conversation. He also emphasized the importance of advocating stronger legal frameworks to reinforce protections for children in the digital age. “No single actor can secure our digital ecosystem alone. Protecting Filipino children online will take government, industry, civil society, and communities working as one alliance,” Ibay said.

The forum emphasized that protecting children online should go hand in hand with maintaining safe, meaningful, and age-appropriate access to digital technology.

The discussion reflected that multi-sector approach, bringing together representatives from PLDT, the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the PNP Women and Children Protection Center, education, the creator community, and the mental health sector.

Adapting to new forms of online harm The Philippines is not starting from scratch. Existing laws, protocols, reporting mechanisms, and multistakeholder initiatives already address online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM). Recent cases involving online violence and harmful digital communities, however, have highlighted the need to expand and adapt these frameworks to address new forms of harm affecting children.

Keeping children connected and safe One of the central themes to emerge from the discussion was that protecting children online should not simply mean keeping them away from technology. CWC undersecretary Angelo Tapales framed online safety foremost as a child-rights issue. While children need protection from harmful content, abuse, and exploitation, he said they also have a right to meaningful access to technology, information, education, participation, expression, privacy, and development.

For telecommunications providers, the issue also raises practical questions about how existing network controls can be used to safeguard children. PLDT chief operating officer Menardo G. Jimenez Jr. said the forum provided an opportunity for telcos to seek clearer guidance on how and when they can act against harmful platforms. “Telcos have a moral responsibility to our people, especially the children,” Jimenez said. “We don’t need a million kids groomed before we do something. All it takes is one kid, because that can be your kid.” He stressed that telcos are seeking clear guidance on how they can use their capabilities to protect children from harmful online activity.

“The objective should not be to keep children away from technology, but to ensure that they can access and participate in the digital environment safely, meaningfully, and in an age-appropriate manner,” Tapales said. “Children should not have to choose between being connected and being safe. Our responsibility is to make the digital environment safer for every child.”

Spearheaded by PLDT, PROTECTA Pilipinas is a multistakeholder alliance that brings together government, industry, and communities to strengthen cyber resilience, protect critical infrastructure, and promote a safer digital environment for Filipinos. As connectivity becomes increasingly embedded in how children learn, communicate, and participate in society, protecting the networks they rely on increasingly means considering not only the security of the technology, but also the safety of the people using it.

Moderated by PLDT and Smart public engagement group head Roby Alampay, the forum also highlighted the need for responses to online harms to respect rights, due process, and privacy. At the same time, stakeholders emphasized the importance of enabling government, industry, communities, and families to respond more effectively, quickly, and collaboratively to emerging threats facing children online.

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Cyber Security

WHEN TRUST BECOMES THE BAIT An email campaign identified by Kaspersky shows that even basic phishing tactics can remain effective when attackers impersonate familiar workplace platforms.

ophisticated scams and AI-assisted threats may be attracting more attention, but traditional phishing tactics have not disappeared. During the early weeks of the post-holiday season, Kaspersky researchers uncovered an email campaign impersonating official communications from Zoom and DocuSign. The campaign shows how attackers still rely on tried-and-tested phishing schemes, hoping familiar branding and a sense of urgency will persuade at least some recipients to respond.

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Two waves target corporate accounts

In the first wave, attackers sent emails designed to look like official DocuSign communications. The messages targeted corporate accounts across the Middle East, Latin America, Western Europe, Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, with each email containing phishing links intended to steal users’ credentials. A second wave appeared a little more than a week later, this time posing as official Zoom notifications. The emails warned recipients that their accounts were about to be disabled, using the possibility of losing access to pressure them into acting quickly. The Zoom-themed messages used two simple lures. Some contained phishing links that redirected recipients to credential-stealing pages, while others included embedded forms requesting personal information and credit card details. As of September 11, 2026, Kaspersky had detected more than 1,000 phishing emails associated with the campaign.

Why basic phishing still works

The campaign did not depend on particularly advanced technology. Instead, it used recognizable services that are widely adopted in corporate environments. Amid a busy inbox, a document-signing request or account notification can appear routine enough to escape closer scrutiny. “In light of the pace of technological development and the widespread adoption of AI, we often tell people how to distinguish sophisticated fraudulent mailings and schemes. However, old primitive methods are still being used, and sometimes such simplicity can be effective,

as employees may overlook any phishing signs amid the massive flood of incoming mail, while fraudsters are choosing brands that are widespread in the corporate environment in order to successfully mimic real mailings. Even these low-tech tactics should be caught by dedicated security solutions, so a company’s cyber safety doesn’t depend solely on the human factor,” said Andrey Kovtun, email threats protection group manager at Kaspersky. The use of Zoom and DocuSign makes the messages especially relevant to businesses. Both platforms are associated with common workplace tasks, allowing fraudulent emails to blend more easily with legitimate correspondence.

Strengthening email defenses

Kaspersky recommends deploying dedicated security solutions that can protect corporate email systems from spam, email-borne infections, and different forms of phishing. Modern email protection should address both traditional and more sophisticated attacks, including attempts that may use AI-generated content. Employee training remains another important layer of defense. Regular cybersecurity awareness sessions can help staff recognize suspicious messages, misleading links, urgent requests, and forms asking for sensitive information. Companies should also keep employees informed about emerging threats and emphasize that phishing emails may closely resemble official communications. For smaller businesses, combining endpoint protection with measures that address human risk can help prevent employees from falling

for phishing attempts or opening malicious links. Security awareness tools can reinforce this protection by teaching staff how to identify common warning signs. Organizations can also conduct controlled phishing campaigns to test employee vigilance and identify individuals or groups that may require additional training. These simulations can reveal how employees respond to realistic messages without exposing the company to an actual attack. Multi-factor authentication should be enabled for all email accounts, particularly those belonging to administrators and other privileged users. Where possible, organizations can also consider passwordless authentication options, such as security tokens or mobile push notifications. The campaign reinforces a basic cybersecurity lesson: a phishing email does not need to be technically sophisticated to be convincing. Familiar branding, an urgent warning, and an ordinary workplace request may be enough to catch an employee off guard. Combining email protection, employee education, regular testing, and stronger authentication can reduce the possibility that one deceptive message will lead to a compromised account.

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Cyber Security

CLOSING THE FRAUD INTELLIGENCE GAP As scams move across banks, fintech platforms, and digital channels, CIBI Impact 2026 highlights why institutions must share intelligence to see the full attack.

inancial fraud rarely stays within a single institution. A scam may begin with a phishing message, continue through a stolen identity or compromised account, and end with funds moving across several banks, fintech platforms, and mule accounts.

The fraudster can follow the entire operation. Each institution, however, may see only activity within its own system. “The fraudster or the scammer can see the complete picture, but the institutions involved in this scam or fraud cannot,” said Atty. Roberto L. Figueroa, general counsel of the Bangko Sentral ng

Pilipinas. “This is the gap, therefore, that we need to close.” That intelligence gap was among the central issues discussed at CIBI Impact 2026, where leaders from the financial, technology, and public sectors examined how institutions can strengthen fraud prevention as threats become more interconnected.

CIBI Impact 2026: IDfy Segment (L-R): Raghuraman Chandrasekhar, IDfy country head Philippines; Bob Reyes, Manila Bulletin technology columnist; Pia Arellano, CIBI Information Inc. president & CEO; Uttiya Mukherjee, IDfy global propositions head

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FRAUD WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

figures point to a continuing gap between collecting fraud signals and bringing those signals together to identify patterns across systems.

Technology is making financial fraud easier to automate, adapt, and scale. Deepfakes, phishing attacks, identity theft, and mule accounts give criminals more ways to impersonate legitimate users, bypass controls, and exploit digital financial systems.

“We can no longer assume that an identity, an account, or credentials is trustworthy because it appears legitimate,” said Pia Arellano, president and CEO of CIBI Information Inc. “The question for institutions is whether they can verify, understand, and see beyond their own line of sight.”

According to a white paper by identity verification company IDfy, fraud affected 34% of Filipinos in 2025. The paper also estimates that digital fraud can cost corporations up to PHP4 trillion annually. Financial institutions may have strong controls within their own platforms, but those safeguards provide only a partial view. An account or transaction may appear legitimate when examined in isolation, while activity across several institutions could reveal a larger fraud pattern. “No institution can see an entire fraud pattern on its own,” Figueroa said. “But through trusted data, coordinated verification, timely intelligence, and sound legal safeguards, we can make the system more capable of detecting fraud early and preventing it from moving further.”

This broader perspective matters most when suspicious activity looks normal at first. A single payment may not trigger an alert, but repeated behavior across different accounts or services may reveal coordinated activity. “When trying to identify an emerging threat, a single transaction or a single interaction rarely tells the whole story,” Arellano said. “You need to understand behavior over time and see patterns across the ecosystem. That requires intelligence that extends beyond the information held by any one institution.” CONNECTING THE DEFENSES

Greater intelligence sharing does not remove the need for strong controls within individual organizations. Instead, it gives those controls more context. Identity verification, behavioral analytics, transaction monitoring, and information from partner institutions can work together to reveal relationships that would otherwise remain hidden.

The Fraud Intelligence Data Sharing Network, or FIDS Network, seeks to address this limitation by bringing together financial institutions and other stakeholders to exchange fraud intelligence. Its partners include BDO, RCBC, GoTyme, SB Finance, and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.

The challenge is to build this wider visibility while maintaining trusted data-sharing arrangements and appropriate legal safeguards. As Figueroa noted, coordination and timely intelligence are essential for institutions to detect fraud before it spreads across the financial system.

By widening the information available to participating organizations, the network can help them recognize emerging threats that may not be visible from one account, transaction, or platform alone. BUILDING A BROADER VIEW

Initiatives such as the FIDS Network reflect a shift towards collective defense. As digital financial services become more connected, fraud prevention will increasingly depend on how well institutions can identify and respond to threats that cross organizational boundaries.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating processes and decision-making across the financial sector, but fraudsters are using the same technology to refine their tactics. Institutions therefore need tools that can examine identities and behavior over time rather than rely solely on whether credentials or individual transactions appear legitimate.

“Fraudsters do not operate within the boundaries of one bank, one fintech or one platform. They move across the ecosystem, exploiting the gaps between institutions,” Arellano said. “If the threat is connected, then our defenses need to be connected, too.”

GBG’s 2026 Fraud Survey found that 73% of financial institutions in Asia-Pacific are adopting behavioral analytics for fraud-risk management. Only 64%, however, have adopted unified fraud platforms. The

Volume 27 No. 3

FinTech

BPI SETS A NEW SECURITY BENCHMARK FOR PHILIPPINE UNIVERSAL BANKS Its dual ISO certification establishes internationally recognized frameworks for information security and privacy management across digital banking, remittances, transaction banking, cash management, and customer support.

British Embassy deputy country director Rachel Gancia; BSI Group Philippines managing director Ava Taniajura; BPI president and CEO TG Limcaoco; British Embassy country director for trade and investment Harry Rawicz-Szczerbo; BPI chief risk officer Ma. Cristina Asis; enterprise information security officer and head Jonathan John Paz; and data protection officer Mody Villamor attend the certification presentation.

s more financial activity moves to apps and online platforms, information security and data privacy have become central to how banks operate. The Bank of the Philippine Islands is strengthening these areas through internationally recognized management frameworks covering several of its critical banking services. BPI has achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for its Information Security Management System and ISO/ IEC 27701:2019 certification for its Privacy Information

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Management System. This makes BPI the first universal bank in the Philippines to obtain both certifications. Awarded by the British Standards Institution Group Philippines, the certifications cover online and mobile banking platform management, inward and outward remittances, transaction banking and cash management services, and contact center operations. Their scope extends across several customer-facing services rather than being limited to a single system, digital channel, or internal function.

COVERING CRITICAL BANKING SERVICES Applying common security and privacy standards across these services gives BPI a unified framework for managing information risks. This is particularly relevant when customer activities move between digital banking, payments, remittances, corporate services, and customer support. “These certifications affirm that BPI has implemented internationally recognized frameworks for managing information security and data privacy across critical banking services,” said TG Limcaoco, BPI president and CEO. “More importantly, these reflect our commitment to making security and privacy an integral part of how we operate and how we serve our customers.” The breadth of the certification reflects the scale of the bank’s security and privacy efforts. “What is particularly meaningful about this achievement is that these standards are not confined to a single system, channel, or function,” Limcaoco said. “They are applied across critical parts of how we serve our customers, from digital banking and payments to transaction banking and our customer support operations. This breadth reflects the scale of our commitment: that wherever and however our customers interact with BPI, we are working to make their banking experience secure, resilient, and worthy of their trust.”

WHAT THE CERTIFICATIONS MEAN FOR CLIENTS For retail customers, the dual certification supports stronger protection of sensitive personal and financial information across the services included within the certified scope. It also provides assurance that the bank’s security and privacy controls have been independently audited and are subject to continuing review and improvement. The scope includes services used for digital and crossborder transactions, such as online and mobile banking, remittances, and customer support. Bringing these operations under common management frameworks helps maintain consistent security and privacy practices across different points of customer interaction. For corporate and institutional clients, the certifications demonstrate that BPI operates under internationally aligned frameworks for managing information-security and privacy risks. This is particularly relevant to organizations using the bank’s transaction banking and cash management services. TWO DECADES OF SECURITY DEVELOPMENT

CONTINUOUS SECURITY AND PRIVACY MANAGEMENT

The certifications build on more than two decades of work on BPI’s information-security framework and governance practices. Since the early 2000s, the bank has progressively strengthened its security policies, internal controls, and riskmanagement capabilities to address changing threats and support secure banking operations.

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 sets requirements for establishing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System. ISO/IEC 27701:2019 provides requirements and guidance for establishing and maintaining a Privacy Information Management System.

These efforts eventually expanded to include a comprehensive data-privacy program. BPI’s broader information-security and privacy strategy supports compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and relevant Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas requirements, including Circulars 808 and 982.

Both certifications involve more than a one-time audit. They require disciplined and continuously evolving approaches to information security and privacy through regular risk assessments, internal controls, monitoring, audits, and operational improvements.

BPI treats information security and data privacy as shared responsibilities across the bank and as enduring commitments to its clients. The dual certification provides external recognition of the frameworks supporting these responsibilities.

Applying these standards across customer-facing services provides a consistent framework for addressing informationsecurity and privacy risks as digital banking channels continue to expand. The certifications also reinforce the protection of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer information while strengthening privacy management and accountability.

For customers and institutional clients, the certifications offer independently assessed evidence of how BPI manages information-security and privacy risks across several of the banking channels they use. For the broader financial sector, they establish a benchmark for applying international security and privacy standards across a wide range of digital and customer-facing services.

Volume 27 No. 3

Innovation

A SMARTER WAY TO MANAGE DIALYSIS AT HOME

Developed by UP Diliman graduates, BiDaKidney automates key steps in peritoneal dialysis while working with the supplies patients already use

or many Filipinos living with kidney disease, dialysis is a demanding part of everyday life. Regular treatment can mean recurring costs, repeated travel to dialysis centers, hours spent receiving care, and sustained support from family members and caregivers. The number of people undergoing dialysis in the Philippines reached 64,845 in 2024, up 22% from 53,296 in 2023. Kidney disease also remains among the country’s ten leading causes of death. BiDaKidney was developed in response to that burden. Created by University of the Philippines Diliman graduates Andrew Jacob Buensalido and Allyson Cabrestante, the low-cost, semiautomated machine is designed to make peritoneal dialysis simpler and safer to manage at home. The project was Volume 27 No. 3

named the Philippine national winner of the James Dyson Award 2026, an international competition for young designers and engineers working on practical solutions to real-world problems. A demanding routine at home

and susceptible to error. The idea for BiDaKidney grew from the team’s exposure to dialysis care in public healthcare settings, where patients face long-term treatment costs, frequent clinic visits, and the need for dependable support at home.

Unlike hemodialysis, which typically filters blood through a machine at a dialysis center, peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of the abdomen as a natural filter. Patients can do it outside a clinical setting, giving them more flexibility. However, the treatment still requires repeated fluid exchanges, careful monitoring, and accurate record-keeping.

The machine automates key steps in controlling the flow of dialysis fluid. It uses a controlled pump and built-in weight sensors to move the fluid and track its volume during treatment. BiDaKidney is also designed to work with standard peritoneal dialysis supplies, an important practical choice that could make the device easier to incorporate into an existing home-care routine.

Patients with chronic kidney disease who receive peritoneal dialysis at home often manage a process that is manual, repetitive,

By reducing the need to manage fluid flow manually, repeatedly handle tubing, and record volumes by hand, the design

UP Diliman graduates Andrew Jacob Buensalido and Allyson Cabrestante developed BiDaKidney to make home-based peritoneal dialysis easier to manage.

aims to lower the workload for patients and caregivers. Fewer manual steps could also reduce opportunities for errors and contamination, although the device must still undergo formal clinical testing before its safety and effectiveness can be established. Engineering around the patient “When we started BiDaKidney, we were thinking about how we could help patients spend less of their lives managing dialysis and more of their time living it,” Buensalido said. “If treatment at home can become simpler, safer, and cheaper, patients may be able to continue their care with greater confidence and independence, while easing some of the responsibility carried by their families. Winning the James Dyson Award national prize gives us the opportunity to keep working toward that goal.” Michael Recinto, senior engineering manager at Dyson and a James Dyson Award Philippines national judge, pointed to the team’s practical design process. He said the developers studied how peritoneal dialysis is managed at home, then used engineering to reduce manual steps and improve monitoring without moving away from the supplies patients already use.

how engineering can address a practical healthcare challenge. He noted that the device responds to the needs of patients and families while potentially supporting the wider healthcare system. The work ahead As the Philippine national winner, BiDaKidney received PHP398,280 to support further development and commercialization. After receiving positive feedback from peritoneal dialysis nurses and nephrologists at a tertiary government hospital, Buensalido and Cabrestante plan to refine the machine’s usability and safety features. They will also explore battery-powered operation for use during local power interruptions and prepare the device for formal clinical testing and broader patient evaluation. “The award means a lot because it helps us continue building BiDaKidney with the people who may need it one day in mind,” Cabrestante said. “There are still

Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, University of the Philippines vice president for research and innovation and a national judge for the award, said BiDaKidney shows

many things we want to improve, and the prize gives us room to do that work properly. Our hope is that BiDaKidney can eventually give families another way to manage dialysis care with more confidence at home.” Other Filipino designs advance Two other Philippine entries were named national runners-up. Sentinel turns concrete spacer blocks into building damage sensors. By adding conductive materials such as graphene and carbon fiber, the blocks can produce measurable electrical signals when concrete is damaged, allowing an online monitoring system to detect possible structural problems remotely. The concept could complement conventional methods such as visual inspection and concrete coring, which can be slow, intrusive, and reactive. OrthoFlex is a portable, robot-assisted elbow rehabilitation device for stroke survivors. It supports safe, repeatable elbow movement and is intended to complement physical therapy. Adjustable arm supports and a wireless mobile interface allow patients and caregivers to use the system in clinics or at home, potentially extending rehabilitation support beyond areas where therapy services are readily available. BiDaKidney, Sentinel, and OrthoFlex will move to the international stage of the James Dyson Award.

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Innovation

TURNING LOCAL PROBLEMS INTO STEM SOLUTIONS

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenges science high school students nationwide to turn community problems into practical technology projects

problem seen every day in a school or community can become the starting point for an engineering project. That is the premise behind Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, which returns for its fourth year in the Philippines with the support of the Department of Education. The 2026 competition invites young Filipino students to identify challenges around them and develop solutions using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Now in its 16th year globally, Solve for Tomorrow is open in the Philippines to students in Grades 8 to 10 from government-managed science high schools. The winning teams, their schools, and their teacher advisers will receive prizes worth almost PHP2 million.

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Three areas for student innovation Each entry must address one of three themes. • Environmental Sustainability through Technology asks students to use STEM to reuse, recycle, or transform materials into useful products. Projects under this theme should help reduce waste or encourage more sustainable practices. • Social Change through Tech and Sport focuses on education, entrepreneurship, and social inclusion. Students can explore how technology and sports might create opportunities or make services more accessible to young people and their communities. • Solving Community Problems with AI invites teams to examine how artificial intelligence could address a specific

local need. The competition asks students to approach AI with critical thinking and social responsibility, keeping the community problem at the center of the proposal. How teams can enter A team may include up to four students and one teacher adviser. Together, they must develop a STEM-focused proposal that addresses a community problem, a social change issue, or an environmental sustainability challenge. Teams may prepare the proposal in the competition’s standardized Word format, limited to 3,000 words or seven pages, or in PowerPoint with a maximum of six slides. Submit the completed entry as a PDF file no larger than 40 MB.

Submissions close on November 2, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. through www.samsung.com/ ph/solve-for-tomorrow/. Judges will assess each proposal for design innovation, community relevance, feasibility, STEM integration, sustainability, and clarity. These criteria require teams to do more than describe an interesting idea. They must explain the problem, show how the technology would work, and demonstrate that the proposed solution could be used in a real setting. Mentoring before the final pitch

and teacher, PHP50,000 in cash for the students, and PHP15,000 for the teacher. Each of the seven other teams in the Top 10 will receive PHP15,000 in cash for the students and PHP5,000 for the teacher adviser. Ideas shaped by local needs Previous Philippine entries show how broad the competition’s scope can be. The 2025 winning team from Cavite Science Integrated School developed a solar-

powered buoy that senses water quality to support mangrove ecosystem monitoring. Other projects have included a system for sorting eggs and a low-cost pest-control solution intended to help farmers reduce their reliance on chemicals. Those projects began with problems the students could observe and investigate. Solve for Tomorrow 2026 gives a new group of young innovators the same opportunity to move from observation to a structured proposal, then develop the strongest ideas with guidance from mentors.

The Top 10 entries will be announced on November 16, 2026. Each shortlisted team will receive mentoring from a Samsung coach to refine its proposal before presenting to the competition’s board of judges on December 7. Samsung Philippines will announce and award the top three teams on December 15. The mentoring stage gives students a chance to test their assumptions, strengthen the technical side of their work, and communicate the project’s value more clearly. It also reflects a practical part of innovation: promising ideas usually improve through feedback, revision, and repeated explanation. Prizes for teams, schools, and teachers The Grand Prize package is valued at PHP730,000. It includes PHP400,000 worth of Samsung devices for the school, PHP200,000 worth of devices for the students and their teacher, PHP100,000 in cash for the student team, and PHP30,000 in cash for the teacher adviser. The Second Prize package is valued at PHP595,000, with PHP300,000 worth of devices for the school, PHP200,000 worth of devices for the team and teacher, PHP70,000 in cash for the students, and PHP25,000 for the teacher. The Third Prize package is valued at PHP465,000 and consists of PHP200,000 worth of devices for the school, PHP200,000 worth of devices for the team

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Innovation

ONE CHALLENGE EIGHT MARKETS

The FedEx Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge paired students from different Asia-Pacific markets, with Filipino finalist Minette Cabaluna helping develop a recycled-plastic cooling concept for Cambodia.

he 2026 FedEx/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge asked students to do more than develop a sustainable product. They also had to build an idea with someone from another country, understand the needs of an unfamiliar market, and present a strategy for turning their concept into a viable business.

The proposed product had to deliver economic, environmental, or social value within Cambodian communities. Students then pitched their ideas to a panel of entrepreneurs and small business owners.

More than 4,000 students from eight AsiaPacific markets joined the competition. From that group, 48 finalists traveled to Singapore, where they were placed in two-person teams composed of students from different markets.

Pairing students from different markets made cross-cultural collaboration part of the challenge, not an add-on. Participants had to listen to unfamiliar perspectives, reconcile different approaches, and agree on how their product would address the needs of a country neither teammate necessarily called home.

The finalists came from Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Each team received the same brief: create a market-entry strategy for an innovative product that repurposes used packaging into a sustainable solution for Cambodia. Volume 27 No. 3

A competition built around collaboration

The format reflects the realities of international trade. A promising product cannot simply be transferred from one market to another. Its creators must consider local climate, infrastructure, consumer

behavior, costs, and the practical conditions in which it will be used. For the finalists, this meant moving beyond classroom exercises and working through the early stages of a real business problem. They had to identify a need, propose a product, explain its value, and persuade judges that it could enter the Cambodian market. The competition concepts were not presented as commercially tested products. They remain student proposals that would require further engineering, testing, cost analysis, and market validation. Their strength lies in how the teams connected packaging waste with specific climate and community challenges. A Filipino finalist tackles indoor heat Filipino student Minette Cabaluna partnered with Rayden Cleverson Suhardi of

Indonesia to form Team Ventra, one of the competition’s two runner-up teams.

and cultural understanding come together when addressing business challenges.

The pair proposed a modular cooling solution made from recycled plastic waste. Designed for Cambodia’s hot climate, the concept aims to reduce indoor temperatures without using electricity.

Reworking plastic for flood resilience

The proposal responds to two concerns at once. It gives discarded plastic packaging a second life while exploring a cooling method that would not increase electricity use. Its modular design could also let the system adapt to different spaces. However, the product would still need development and testing to determine how much cooling it could provide, which environments it would suit, and whether it could be manufactured at a practical cost. Cabaluna and Suhardi’s achievement placed a Filipino student among the six top finalists in the regional competition. It also demonstrated the value of combining local perspectives, with a Philippine and Indonesian student jointly developing a proposal for the Cambodian market. The winning shield against heat Team Ascent, composed of Farra Santoso of Indonesia and Harry Jang of the Republic of Korea, won first place. The team proposed a lightweight thermal shield made from recycled industrial packaging. Intended for use on existing buildings, the shield is designed to reduce heat gain without consuming electricity. Team Ascent positioned the concept for factories in Cambodia, where high indoor temperatures can affect workers and increase energy costs. The proposal connects waste reduction with worker welfare and operating efficiency, giving the product environmental, social, and commercial dimensions.

The other runner-up team approached Cambodia’s climate challenges through water management. Team Baksei brought together Masato Hirozane of Japan and Sara Nileshkumar Jasani of Malaysia. Their concept transforms discarded soft-plastic packaging into durable, permeable tiles. Permeable surfaces allow water to pass through instead of collecting on top. Used in appropriate locations, the proposed tiles could help create more flood-resilient spaces while providing another potential destination for plastic packaging that is difficult to recycle. As with the other competition entries, the concept would need further material testing and engineering before its actual durability, drainage performance, and production costs could be established. Together, the three leading proposals show how the same starting material can lead to different innovations. Used packaging became the basis for a modular cooling system, a thermal building shield, and floodresilient tiles. Learning to innovate across markets The competition’s cross-country structure required participants to develop skills that extend beyond product design. Students had to communicate clearly, divide responsibilities, respond to questions, and revise their thinking as they received feedback.

“Winning the 2026 FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge has been an unforgettable experience,” Santoso and Jang said. “Working with teammates from different markets challenged us to think beyond our own perspectives and develop solutions that could succeed on a global scale.”

Kriti Kapoor, a future-of-work strategist and member of the judging panel, said the strongest teams combined a clear understanding of the problem with practical solutions, compelling storytelling, and genuine collaboration. “My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to stay curious, listen closely to the people you hope to serve, and become comfortable learning through experimentation,” Kapoor said. She added that employers increasingly value people who can think critically, communicate clearly, work across cultures, use technology responsibly, and remain resilient when an initial idea does not work. Twenty years of student entrepreneurship The 2026 finals marked the 20th year of the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge. Organized by FedEx and JA Asia Pacific, the program combines entrepreneurship education with international business challenges and has reached more than 54,000 students across the region. For the anniversary edition, former participants returned as mentors, judges, and speakers. The competition also incorporated findings from a survey of more than 4,000 students across 10 Asia-Pacific markets, covering workplace readiness, entrepreneurship, global trade literacy, and attitudes toward artificial intelligence. The winning students will visit FedEx operational facilities in their respective markets and engage with employees to learn more about logistics, supply chains, and international trade. The finalists may have entered the competition representing different countries, but the challenge required them to stop thinking only as national representatives. By working with partners from other markets, they learned that innovation is rarely developed from a single point of view. For Cabaluna and the other finalists, the result was more than a business pitch. It was a chance to see how ideas change when they cross borders, meet different perspectives, and are designed around the needs of people in another community.

They said the experience showed them how international trade, sustainability, technology,

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Campus Voices Words by Joecaz Isaach F. Bona | Photo by Nash Gabriel

A FREE ARTICLE ISN'T ALWAYS FREE How paywalls, research access, and article piracy expose the complicated cost of academic knowledge

For Biology students, scientific articles are not optional. They are part of laboratory reports, research papers, literature reviews, and countless assignments. We search for studies, skim abstracts, and finally find the article we need, only to discover that it is behind a paywall. Then comes the familiar thought: “There has to be a free way to get this.” For some students, that search may lead to unauthorized academic piracy platforms such as SciHub. The appeal is understandable: when deadlines are approaching, an immediate alternative can seem easier than navigating another database. But the issue is bigger than why students use these platforms. It is also about the access gap that makes them attractive in the first place.

easier than navigating another database. But the issue is bigger than why students use these platforms. It is also about the access gap that makes them attractive in the first place. Research has documented both the demand for easier access and the risks surrounding academic piracy. Hoy (2017) noted that the high cost of journal articles has driven researchers toward pirate article sites and warned that articles on Sci-Hub have often been obtained using stolen credentials. A separate account by Russell and Sanchez (2016) described a phishing incident in which university users were directed to a fake library login page. Compromised credentials were then used to access licensed academic content, showing how an access problem can become a university cybersecurity problem.

Research has documented both the demand for easier access and the risks surrounding academic piracy. Hoy (2017) noted that the high For Biology students, scientific articles are not optional. They are part of laboratory reports, research papers, literature reviews, and countless assignments. We search for studies, skim abstracts, and finally find the article we need, only to discover that it is behind a paywall. Then comes the familiar thought: “There has to be a free way to get this.”

That distinction is important. The risk is not that every visit to an unauthorized platform automatically steals a student’s password. Rather, academic piracy has been connected to compromised credentials and unauthorized access, while suspicious websites and downloads can create

For some students, that search may lead to unauthorized academic piracy platforms such as SciHub. The appeal is understandable: when deadlines are approaching, an immediate alternative can seem

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additional security risks. Students should avoid entering university credentials into untrusted pages and be cautious about downloads and redirects.

access is part of the solution If we want students to avoid risky or unauthorized sources, simply telling them what not to use is not enough. Universities can improve library support, expand database access where possible, promote open-access materials, and teach students how to locate legitimate versions of papers. Libraries can help students navigate Philippine eLib, institutional repositories, and other trusted resources, while publishers and research organizations can continue developing models that make scholarly literature more accessible.

For a Biology student, one compromised account can affect more than one assignment. University email, cloud storage, learning platforms, class files, and research materials may all be connected. What begins as a search for one article can therefore have consequences beyond the article itself.

BUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? It is easy to say, “Students should just use legitimate sources.” Students do have a responsibility to protect their accounts and respect academic and copyright rules, but responsibility does not end with the student.

Students, meanwhile, can do their part by using institutional resources, checking unfamiliar websites carefully, avoiding suspicious downloads, and never entering university credentials into pages they cannot verify.

Universities, libraries, publishers, and research organizations also shape the choices available to students. If legitimate access is limited, students may look elsewhere. Rossello and Martinelli (2024), in a study of 2,849 academics across 30 institutions in six European countries, found that perceptions of academic-value violations were associated with Sci-Hub use even after accounting for other motivations, including lack of journal access. Their findings point to the need to consider the broader academic environment rather than treating piracy only as an individual decision.

Academic piracy is therefore not just a story about students making bad choices. It is a story about what happens when the demand for knowledge meets barriers to access, and when alternative routes may carry risks. As Biology students, we learn to examine systems, not just isolated events. The same approach applies here. If we want safer research practices, we need to look at the whole system: students, universities, libraries, publishers, and the digital spaces connecting them.

The Philippine context makes this conversation more concrete. Students are not without legitimate options. Philippine eLib, a national digital library initiative, provides access to a union catalog and full-text materials, with its site stating that full-text content is available through open access. The Philippine Journal of Science, published by the Department of Science and Technology, is an openaccess, peer-reviewed journal covering natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and social sciences.

Scientific knowledge should be accessible enough to support learning without forcing students to trade convenience for security. Because sometimes, the article costs nothing, but the risk does.

SEARCA also provides free downloadable publications, including research, monographs, and other academic materials, while Haribon Foundation maintains free research and biodiversity materials, including studies, reports, and field resources. These resources do not replace every international journal subscription, but they show that legitimate channels already exist and can be strengthened.

As a Biology major at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Joecaz Isaach F. Bona has a deep interest in learning more about living organisms and the world around him. His school experiences have also helped him develop his communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.

About the author

He continues to work toward his goals and improve himself, believing that every experience, whether good or difficult, is an opportunity to learn and grow. His story is still being written, and he looks forward to the experiences and opportunities ahead.

References Hoy, M. B. (2017). “Sci-Hub: What librarians should know and do about article piracy.” Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 36(1), 73–78. Russell, C., & Sanchez, E. (2016). “Sci-Hub unmasked: Piracy, information policy, and your library.” College & Research Libraries News, 77(3), 122–125. Rossello, G., & Martinelli, A. (2024). “Breach of academic values and misconduct: The case of Sci-Hub.” Scientometrics, 129, 5227–5263.

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Education

LEARNING TO THINK WITH AI The Filipino-made AIQ app introduces children and teenagers to how artificial intelligence works, while keeping critical thinking at the center of every lesson.

sk a ten-year-old what artificial intelligence is, and the answer may involve a chatbot that helps with homework. Ask how that chatbot produces an answer, why it sometimes presents false information as fact, or what happens to a photo after it is uploaded, and the explanation becomes less certain. AIQ aims to bridge that gap between using AI and understanding it. Developed independently by Quezon City-based developer Alfredo Palconit Jr., the free web app teaches AI literacy to children and teenagers from ages 5 to 18. Its arrival comes as the Department of Education begins taking a more structured approach to AI in schools. DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026 sets

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foundational guidelines for the safe, ethical, and responsible use of AI in basic education, while Project AGAP.AI supports integrating the technology across the education system. These initiatives guide schools and educators. AIQ approaches the subject from another direction by giving young learners something they can use independently at home, without requiring a paid subscription or formal classroom setup. “There’s a lot of guidance now for teachers on how to bring AI into the classroom,” Palconit says. “But almost nothing a parent can just hand their kid at home, for free, that actually teaches how AI works instead of just letting them use it.”

DIFFERENT LESSONS FOR DIFFERENT AGES

A five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old cannot be expected to learn about AI in the same way. AIQ addresses this by presenting its lessons through four age-appropriate modes rather than using one interface for everyone. Younger children begin in Explorer Mode, which uses a fox mascot named Pixel, oversized buttons, and gold stars instead of numerical scores. There is no leaderboard, a deliberate design choice intended to keep the experience encouraging rather than competitive. Older children move into Builder Mode, where the presentation introduces experience points, badges, optional squads, and a mascot named Axiom. By early high school, learners enter Hacker Mode, which adopts a dark interface, neon accents, competitive leagues, and a new mascot named Nova. Architect Mode, intended for users ages 15 to 18, takes a more mature approach. The mascots disappear, while portfolios and certificates take center stage. The shift reflects the priorities of teenagers who may already be thinking about further studies, employment, or how technology fits into their future careers. Despite the different interfaces, all four modes are built around the same 36-lesson curriculum. The lessons follow the AI4K12 initiative’s Five Big Ideas in AI: perception, representation and reasoning, learning, natural interaction, and societal impact. Instead of simply showing learners how to prompt an AI tool, the curriculum explores the concepts behind the technology. Children learn how recommendation systems choose what to show them, why chatbots can confidently produce

incorrect information, and why human judgment must remain part of decisions involving machines. LEARNING WITHOUT SURRENDERING THE WORK

Palconit describes AIQ’s educational goal as helping children become “AInative, not AI-dependent.” The distinction matters as generative AI becomes increasingly accessible to students. Knowing how to operate an AI tool does not automatically mean understanding its limitations, questioning its output, or recognizing when it should not be used. AIQ’s lessons are therefore designed to explain what an AI system is doing while still requiring learners to think, create, and solve problems themselves. The technology becomes the subject of the lesson rather than a shortcut that completes the work for them. That approach aligns with a broader challenge facing educators and parents. Children are growing up in a world where AI will be embedded in search engines, productivity platforms, creative software, and everyday digital services. Preparing them for that environment requires more than teaching them which buttons to press. They also need to understand what the technology can do, where it can fail, and when human judgment should take priority. DESIGNED AROUND PRIVACY AND ACCESS

Any digital platform created for children raises questions about personal information. According to Palconit, AIQ does not ask individual users for an email address, real name, birthdate, or photograph. Children can remain anonymous, with lesson progress stored locally on the device they use.

Teachers can generate a class code to synchronize student progress and identify areas where learners may need more support. Even in this setting, students use a nickname and four-digit PIN rather than their real identity. This data-minimizing design is intended to reduce the privacy risks associated with services used by minors. However, it is more precise to describe these safeguards as design measures rather than make a definitive claim of legal compliance without an independent assessment. The platform also carries no advertising or in-app purchases. “AIQ has no budget, on purpose,” Palconit says. “If it needs money to keep running, eventually it either shuts down or starts running ads at kids. Neither is acceptable, so the constraint is: it has to be free forever.” To maintain that model, the app operates on free infrastructure tiers and does not use paid application programming interface calls. It is delivered through a mobile browser, so users do not need to download it from an app store. Palconit says the first load is under 70KB, allowing the platform to open more quickly on budget Android phones and less reliable data connections. That consideration is particularly relevant in the Philippines, where students may have access to a smartphone but not necessarily to the latest device or a consistently fast internet connection. AIQ is available at aiq.ph in English and Filipino, with all 36 lessons offered free of charge. DepEd’s guidelines set out how AI should be approached in basic education. AIQ complements that policy direction with a practical learning tool built around a simpler question: How can children learn to use AI without letting it do their thinking for them?

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Education

PREPARING EDUCATORS FOR THE AI CLASSROOM UST is rolling out Gemini for Education across its campus, supported by faculty training, discipline-specific applications, and guidelines for responsible AI use.

s artificial intelligence becomes more common in education, universities face a question that extends beyond access to technology: How can AI support learning without weakening critical thinking, creativity, academic integrity, and the relationship between teachers and students? The University of Santo Tomas is addressing that question by beginning with its educators. UST has integrated Gemini for Education across a campus

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ecosystem serving more than 46,000 students in 22 degree-granting academic units. Rather than positioning AI as a replacement for traditional teaching, the university treats it as a tool faculty can adapt to the needs of their respective disciplines. The initiative builds on UST’s earlier adoption of Google Workspace for Education. Its next phase introduced generative AI tools, including Gemini and Gemini Notebook, for teaching, learning, research, and academic support.

PREPARING FACULTY FIRST

CREATING MORE TIME FOR MENTORING

UST’s Educational Technology Center leads the university’s AI adoption program. More than 2,000 faculty members have received training on how to use the tools purposefully within their subject areas.

April Joy M. Gascon, acting director of the UST Educational Technology Center. “Each of our e-learning specialists brings their own stories and contexts on how technology best serves their specific discipline.”

The training is supported by 45 e-learning specialists embedded across different colleges. These specialists help faculty determine how AI fits into existing courses rather than applying the same model across the university. More than 300 Google Certified Educators provide additional support.

This faculty-led approach acknowledges that AI adoption is not simply a technical deployment. Educators need to understand what the tools can do, identify where they can add value, and decide when conventional teaching methods remain more appropriate.

“At the Educational Technology Center, our mandate is to integrate technology tools for teaching, learning, research, and community service,” said Asst. Prof.

UST has also established guidelines for responsible AI use. These provide a framework for integrating the technology while protecting academic integrity and the university’s ethical values.

DIFFERENT TOOLS FOR DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES Inside the classroom, Gemini is used differently depending on the subject. In nursing, faculty members can generate patient-care scenarios that allow students to practice emergency decision-making before entering an actual hospital environment. The simulated situations give learners opportunities to examine possible responses and discuss the consequences with their instructors. Architecture classes use AI visualization to translate design concepts into more realistic renders, including interpretations of vernacular Philippine architecture. These images can help students explore how initial ideas might appear when developed further, although the design decisions and evaluation remain part of the student’s work. In engineering, instructors use AIgenerated visual representations to explain complex mathematical formulas and spatial coordinates. This can make abstract relationships easier to understand, particularly for students who learn more effectively through diagrams and other visual material.

Theology classes present a different use case. Students use Gemini Notebook to organize and synthesize dense historical and philosophical readings. The tool can transform source material into flashcards, quizzes, and review guides, leaving more classroom time for faculty-led discussions about ethics and human values. “Ever since we started using Google AI, classroom dynamics have changed for the better because students can now demonstrate their learning in transformative ways,” said Shane Alexander Y. Laong, team leader for e-learning specialists at UST. “When Gemini Notebook was integrated, it definitely lessened the workload for both teachers and students, allowing them to turn mountains of literature into flashcards, quizzes, and review materials that make learning more engaging.” These examples illustrate why UST has avoided a one-size-fits-all approach. The value of an AI tool depends not only on what it can generate, but also on how an educator incorporates that output into the learning process.

Beyond classroom activities, faculty members can use Gemini to assist with repetitive preparation tasks such as drafting lesson plans, developing rubrics, and creating visual guides. Reducing the time required for these tasks could give teachers more room for face-to-face mentoring, personalized feedback, and direct engagement with students. In this model, AI supports instructional work while the educator retains responsibility for academic decisions, subject expertise, and the quality of the learning experience. “I strongly encourage my fellow educators to set aside their fears of AI. Understand what it does, understand its impact on instruction, and redesign teaching to make it more purposeful and relevant for students,” said Prof. Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH, UST vice rector for academic affairs. “We aim to produce Thomasian graduates who are future-ready, competent, committed, and compassionate—empowered to use critical thinking, problem-solving, and AI ethically and responsibly.” UST’s experience suggests that introducing AI across a university requires more than giving students and teachers access to new software. It also requires training, institutional support, clear guidelines, and enough flexibility for each discipline to decide how to use the technology. The longer-term test will be whether these tools improve how students understand and apply what they learn. For UST, that process begins not with replacing the teacher, but with preparing educators to make more deliberate choices about where AI belongs in the classroom. Volume 27 No. 3

Education

NEW TOOLS BRING SOURCE CHECKS TO ACADEMIC AI Jenni AI is introducing tools that examine claims, citations, and academic drafts as Philippine universities seek more accountable ways to use artificial intelligence in research

he question surrounding artificial intelligence in education is no longer simply whether students and researchers should use it. Universities are also asking how to check, document, and hold academic work produced with AI to the same standards expected of any research paper. That concern becomes especially important when an AI tool generates a convincing statement supported by a citation that does not exist, does not support the claim, or has been misrepresented. Researchers still have to inspect the evidence, regardless of how polished the generated text may appear. Academic writing platform Jenni AI is addressing that problem with Reviews, a suite of tools designed to examine claims, citations, and draft quality before submission.

CHECKING CLAIMS AGAINST SOURCES One of the suite’s main tools, Claim Confidence, analyzes a document’s claims and cross-references them with their cited sources. It flags statements it identifies as unsupported, contradicted, weakly supported, or potentially misrepresented.

This distinction matters. Automated verification may help identify problems that deserve attention, but it does not transfer responsibility for accuracy from the researcher to the software.

When a claim lacks adequate support, the tool can also suggest possible citations. The researcher must still open the source, read the relevant material, and decide whether the reference supports the statement.

“The objection we hear from Philippine faculty is never ‘AI is bad.’ It’s ‘Can I trust what it produced, and are the sources AI is referencing real?’” said Justin Wong, head of commercial operations at Jenni AI.

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“Claim Confidence exists because that’s a fair question. If a tool puts a citation in your paper, it should be able to show you the source and tell you when it can’t.”

EXPANDING ACROSS PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITIES

Jenni AI is designed to work with a user’s library of uploaded papers and can connect with reference managers such as Zotero and Mendeley. Generated text is linked to its underlying sources, allowing researchers to trace where the supporting information came from.

The rollout follows Jenni AI’s agreements with seven Philippine higher education institutions: Mapúa University, the University of Santo Tomas, Cebu Technological University, Central Philippine University, Holy Angel University, Laguna State Polytechnic University, and De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute. The latter has renewed its agreement with the company.

REVIEWING A PAPER BEFORE SUBMISSION

Jenni AI says more than 6.5 million students, researchers, and academics worldwide use its academic writing platform. Its expansion in the Philippines reflects growing institutional interest in moving beyond informal, unsupervised AI use toward tools and policies designed specifically for academic work.

Reviews also include a Peer Review tool that assesses a paper using a standardized rubric. It leaves comments on the draft’s strengths and weaknesses, giving students and researchers an opportunity to revise their work before sending it to a professor, adviser, conference, or journal.

That interest is already evident in Philippine higher education. Research from the Second Congressional Commission on Education found that institutions have begun introducing AI-use policies, particularly in response to concerns about academic integrity. Their approaches include revising assessments, establishing course-level rules, supporting appropriate AI use in teaching and research, and addressing gaps in AI literacy.

Despite its name, the tool is not a replacement for formal academic peer review. It serves as an additional pre-submission check, much like an automated reader that can flag areas needing closer attention.

These institutional policies remain important because software cannot determine whether using AI is permitted for a particular assignment, research project, or journal submission. Students and researchers must continue to follow the rules established by their schools, faculty members, publishers, and professional organizations.

The broader Reviews suite also covers proofreading, source quality, and tone. These checks may help researchers working through long drafts, although their suggestions still require human evaluation. A technically polished paper can remain flawed if its evidence, reasoning, or conclusions are weak.

KEEPING RESEARCHERS RESPONSIBLE

MAKING AI USE VISIBLE Jenni AI has also introduced an AI Declaration command that adds a formal acknowledgment of AI use to a paper. According to the company, more than 100 published papers have used the declaration.

Tools that flag unsupported claims or questionable citations can make academic AI easier to scrutinize. They may also encourage students to treat citations as evidence that must be examined rather than formatting that can be added automatically.

Disclosure can help readers, advisers, and reviewers understand where AI assisted in the research and writing process. It also gives researchers a clearer way to distinguish the work performed by the author from tasks supported by software.

Their usefulness ultimately depends on how researchers respond to the issues they identify. A warning is valuable only when the author investigates it, reads the source, and corrects the paper where necessary.

The declaration does not resolve every question about acceptable AI use. Disclosure requirements vary among institutions and publishers, and researchers must still ensure the acknowledgment follows the applicable guidelines.

Jenni AI’s verification features therefore represent a practical step toward more transparent AI-assisted research, but they do not automate academic judgment. Students and researchers remain responsible for the argument, evidence, citations, and final work submitted under their names.

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Employment

READY FOR WORK IN THE AI AGE

TP STEP is adding AI Ready ASEAN modules to its 15-day program to prepare job seekers for technology-enabled roles in the IT-BPM sector.

ob readiness in the business services industry increasingly requires more than communication skills, customer service training, and interview preparation. As artificial intelligence becomes part of everyday workplace systems, applicants also need to understand what the technology can do, how to use it, and where human judgment remains essential. TP in the Philippines is responding to this shift by adding AI literacy and readiness training to its Skills Training to Employment Program, or TP STEP. The expanded program combines practical exposure to artificial intelligence with the

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employability and customer experience training already provided to participants. Members of the program’s 14th batch began the AI-focused sessions at the Pasig City Library. The training is being delivered in partnership with CyberGuardiansPH, a nonprofit organization that promotes cybersecurity awareness and responsible participation in digital spaces. Expanding job readiness TP STEP participants complete a 15-day learning journey designed to prepare them for possible careers

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in the information technology and business process management sector. The program covers core employability skills, customer experience training, and workplace preparation. The new learning track adds modules from AI Ready ASEAN, a regional initiative of the ASEAN Foundation supported by Google.org. CyberGuardiansPH serves as one of its local implementing partners. Through the modules and accompanying learning sessions, participants receive an introduction to artificial intelligence, digital responsibility, and emerging

workplace technologies. The goal is not to turn trainees into AI specialists within 15 days, but to give them enough foundational knowledge to understand the tools they may encounter in technology-enabled workplaces. “As AI continues to reshape industries globally, it is important that workforce development programs evolve alongside these advancements,” said Rachel Cacabelos, vice president for human resources at TP in the Philippines. “By integrating AI literacy into TP STEP, we are helping ensure that more applicants gain meaningful exposure to the technologies that are becoming part of everyday operations in the customer experience and business services sector.” The expanded curriculum reflects a broader change in what employers may expect from entry-level workers. Applicants still need communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, but they may also be required to work with automated systems, evaluate AI-generated information, and recognize when a situation requires human intervention. Preparing for an AI-enabled workplace TP’s own operations increasingly incorporate AI-enabled tools to support client services and improve internal efficiency. This provides practical context for including AI literacy in a preemployment training program aimed at the business services industry. Automation can assist with repetitive processes and information handling, but customer experience work still depends on empathy, critical thinking, and the ability to respond appropriately to situations that do not fit a standard pattern. Preparing workers for an AIenabled environment therefore means teaching them how technology can complement these human capabilities, rather than treating AI as a substitute.

Participants in the 14th batch of TP STEP attend an AI literacy session at the Pasig City Library. The expanded 15-day program now includes AI Ready ASEAN modules on artificial intelligence, digital responsibility, and emerging workplace technologies.

Digital responsibility is equally important. Learning how to operate an AI tool is only one part of workplace readiness. Employees also need to consider the reliability of generated information, responsible data handling, and the consequences of using automated systems without proper judgment. “AI readiness and cybersecurity awareness are becoming essential competencies in today’s digital economy,” said Paolo Sangil, executive director of CyberGuardiansPH. “Through this partnership, we hope to help empower more Filipinos with practical knowledge that will support both their employability and responsible participation in an increasingly AIenabled world.” Building pathways into IT-BPM TP STEP is conducted with the Pasig City local government and is intended to improve employability among aspiring professionals and members of local communities. It provides industryrelevant training and a pathway toward opportunities in the IT-BPM sector, particularly for participants who may benefit from additional preparation before entering the recruitment process.

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Completing the program gives trainees greater exposure to the skills and workplace tools used in the industry. Its value lies in helping participants better understand employer expectations and approach technology-enabled roles with stronger preparation. Adding AI literacy does not replace the program’s focus on fundamental employability. Instead, it broadens that foundation to reflect how jobs are changing. Communication, empathy, and critical thinking remain important, but workers increasingly need to apply those abilities while interacting with AIsupported systems. The enhanced TP STEP program is part of TP Philippines’ ongoing initiatives in talent development, digital upskilling, and workforce inclusion as the company marks 30 years of operations in the country. For job seekers, the program points to an emerging reality: AI literacy is becoming less of a specialist qualification and more of a practical workplace skill. Understanding how to work responsibly alongside the technology may soon be as relevant as knowing how to navigate the other digital tools already used across the business services industry. Volume 27 No. 3

Enterprise

SOUTHEAST ASIA LEADS THE MOBILE SHOPPING RACE Shopping app installs in the Philippines rose 16% in the first half of 2026, while several neighboring markets recorded some of the world’s strongest growth in mobile commerce.

outheast Asia is emerging as one of the most active regions for shopping app growth, but attracting new users is becoming more complicated and expensive.

THE PHILIPPINE GROWTH STORY

Global shopping app sessions increased 15% year over year during the first half of 2026, according to Adjust’s Shopping App Insights Report: 2026 Edition. E-commerce app installs grew a more modest 2% worldwide, suggesting existing users opened shopping apps more often even as the overall pace of new downloads remained restrained. Several Southeast Asian markets moved well ahead of that global install rate. Singapore recorded a 67% year-over-year increase, the highest among all markets tracked in the report. Vietnam followed with 42% growth, while Indonesia rose 36%. The Philippines also posted doubledigit growth, with e-commerce app installs increasing 16%. Malaysia recorded a 14% increase. The results point to a region where mobile shopping continues to attract new users, but where marketers are taking different approaches to acquiring them.

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The Philippines’ 16% increase in installs is significant against the global growth rate of 2%. The country also reduced its reliance on paid acquisition, based on Adjust’s paid-to-organic install ratio. The Philippine paid-to-organic install ratio fell 34% year over year to 0.73 during the first half of 2026. A ratio below 1 means the dataset recorded fewer paid installs than organic installs. This suggests Philippine shopping apps generated install growth with a more balanced acquisition mix. Organic discovery, brand familiarity, referrals, app-store visibility, and other unpaid sources may have played a

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greater role relative to advertising than they did during the previous year. The data does not reveal which individual channels drove the change, nor does a lower paid ratio automatically mean that acquisition became more efficient. It does, however, show that paid installs were not driving Philippine app growth to the same extent as before. Vietnam experienced an even sharper adjustment. Its paid-to-organic ratio fell 54% from 1.92 in 2025 to 0.89 in the first half of 2026, nearly halving its dependence on paid acquisition.

DIFFERENT PATHS TO GROWTH Other Southeast Asian markets followed a different pattern. Malaysia recorded a paid-to-organic install ratio of 1.11, the highest among all markets covered by the report. This means paid installs outnumbered organic installs within Adjust’s dataset, indicating a heavier reliance on advertising and other paid user-acquisition activity. Globally, the paid-to-organic ratio reached 0.72, up 26% from 2025. The rise reflects the growing role of paid acquisition in shopping app expansion, even as marketers face pressure to ensure that their advertising brings in customers who continue using the app and eventually make purchases. “E-commerce apps had a strong first half of 2026 with major shopping events continuing to grow in scale,” said April Tayson, a regional vice president at Adjust. “However, user acquisition is becoming more costly and paid installs are driving a larger share of growth, particularly in fast-growing markets like Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.” For mobile-commerce businesses, the challenge is no longer simply to generate the largest possible number of downloads. A campaign that produces inexpensive installs may still underperform if those users do not return, browse products, or complete transactions.

INSTALLS ARE ONLY THE BEGINNING Indonesia and Singapore led all markets in shopping app session growth, rising 62% and 58%, respectively. These increases suggest that usage grew much faster than downloads alone.

Singapore also performed strongly in early engagement and retention. Its shopping apps recorded a 16% day-one retention rate, meaning approximately 16% of users returned one day after installing. Users averaged 1.45 sessions on install day. Only Japan performed better on those measures, recording 17% day-one retention and 1.51 sessions per user on install day. Retention matters because acquiring a new user is only the first stage of the mobile-shopping journey. If shoppers abandon an app after the first session, the business may struggle to recover its acquisition costs. Continued engagement creates more opportunities to convert browsing into orders and build repeat purchasing behavior. “The marketers best positioned to grow efficiently will be those with clear visibility into which channels, markets, and campaigns are bringing in high-lifetime-value shoppers,” Tayson said. “Reliable measurement is key to making that possible.”

FEWER ADVERTISING PARTNERS Adjust also found that marketers in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore worked with fewer advertising partners during the first half of 2026. The company interprets this as a sign that businesses are concentrating their budgets on channels that have already demonstrated results. Working with fewer partners can simplify campaign management and let marketers direct more spending toward platforms that consistently deliver valuable users. The approach carries its own risks. Heavy dependence on a small number of channels can leave an app vulnerable to changes in

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advertising prices, platform rules, algorithms, or audience behavior. Marketers therefore need to balance concentration with enough diversification to avoid relying too heavily on one growth source. For shopping app operators, the wider lesson is that strong regional demand does not remove the need for disciplined measurement. Install growth, session activity, retention, acquisition costs, and customer lifetime value must be considered together.

READING THE NUMBERS CAREFULLY Adjust’s report draws on data from thousands of apps and covers shopping, marketplace and classifieds, and deal-discovery platforms. Its analysis spans January 2024 through June 2026 and includes global, regional, and country-level comparisons. The findings represent activity within Adjust’s dataset rather than the entire shopping app market in each country. They are best read as performance benchmarks and indicators of direction, not as a complete count of all downloads or users. Within that scope, the first half of 2026 shows Southeast Asia moving at several different speeds. Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam delivered some of the strongest growth, while Malaysia leaned more heavily on paid acquisition. The Philippines occupied a notable middle ground. Shopping app installs grew well above the global rate, while the paid share of acquisition declined. For mobile-commerce businesses, that combination raises the next important question: whether those new users can be retained and converted into long-term customers.

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Enterprise

COCONUT ENTERPRISES FIND BIGGER MARKETS The 2026 COCONUTPhilippines Trade Fair generated PHP309.57 million in reported sales and commercial opportunities for 300 MSMEs, showing how market access can help coconut enterprises move into higher-value categories.

DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque, fourth from left, leads the formal opening of the 2026 COCONUTPhilippines Trade Fair at the SMX Convention Center Manila. Held from August 26 to 30, the five-day event generated PHP309.57 million in reported sales and commercial opportunities for participating cocopreneurs

or the 300 micro, small, and medium enterprises that participated in the 2026 COCONUTPhilippines Trade Fair, the opportunity extended beyond displaying products to visitors. The five-day event gave coconut businesses a venue to test consumer interest, meet institutional buyers, discuss sourcing requirements, and pursue longer-term commercial relationships. The Department of Trade and Industry reported PHP309.57 million in total sales from the fair, more

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than three times the result recorded during the previous edition. Held from August 26 to 30 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, the event also expanded participation from 213 businesses in 2025 to 300 MSMEs from across the Philippines. The increase reflects the growing commercial range of the country’s coconut enterprises. Participating “cocopreneurs” presented products spanning food and beverages, health and wellness, personal care, home and lifestyle items, crafts, and sustainable non-food materials.

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Rather than relying only on familiar coconut products, many enterprises are turning the crop into ingredients, finished consumer goods, and environmentally conscious materials. This broader product mix gives MSMEs more ways to enter retail, hospitality, institutional procurement, and other commercial markets.

knowledge, appropriate technology, quality control, and access to buyers.

Turning exposure into business Trade fairs often give small businesses their first opportunity to introduce products to a national audience. Their longer-term value, however, depends on whether that visibility leads to repeat orders, distribution agreements, and buyer relationships.

The fair therefore served as a meeting point between agricultural development and enterprise growth. Support for farmers and cooperatives can strengthen the supply base, while product development and market promotion help MSMEs turn coconut resources into goods with greater commercial value.

The COCONUTPhilippines Trade Fair included a dedicated Business Lounge where participating enterprises met corporate and institutional buyers. MSMEs used these sessions to present product lines, discuss volume and sourcing requirements, and explore possible business partnerships.

Connecting programs and markets DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque formally opened the event, joined by officials from the Philippine Coconut Authority and other partner institutions.

For a small enterprise, such conversations can reveal whether a product is ready for a larger market. Buyers may require consistent production capacity, standardized packaging, regulatory compliance, reliable delivery, and pricing that remains viable at higher volumes.

The program included the release of the CFIDP Coffee Table Book and the 2022–2025 CFIDP Terminal Report, which documents program milestones and beneficiary stories. The official CFIDP website was also introduced to give the public easier access to information about the plan and its industry programs.

This makes business matching more than a sales exercise. It gives enterprises direct feedback on what they may need to improve before expanding beyond community markets and occasional trade events.

These resources document how government initiatives are being implemented, but the trade fair’s commercial results offer a more immediate measure of enterprise activity. The PHP309.57 million generated shows the potential value of combining product development, technology support, promotion, and direct access to buyers.

Supporting higher-value enterprises The fair was held alongside National Coconut Week and brought together market-development programs from several government institutions.

A five-day event alone cannot determine the coconut industry’s long-term growth. Its impact will depend on whether the connections formed during the fair develop into continuing orders and whether participating MSMEs can meet the scale and standards required by larger markets.

DTI led the trade promotion and market-access components, while the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) coordinated programs under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP). As the CFIDP’s lead implementing agency, PCA oversees initiatives intended to strengthen the coconut sector and improve income opportunities for farming communities.

Still, the results point to a shift in how coconut enterprise development is being approached. Instead of treating the crop primarily as a raw commodity, government agencies and local businesses are building a wider ecosystem around branded products, specialized applications, and higher-value commercial opportunities.

The wider CFIDP framework covers farmer assistance, cooperative development, research, technology adoption, product innovation, and enterprise building. Connecting these areas is important because a market-ready coconut product depends on more than a business owner’s idea. It also requires dependable raw materials, production

For Filipino coconut enterprises, that shift could create more room to grow beyond the trade fair floor and into sustained domestic and institutional markets.

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Volume 27 No. 3

Gaming

Words by Jose Alvarez

DEVELOPER

Nihon Falcom PLATFORM(S)

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PUBLISHER(S)

Nihon Falcom, GungHo Entertainment, Clear River Games

PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2

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oming off the wild success of Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter in 2024, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo enjoyed his franchise’s recognition outside of his native Japan and niche JRPG communities, opening the door to more remakes and further games in the series. Kondo was a Falcom fan, running a fan website before joining the company and becoming president in 2007. As of this writing, the Trails series is set to become a household name in the RPG world with one of the highest average ratings on Metacritic for all games released in 2026. The question is: can Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter put the series on par with genre legends like Final Fantasy? Set immediately after 1st Chapter, the game follows protagonist Estelle Bright as she searches for her adopted brother Joshua after a giant plot twist at the end of the previous game reveals the existence of a mysterious society named Ouroboros (they will be back, promise). Along the way, Estelle meets old and new friends who aid her journey, while pulling back the curtain on Ouroboros and what they plan to do to disrupt the peaceful Kingdom of Liberl. If you have a complete save file from 1st Chapter, you’ll get a few rewards and a bit of a change in the game’s dialogue.

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Gaming

Many old and new systems return, such as the orbment system, although you’ll have to start from scratch after the events of 1st Chapter. You can now upgrade your orbment slots, allowing you to equip more powerful quartz and unlock new abilities as you progress in the game. This remake adds a few new quests and new areas called caves, where you can find rare treasures or powerful enemies. While you’ll be initially confined to certain areas, the game opens up around the halfway mark, allowing you to explore Liberl as a whole.

Each character is unique, with a story to tell and their own combat strengths. One of my favorites is Olivier, who is halfmage, half-ranged, and very theatrical; he often serves as the comic relief for the other characters. Then there’s the serious Agate, the precocious Tita, the older sister-figure Scherazard (Schera), the dependable Zin, the kind-hearted Kloe, and a few brand new characters who join throughout the game. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses with a lot of customization, but be prepared to really grind if you want a full suite of weapons, armor, and accessories for all these characters. The game rewards completionism with extremely broken quartz, armor, and weapons, so you’ll have to really grind to get achievements in-game. Many reward Sepith masses that can be turned into mira, but also reward powerful items that can really be useful if you’re stuck or playing on Nightmare Mode. While some are easy to get, others can be extremely grindy or require close attention to detail.

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Minigames such as card games and fishing become more prevalent in this game. Fishing is a staple of the Trails series, yet it changes from game to game, which means learning it all over again. Veterans of the series may be more familiar with these minigames, and beating them can land you some pretty powerful items. Fishing can be an extremely difficult chore, and each fishing spot has its own set of fish, which can run out. You’ll have to circle through the many fishing spots in the game to collect not only fish, but also items and Sepith you can get from them. Along with great worldbuilding and character development, the game’s music is amazing, and you can choose between the arranged edition of the soundtrack, the standard, and, for nostalgia’s sake, even the original version of the game’s music. Certain boss battles really get the blood pumping, pushing you to work against tough enemies. For replayability, there is a New Game+ mode that lets you go back and earn new achievements or make different choices. Could this possibly be a Game of the Year candidate and put the series up there with Final Fantasy? Only time will tell. Kondo has announced working on the conclusion of the Calvard arc as well as possible remakes of future games, so come and stay for a (long) while and soak up all the game (and franchise) has to offer.

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Wellness

THE WORKFLOW SUPPORTING HEALTH CARE Health care’s shift toward digital records still involves scanning charts, printing prescriptions, and managing countless forms. Epson is positioning its document technologies as practical tools for helping Philippine clinics and hospitals handle that work with less friction.

atient care generates a steady stream of information. Admissions forms, identification documents, laboratory results, prescriptions, medical certificates, and discharge instructions must reach the right people, often while health care teams work under considerable time pressure. Even as hospitals and clinics adopt electronic medical records, paper has not disappeared. The practical challenge is moving information between physical and digital systems efficiently while maintaining control over sensitive patient data.

BRINGING RECORDS INTO THE DIGITAL WORKFLOW For nurses, triage staff, and front-desk teams, converting paper documents into digital records can be one of the more repetitive parts of patient intake. The Epson WorkForce DS-790WN is designed for shared scanning environments. It has a 4.3-inch touchscreen and can scan up to 45 pages per minute, based on the manufacturer’s testing. Patient charts, laboratory sheets, and identification cards can be sent directly to configured network folders or cloud destinations without using a dedicated computer.

Epson is highlighting a combination of scanners and business inkjet printers designed to support that transition. These devices do not provide medical care, but they can reduce some of the repetitive administrative work around it.

Built-in authentication can also help facilities control who is allowed to use the scanner or access particular scanning workflows. This is particularly relevant in health care, where records may contain personal and medical information.

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Device-level authentication, however, is only one part of protecting patient data. Facilities must also consider user permissions, network security, document retention, staff training, and the configuration of any cloud services connected to their systems.

WHY PRINT STILL MATTERS Digital records may be expanding, but printed documents remain part of everyday medical practice. Prescriptions, diagnostic requests, medical certificates, patient instructions, and discharge summaries must still be produced clearly and reliably. For private practices and community clinics, Epson is positioning the EcoTank L15160 as a high-volume option with potentially lower running costs. The printer can produce up to 7,500 black pages from a set of ink bottles under Epson’s stated testing conditions. It uses DURABrite pigment ink, which is designed to produce sharp, water-resistant documents. This resistance may be useful in busy clinical environments, although it should not be treated as a substitute for proper document handling and storage.

systems use the company’s HeatFree Technology. Unlike laser printers, the systems do not require a heated fuser to produce an image on paper. Epson says certain business inkjet models can use up to 85 percent less power than comparable laser devices under specified comparison conditions. The company also claims that these systems can require up to 59 percent fewer replacement parts because they do not use components such as drums, developers, and fuser units. Facilities should evaluate these figures against their actual print volume, device mix, and operating conditions. Still, lower power requirements may be relevant in hospitals where many devices operate simultaneously, and reducing the load on electrical systems can support broader efficiency goals.

LESSONS FROM AN OVERSEAS DEPLOYMENT

Hospitals and multispecialty facilities operate on a different scale. Multiple departments may need to print throughout the day, making power use, maintenance requirements, and consumable management more significant operational concerns. Epson’s WorkForce Enterprise and WorkForce Pro business inkjet

Results from one facility may not replicate elsewhere. Costs, savings, and workflow improvements depend on factors such as the number of devices, the types of documents produced, existing infrastructure, and how well the technology is integrated into daily operations. The example still shows how document equipment can affect more than printing costs. In a large health care facility, it can also influence how quickly information moves, how much equipment staff must maintain, and how much electricity routine administrative work consumes.

KEEPING TECHNOLOGY IN A SUPPORTING ROLE “Technology in healthcare should serve the people providing the care,” said Noelle Gonzalez, head of marketing at Epson Philippines, referring to doctors, nurses, health care staff, and hospital administrators.

On-demand color printing can also allow clinics to produce forms only when they are needed. This may reduce reliance on externally printed materials and limit the number of outdated forms that must be discarded when information or requirements change.

LOWER-POWER PRINTING FOR LARGER FACILITIES

load, and simplified printing-supply management.

As an example of how the technology can be applied in health care, Epson points to Germany’s Diabetes Clinic Bad Mergentheim, which serves more than 20,000 patients annually. According to the company’s case study, the clinic replaced laser copiers with business inkjet systems. Epson reports that the deployment eliminated external form-printing costs, eased problems with the facility’s power

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That supporting role is the most realistic measure of the technology’s value. A faster scanner cannot correct an inefficient records policy, and a lower-power printer cannot resolve wider problems with staffing or patient access. Both can, however, remove small points of friction when they are matched to a facility’s needs and properly integrated with its systems. For clinics and hospitals navigating the space between paper-based processes and fully digital records, that may be the immediate opportunity: making routine information work easier to manage so health care teams can focus more on patients.

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Wellness

HEART HEALTH STARTS BEFORE SYMPTOMS Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the Philippines. For younger Filipinos, regular health checks and everyday habits can matter long before cardiovascular problems feel urgent.

eople often treat heart health as a concern for later life. People may wait for their blood pressure to rise, their cholesterol results to change, or physical symptoms to appear before paying closer attention. The numbers suggest that waiting is a poor strategy. Provisional data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that ischemic heart diseases accounted for 135,250 deaths in 2025, representing 19.7 percent of all deaths recorded nationwide.

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Many of the factors that influence cardiovascular health develop gradually. Diet, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use, blood pressure, cholesterol, and other health conditions can affect the heart and blood vessels years before a serious problem becomes apparent. LAC Philippines encourages Filipinos to consider heart care earlier, instead of waiting for age or symptoms to make it feel necessary.

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Risk can develop quietly The heart works continuously to move blood throughout the body. Healthy blood vessels and circulation allow oxygen and nutrients to reach tissues and organs, while blood pressure reflects the force exerted against artery walls. When blood pressure remains too high, the heart works harder, and blood vessels may become damaged over time. Hypertension frequently causes no obvious symptoms, which is why regular measurement matters even when a person feels well. Cholesterol presents a similar challenge. The body needs cholesterol to perform several functions, including producing hormones and supporting cell health. However, elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol can contribute to plaque accumulating inside the arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. High cholesterol typically has no warning signs. A blood test is the only reliable way to know whether levels are elevated.

Know your numbers Proactive heart care can begin with basic information. You can check blood pressure quickly at a clinic, pharmacy, or during a routine medical visit. A lipid profile measures total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. Screening frequency depends on age, medical history, family history, and existing risk factors. A health care professional can recommend when to start testing and how often to repeat it. Test results should also be considered together. Blood pressure and cholesterol matter, but they’re part of a broader cardiovascular risk profile that may

include blood glucose, body weight, tobacco use, physical activity, and family history. Knowing these numbers does not mean diagnosing or treating yourself. It provides a starting point for a conversation with a doctor, particularly when results fall outside the recommended range.

Daily habits remain the foundation Heart care does not require waiting for a major lifestyle overhaul. Regular movement, balanced meals, adequate rest, and routine health checks can be incorporated gradually. The World Health Organization identifies unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful alcohol consumption as major behavioral risk factors for heart disease and stroke. It recommends reducing salt intake, eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco, and limiting harmful alcohol use. These habits can also support healthier blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and body weight. Their effects build over time, making it useful to establish them well before cardiovascular disease becomes an immediate concern.

Where supplements may fit LAC Philippines highlights two food supplements for different aspects of cardiovascular wellness. LAC Activated Heart Protect contains 2,000 fibrinolytic units of nattokinase, together with lecithin and hawthorn. The company markets the formulation as supporting healthy blood flow, circulation, and cardiovascular function. It is intended for adults ages 18 and older and is taken once daily, according to the product directions.

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LAC Activated Cholesterex contains red yeast rice, plant sterols, lecithin, policosanol, and beta-glucan. LAC positions the product as supporting healthy cholesterol levels, blood vessels, and circulation. The recommended product serving is three capsules daily with food. These products have different formulations, but neither should be treated as a replacement for medical evaluation, prescribed medicine, or lifestyle changes. A supplement marketed to support cardiovascular wellness is not the same as a medicine approved to prevent or treat heart disease. Anyone taking prescription medicine, particularly cholesterol-lowering or clot-affecting drugs, should consult a doctor or pharmacist before using either product. The same precaution applies to people with existing medical conditions or an upcoming surgical procedure.

Start with what can be measured Caring for your heart early does not mean assuming disease is inevitable. It means understanding personal risk while there is still time to discuss appropriate changes with a health care professional. For some people, that may begin with a blood pressure reading or cholesterol test. For others, it may involve moving more often, adjusting food choices, quitting tobacco, or taking prescribed treatment consistently. Supplements may have a place in an individual wellness plan, but they should follow rather than replace the fundamentals. Regular screening, sustainable habits, and medical guidance remain the more reliable foundation for long-term cardiovascular health. The heart works every day. Paying attention to it should not have to wait until something feels wrong.

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Newsbytes

UPMG BRINGS READING CAMPAIGN TO STUDENTS

The second Back to Basic Reading Campaign combined storytelling and book distribution with lessons on reading across print and digital platforms United Print and Multimedia Group Philippines (UPMG) brought its annual Back to Basic Reading Campaign to Rosauro Almario Elementary School on September 7, 2026, encouraging young learners to strengthen their reading comprehension in both print and digital formats. Now in its second year, the campaign carried the theme “Flip and Scroll: A Reading Quest for Every Kid on Pages and Screens.” It brought together publishers, educators, partners, and students for storytelling activities and distributed children’s books to more than 100 attendees.

UPMG officers with Ambassador of Malaysia and Nameless Book

The initiative responds to persistent concerns about literacy among Filipino students. A Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics report cited by the organizers indicates that seven out of ten students lack basic reading skills, with many struggling to understand simple texts. “What pushes us to do this is the need to improve children’s comprehension,” UPMG Philippines president Vivienne Motomal said. “They need to understand what they read and consume, whether online or in print, so they can form their own thoughts and become responsible members of society.” A storytelling session led by Therese Alebusa of Nameless Books gave Grade 3 and 4 students an opportunity to participate, practice their literacy skills, and win prizes. Nameless Books also donated children’s titles, including Newton, Snapper The Perfect Christmas Tree, and Teddy Takes a Train.

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Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Anthony attended the event and spoke about the role of reading in learning and decision-making. He told students that reading strengthens critical thinking and can prepare them for future careers and responsibilities. UPMG Philippines treasurer Sherly Baula said the campaign aims to help elementary students develop critical thinking, creativity, and confidence. She encouraged the children to read, whether they were turning the pages of a book or scrolling on a tablet.

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The organization plans to extend the advocacy through a corporate social responsibility project that invites donations of reading materials for beneficiaries, including Aeta communities in Zambales and St. Francis Learning School. The project will form part of UPMG Philippines’ 25th anniversary event on November 11. The 2026 Back to Basic Reading Campaign was sponsored by the Embassy of Malaysia in Manila, Nameless Books, Lounge Cafe Bookstore, and Yakult, with support from the Ad Standards Council.

Photo courtesy of Casino Plus

CASINO PLUS AWARDS BIGGEST JACKPOT IN PHILIPPINE SLOT MACHINE HISTORY Casino Plus, one of the country’s leading responsible digital entertainment platforms licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), has made Philippine gaming history with the ceremonial handover of a PHP122,409,603.00 jackpot — the biggest verified jackpot in Philippine online slot machine history. The landmark cheque presentation was held at LaVie Resort and Casino, Manila, on September 9, 2026, in the presence of PAGCOR, Casino Plus CEO Evan Spytma, and the verified winner, who attended with their identity protected for personal safety and security. A record that rewrites Philippines online gaming history The PHP122,409,603.00 payout represents a record-breaking jackpot

in Philippine online slot machines. The win was achieved through Casino Plus’ certified online gaming platform, with the payout verified under the applicable PAGCOR regulatory framework. The recordsetting jackpot underscores the scale and technological capabilities of Casino Plus’ digital gaming platform, while highlighting the importance of regulated, secure, and transparent gaming experiences for Filipino players. “This is not just a win for one player; it is a defining moment for responsible, enjoyable, competitive, and transparent digital gaming in the Philippines,” said Evan Spytma, CEO of Casino Plus. “We built this platform on the promise that every Filipino player deserves a fair, secure, and life-changing experience. Today, that promise is PHP122 million worth of proof.”

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Photo courtesy of Casino Plus

Responsible Gaming Advisory In accordance with PAGCOR’s Responsible Gaming Code of Practice, Casino Plus wishes to remind all players of the following: • Gaming is for entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered a source of income or a means of financial relief. Players are encouraged to play responsibly and within their means. • Winning is never guaranteed. All gaming outcomes are determined by chance. Past results, including jackpot wins, do not influence or predict future outcomes.

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Newsbytes

IPROOV PUBLISHES HAPS TO VERIFY HUMAN APPROVAL OF AI AGENT ACTIONS Biometric identity verification provider iProov has published the Human Approval and Presence Specification (HAPS), an experimental specification designed to help organizations verify that a human has approved a specific action before an AI agent carries it out. Available on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license, HAPS addresses a growing challenge in AI governance: an agent’s permission to access tools and services does not necessarily mean a person intended or approved every action it takes. The release includes a partial Rust reference implementation and test vectors, with iProov inviting industry experts to review the specification, provide feedback, and develop independent implementations. The framework focuses on situations where an AI agent operates within its permissions but takes unintended actions. These could result from prompt injection, excessive pursuit of a goal, or misuse of delegated credentials. HAPS is designed to give organizations and systems receiving those requests a way to verify human approval before critical actions proceed. “AI agents are moving rapidly from answering questions to taking actions on our behalf. As their autonomy and capabilities grow, governance must keep pace,” said Andrew Bud, founder and CEO of iProov. “We need to distinguish between an agent having permission to act and a human actually approving the specific action it is about to take.” HAPS does not require human approval for every action. Instead, organizations determine which activities are sensitive or critical enough to warrant additional

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Andrew Bud, founder and CEO of iProov

approval and what level of evidence is appropriate. The approach aims to preserve the benefits of autonomous AI while avoiding approval fatigue. When approval is required, the process pauses the action, shows the person exactly what the agent intends to do, obtains proof of human presence and approval, and verifies that evidence before allowing the action to proceed. The specification is designed to bind approval to the particular action, enabling the receiving organization to check that the authorization matches the agent’s request. HAPS does not prescribe a specific method for proving human presence. iProov has developed an internal

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implementation using biometric liveness as one example of how the specification could work in practice. “We’re publishing it openly at this experimental stage because the industry needs to solve this challenge together,” Bud said. “We’re inviting the community to scrutinize it, challenge it, and build on it so together we can establish strong, practical safeguards for an agentic AI world.” The specification remains experimental, with iProov seeking industry scrutiny and independent implementations to help develop the approach. The HAPS specification, partial reference implementation, and test materials are available on GitHub.

EY GDS PHILIPPINES PLANS 2,000 ADDITIONAL HIRES AS IT MARKS 11TH ANNIVERSARY

EY GDS Philippines is marking its 11th anniversary with plans to add approximately 2,000 professionals over the next two to three years.

EY Global Delivery Services (GDS) Philippines plans to hire approximately 2,000 additional professionals over the next two to three years as it marks its 11th anniversary this September. The expansion will add to its workforce of more than 6,000 across Manila and Cebu, with assurance and technology consulting expected to drive demand. Established in 2015, EY GDS Philippines supports EY member firms and clients worldwide across assurance, consulting, tax, and core business services. Its next phase of growth includes expanding capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), data, cybersecurity, digital engineering, and enterprise platforms. “EY GDS Philippines has evolved into a leading talent, delivery and innovation hub since its establishment 11 years ago. Our strategic expansion, the launch of the Cebu Cybersecurity center and continued development of new capabilities reflect how far we have come,” said Dench Decino, EY GDS Philippines location leader. “In the next two to three years, we will continue to invest in Filipino talent

as we plan to add approximately 2,000 professionals. We believe the Philippines will continue to play an important role in the EY network and in the country’s professional services and technology ecosystem,” he added. Cebu is a key part of the expansion, with the EY GDS Cebu Cybersecurity center strengthening the organization’s cybersecurity and digital capabilities. The center also supports the growth of technology careers in the region. To help develop its talent pipeline, EY GDS Philippines continues to build university partnerships through its GDS Academia program, including collaborations in Metro Manila and Cebu. These initiatives connect classroom learning with practical business and technology skills to prepare students for careers in the industry. The organization received the Industry-Academe Partnership Excellence award at the 2026 Cebu IT-BPM Organization (CIBO) Industry Awards. It also continues to

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invest in professional development, leadership training, and skills development for its employees. Assurance is expected to contribute significantly to the next phase of hiring, with increasing emphasis on data, analytics, and AI-enabled skills. “The growth of Assurance is increasingly tied to how we prepare professionals for a more digital and data-driven profession. As we accelerate hiring, we are focused on the capabilities the next generation of assurance professionals will need, including data, analytics and AI-enabled skills,” said Karthik Bhaskaran, EY GDS Philippines assurance leader. “University collaborations, industry partnerships and continuous learning are critical to building that pipeline and strengthening the broader talent ecosystem while supporting evolving client needs.” Information on career opportunities is available on the EY GDS careers page.

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Relic

INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM Words by Jose Alvarez

e all hear the same advice when it comes to cybersecurity. You have to check whether links are legitimate, and you shouldn’t open attachments in emails you don’t recognize or in unfamiliar file types (especially .exe files). While these are simple pieces of advice, hackers can still bring down large systems or crack some of the most secure systems in the world. My research led me to the intrusion detection system (IDS), a security mechanism designed to detect unauthorized access, malicious activity, or policy violations in computer systems or networks. IDS is a lot older than you think, but what made it so essential to the role of today’s cybersecurity? In previous issues of Gadgets, I covered the Morris Worm and McAfee Antivirus, which you could liken to two sides of the cybersecurity coin. The Morris Worm

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was one of the first computer viruses to spread through computer networks. At the same time, McAfee Antivirus can be considered an IDS because it found threats to your computer, quarantined them, and let you delete them. An IDS differs from a firewall in where detection takes place (network or host), and the detection method used (signature or anomaly). IDS research dates back to the early 1970s, when James P. Anderson published a report on protecting computers from unauthorized access called “Computer Security Threat Monitoring and Surveillance” in 1980. The 1980s were a time when computers were getting smaller and more user-friendly. Anderson proposed monitoring system activity and maintaining audit trails to detect suspicious network behavior. When Anderson published his work, the concept of the IDS was still a research idea, not a fully fledged computer product.

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As the decade progressed, IDS began to have practical applications. Dorothy E. Denning published the 1986 paper “An Intrusion Detection Model,” which proposed that an IDS should examine user activity, system events, audit records, statistical patterns, and rules for identifying abnormal behavior. Today, you can easily outsource this to artificial intelligence (AI), but IDS laid the groundwork for keeping systems secure in case of an attack. There were multiple types of IDS: network-based, which monitors the entire network; wireless-based, which monitors wireless networks; network behavior analysis (NBA), which examines network traffic to identify threats that generate unusual traffic flows, namely distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks; and host-based, which is an installed software package that monitors hosts for suspicious activity by analyzing events within the host (i.e., antivirus or antimalware programs). There were several methods of detection, namely signature-based detection, which monitors network packets and compares them with pre-configured and pre-determined attack patterns known as signatures; statistical anomaly-based detection, which monitors network traffic and compares it against an established baseline (this, however, can generate false positives); and stateful protocol analysis detection, which

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identifies deviations of protocol states by comparing them with “pre-determined profiles of generally accepted definitions of benign activity,” but requires more resources than the other two methods to be most effective. As early as 1987, computer scientist Fred Cohen noted that intrusion detection was impossible in every case, and that the resources needed to prevent intrusions would grow with usage. This meant that, at least in economic terms, some hacking would be needed to point out flaws in systems. This is more commonly known as “white hat” hacking, in which ethical hackers would point out flaws in cybersecurity measures. Rebecca Bace published Intrusion Detection in 2000, often considered the seminal work on IDS. While IDS has numerous limitations (particularly Cohen’s point that not every intrusion can be detected), understanding IDS is important to grasp the current state of cybersecurity. While attacks can come from anywhere, knowing how to respond to those attacks and prevent them in the future is not something that can be done by AI alone, but rather requires human judgment with the assistance of AI to help stamp out current threats and prepare for future ones.

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Volume 27 Number 03

MEET THE TEAM EDITORIAL Chief Content Officer MARIBELLE ALBA

You want more? We recommend you check out our other issues

Content Developers PRESY ALBA REN ALCANTARA Mobility Specialist ARNEL DORIA GIAN DEREK BAMBICO Content Creators JOSE ALVAREZ CHRIS NOEL HIDALGO ALJHELYN PIADOR PHIA MANUELL LAYOSO Creative Strategist RAYMUND RAVANERA Digital Media Designer CHINI YU SORIANO ADMINISTRATION President & CEO MARIBELLE ALBA Senior Managers MARITESS MAULION AMY CHRISTINE GIRAY Coordinators CAROL AGABIN LORIE BERNARDO Operations Support RAMIL ALMOJANO Legal Counsel ALBA LAW OFFICE

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