The Catalysts — OJPC 2021 Submission

NEWS

NEWS

EDITORIAL

DOH hopes easing restrictions will not lead to COVID-19 spikes

Telcos summoned, asked to do more vs. text scams

Maria Ressa: A Journalist Worthy of Celebration

The NPC has called out data privacy officers of telecom companies to take action against text scams.

Maria Ressa, Rappler’s CEO, is viewed as a character that champions press freedom and an insignia of courage.

With the country reopening, DOH is hopeful that they won’t see spikes in COVID-19 cases.

the catalysts The Official Publication of the Online Journalism Press Conference VOLUME I ISSUE I · November 2021

INFORMATION DEMANDED. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requests the compliance of the Duterte administration to provide evidence "promptly". | GRAPHIC BY DHANYELA GAMOLO

ICC asks Duterte administration for proof of genuine drug war probes

BY LIAN BUAN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Wednesday, November 24, that it will ask the Duterte government for proof of genuine local investigation of the bloody war on drugs.

The submission of proof is the next step, after Khan “temporarily suspended” the investigative activities to assess Philippines’ deferral request.

Khan said in a statement he will request “that such information be provided promptly, as envisaged by article 18 of the Rome Statute and as necessary to ensure that there is no impunity for Rome Statute crimes.”

“Such information must consist of tangible evidence, of probative value and a sufficient degree of specificity, demonstrating that concrete and progressive investigative steps have been or are currently being undertaken to ascertain the responsibility of persons for alleged conduct falling within the scope of the authorised ICC investigation,” said Khan.

The Duterte government had earlier filed a deferral request,

in which it claimed that efforts, mainly by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to investigate the drug war was enough and does not need the ICC’s intervention.

It means the Philippines will have to send “tangible, probative and specific” proof that these investigations are genuine.

The deferral request mainly cited DOJ’s recently released matrix on 52 cases of killings by policemen, some from as far back as 2016. The matrix was part of a review by the DOJ started only in June 2020. The 52 cases are undergoing new round of assessment by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a remand that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) called as superfluous.

In an earlier email to Khan, the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), among the legal groups which represented drug war victims, said “it is misleading to label the DOJ actions as an investigation since it appears that the DOJ merely conducted a review of documents.”

Apart from the fact that 52 is a miniscule percentage of more than 7,000 killed in police operations, and overall 27,000 killed in

drug-related incidents, FLAG said “the DOJ investigation did not include any findings or conclusions, but mere observations, largely on the lack – or paucity – of documents provided by the Philippine National Police.”

The matrix also revealed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) kept those abuses internal, imposing only light penalties on erring cops.

Philippine Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has refused to comment on this development, saying the proper agency to speak is the Department of Foreign ­Affairs (DFA).

DEFERRAL MAY NOT HAVE BLANKET EFFECT Khan reiterated on Wednesday that they will not stop analyzing information they already have, and will still receive information from third parties, even if the investigative activities are temporarily suspended.

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque claimed the temporary suspension was a recognition of the Philippines’ primary recognition, but Khan said on Wednesday that the suspension was pursuant to their “obligations under the Statute and practice in similar situations.”

“The Office of the Prosecutor also takes the view that a deferral may have a specific or partial effect, rather than a blanket or gen-

eral effect, on its investigation,” said Khan, adding that the proof Philippines will send will help them assess “the precise parameters of any deferral.”

FLAG also pointed out that the deferral request did not cite any local investigation into the killings by the Davao Death Squad (DDS), which is part of the ICC investigation.

Rappler has exclusively learned that in November 2020, the ICC gave self-confessed DDS hitman Arturo Lascañas limited immunity, which means he is being treated as an insider and may have access to witness protection resources of the ICC’s Registry.

Without referencing anyone, Khan said on Wednesday that despite the temporary suspension, “the Office will continue to be particularly attentive to the security, safety and wellbeing of victims and witnesses.”

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Such information be provided promptly, [...] as necessary to ensure that there is no impunity for Rome Statute crimes.

KARIM KHAN International Criminal Court Prosecutor

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PLM vow to uphold Filipino journalists’ rights

ONE MORE SHOT. A senior citizen receives her booster shot at Justo Lukban Elementary School in Manila on Tuesday. | PHOTO BY MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

BY JOSIAH ANTONIO

COVID -19

DOH hopes easing restrictions will not lead to COVID-19 spikes

BY TINA SANTOS DESPITE EASING community restrictions and reopening the economy, the Department of Health (DOH) remains hopeful that the country will not see spikes in COVID-19 infections similar to what has happened in Europe.

“Hopefully that will not happen to us. That’s why we’re giving early warnings on what has been happening in other countries so that we won’t reach a similar situation,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a press briefing on Monday.

In recent weeks, a number of European countries have been reporting a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

“At the country level, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands have the steepest increase in cases in the recent weeks. Cases in these countries have reached new peaks since the beginning of the pandemic."

Vergeire said loosening restrictions and requirements for minimum public health standards appeared to be the main reasons for the rise in COVID-19 cases in the European countries.

“One of the major differences [with Europe] is that when they relaxed restrictions, they included the removal of minimum public health standards, like wearing of mask and others,” she said.

“Here in our country, through the months from the start of the pandemic, we have seen how the behavior of our kababayan have improved in terms of wearing of mask, frequent hand washing, physical distancing, etc.,” she added.

Vergeire cited England, which removed mask mandates on July 19 despite having a four-week moving average of more than 200,000 cases that week.

“The UK, however, does not plan to bring back COVID-19 restrictions at present as the country transitions to learning to live with the virus,” Vergeire said.

In the Netherlands, most restrictions, including mask mandates, were also lifted in June as long as social distancing of 1.5 meters is followed, she added.

Vergeire reiterated her appeal to the public: “Let us all continue to comply with the minimum public health standards, safety protocols so that we can be able to sustain the low risk level of the country.”

Telcos summoned, asked to do more vs. text scams

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA AND MELVYN GASCON MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has summoned the data privacy officers of telecom companies to a meeting today to find ways to end a growing text scam victimizing Filipino consumers.

Complaints mounted in the past few days about the thousands of text messages from random numbers offering nonexistent jobs to unsuspecting victims. Referred to as smishing, it is classified as a cybersecurity attack carried out over mobile text messaging wherein victims are deceived into giving

personal data that the perpetrators use to commit fraud, which usually is to steal money.

In today’s meeting called by the NPC, which will also include data privacy officers of e-commerce sites such as Lazada and Shopee as well as banks, “we want to understand from the telcos how come these texts are being sent through their infrastructure and what are the steps that they’re taking to curb this,” NPC Chair Raymund Liboro said.

The NPC will also urge the telcos to adopt a US-style system of caller identity verification to protect consumers.

“In the US, they have this call attestation, meaning it’s like a caller ID. So far this only applies to voice calls, but I

“

...caller ID authentication technology enables subscribers to trust that callers are who they say they are, reducing the effectiveness of fraudulently spoofed calls.

think they’re still coming up with the version for SMS,” Liboro said.

This is seen as a vetting system for postpaid mobile phone users so that legitimate telemarketers could still operate.

“So if there’s a prepaid (line) offering get-rich quick schemes, you know it’s a scam.

And if you’re a legitimate business, why won’t you go for a call that can be attested?”

Liboro said.

Based on a briefer by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), “caller ID authentication technology enables subscribers to trust that callers are who they say they are, reducing the effectiveness of fraudulently spoofed calls.”

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Leody De Guzman and Walden Bello, Partido Lakas ng Masa’s presidential and vice-presidential bets, on Tuesday vowed to protect the welfare of journalists in the Philippines.

Their statement came mid the continuing quest for justice 12 years after the deaths of 58 people, including 32 journalists, in the Maguindanao massacre, considered the worst case of political violence in the country.

“When we are elected, we will ensure that concerned executive offices, such as the National Prosecution Service, will give the Maguindanao Massacre case the priority it deserves,” Bello said in a statement.

“When we assume office, we will immediately put in place measures to protect journalists and uphold media freedom. We will stop any and all attacks against reporters and desist from using language that promotes hostility towards news personalities.”

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When we assume office, we will immediately put in place measures to protect journalists and uphold media freedom.

WALDEN BELLO PLM VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE “We will shut down troll farms. We will not allow fake news. We will move to restore ABS-CBN’s franchise. We will defend the likes of Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa from persecution. And we will do whatever it takes to make sure that the victims of the Ampatuan massacre receive justice.”

Meanwhile, De Guzman proposed to pass a bill that would seek transparency to information and criminalize acts against human rights.

“Iprayoridad ang pagsasabatas ng Human Rights Defenders Bill, na matagal nang isinusulong ng mga human rights groups at mga samahan ng masa sa Kongreso,” De Guzman said.

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TO PEOPLE who saw how her bravery peeked through the curtains of storms and socio-political pressure to call for accountability, show transparency, and fight for the voices that need to be heard and listened to — Maria Ressa, a journalist and CEO of Rappler, is viewed as a character that champions press freedom, an insignia of courage, not less than an emblem of great valor. However, to those who stand alongside the government and the government itself, Maria Ressa is but a peddler of false information and heavily opinionated news with baseless conclusions, contrary to the objectivity journalists m ust practice.

When Maria Ressa won a Nobel peace prize award, the narrative was conflicted on whether or not she should be celebrated as a Filipino journalist who had the will and courage to wage war with the Philippine government in the name of freedom and rights, or whether she should be shamed for her "lies".

In the year-old interview with Stephen Sackur, a BBC journalist, Maria Ressa was clear to be on a defensive stance, evincing her desperate need to awaken the people on the impending death of democracy and the murder of press freedom in the country.

Her premises were, dare I say, shot down by Sackur not once but many implicit times. In a Facebook post written by Jun Abines the same year the interview happened, Maria Ressa was attacked, shamed, and laughed at by people who favor the populist president. Questioned, convicted, and accused of exaggeration, Maria Ressa’s credibility as a journalist was ultimately challenged, with President Duterte hailed as the best president there ever is in Philippine history.

From my personal point of view, I cannot help but celebrate Maria Ressa and, at the same time, mourn for the fight she trotted into.

Rendering herself a symbol of the battle for democracy and freedom to exercise one's right earned her a spot in the museum as a portrait that depicts what fate befalls those who report the reality against the government: Burned. How unjust it had been on her part to be antagonized in exchange for her efforts and endeavors to fight for what is right and report the truth, but then again, what greater pride is there for a journalist than maintaining her commitment to protecting the freedom of speech?

Going back to where everything sprung to animation, it can be recalled that over the last three decades, Ressa and President ­Duterte have already been crossing paths.

the catalysts The Official Publication of the Online Journalism Press Conference VOLUME I ISSUE I · November 2021

EDITORIAL ART BY JOHN BALES

EDITORIAL

Maria Ressa: A Journalist Worthy of Celebration

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Ressa has shown exceptional resistance and tenacity by holding her position in the face of the constant onslaught orchestrated by the Duterte administration.

When the latter was still the mayor of Davao City, Ressa spoke with him. During the election campaign, President Duterte was interviewed by the Rappler founder, in which he admitted to the murder of three individuals. During those times, Ressa and the then-presidential candidate Duterte were on good terms, except until Rappler began to report on extrajudicial murders, human rights violations, and the rapidly growing death toll from Duterte's deadly drug war, with reports indicating that the police carried out the atrocities with Duterte's consent, which is true as per Duterte's own admission in his speech on September 27, 2018 (Ranada, 2018), that Ressa and her network began to feel the pressure instigated by the Philippine president. Following the critical and fact-checked report of the Rappler on the drug war campaign of the president, the Rappler was sorely targetted and accused of libel prosecutions, two criminal cases alleging illegal foreign ownership in her

Rosalinda Pesana Editor-in-Chief

News Writers: France Art Basia, Vicente Mate

Mark Jayson Agao Associate Editor-In-Chief

Contributors: Grace Llamelo, Brenn Aisley Cabanayan, Gavianne Sommer Viar, Precious Anne Ladanan, Airah Mei Amate, Danilyn Maturan, Julius Jose Borjal, JV Mae Bachar, John Dave Pacheco

Icon Matthew C. Monit Hersheyl P. Pulido Managing Editors

Photojournalists: Luwel Antiquera, Trisha Villamer, Adrian Mendoza

Lara Faith D. Zozobrado Feature Editor James Lawrence Banaag Science Editor David Sean Mercado Sports Editor

Feature Writers: Chesca Machan, Mariel Ruedas, James Regondola

Cartoonists: Reylan Barrera, John Marlou J. Bales, Precious Rose P. Patriarca Copyeditors: Aliyahmae Albores, Angel Ann Doregios, Aldrian Marino Layout Artist: Dhanyela Gamolo

Mark Angelo Manez Adviser

companies, and investigations into her old tax returns.

It would be utterly naive not to think that the charges against Maria Ressa were not politically motivated to silence Rappler and warn the others not to report raw and injurious facts against the Duterte administration. Note that according to BIR (n.d), it takes about 4 to 6 years to conclude a tax evasion case, with at least one year devoted to investigation. However, in Ressa's case, the government pressed charges just after five short months. Further, the lawsuit claiming defamation against Rappler back in 2012 was resurrected even when there was no cyber-libel legislation at the time the article was published.

The Justice Department concluded the prosecution may proceed since the web piece had been corrected in February 2014. The conviction of Maria Ressa, as patent as it is, is a disastrous precedent for journalistic freedom in Asia and elsewhere.

Maria Ressa, in an interview with BBC, claimed that democracy is failing and press freedom in the Philippines is strangled by the populist president. Her premises were branded as epic lies to favor the Yellow cult, the oligarchs, and the Reds.

However, what many failed to see is that true to the words of Ressa, democratic rights are no longer upheld in the country and press freedom is at the precipice of death. Take a lot at how a cease-and-desist order was issued against ABS-CBN, the country's largest broadcaster, which has been religiously targeted by Duterte. Moreover, as per the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility report, between June 2016 and April 2020, Duterte's regime claimed the lives of 19 journalists, while at least 171 other journalists were intimidated or assaulted. And lastly, the president is also on the verge of signing a contentious anti-terrorism measure into law, which would allow for warrantless arrests, weeks of detention without trial, and other powers that civil liberties advocate worry may be used against government opponents. If these are not illustrations of attacks to press freedom and threat to the democracy of the country, then I don't know what is.

All things considered; I stand that Maria Ressa should be celebrated. Ressa has shown exceptional resistance and tenacity by holding her position in the face of the constant onslaught orchestrated by the Duterte administration. The Philippines' journalism and democracy may be teetering on the brink, but Ressa earning the Nobel peace award provides a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak future. Those who cloud their better judgment with blind loyalty and support to the government, which, by the way, abhors the mainstream media, believe that her endeavors are non but efforts to please the Yellow Cult, the oligarchs, and the Reds. What they fail to see is her bravery in opposing the administration's discrimination and dissemination of misinformation. May we all foster journalists who value facts and are committed to protecting press freedom and democracy.