Cybercrime summit, anyone?

identifying these scammers is the biggest challenge for the authorities.

convertibility of the gold to the US dollar, and the dollar no longer depended on the value of the gold as agreed on in the Bretton-Woods agreement.

The US dollar was then based on the vast industrial capacity of the US which then constituted more than 70 percent of the world’s total industrial and manufacturing output.

With the US as having the only recognizable international currency reserve, it was able to wipe out its huge trade deficit caused by the Vietnam War.

Sensing that the unmitigated conversion of the dollar as international currency reserve, US policy makers deemed it wise to increase the value of the dollar against other currencies.

They toyed the idea of just printing the US dollar to purchase US treasury bonds without let up until they realized the US government was already the biggest debtor in the world.

It borrowed from its former enemy, Japan, 1.2 trillion dollars in treasury bond and almost the same amount from China, while imposing many restrictions and sanctions on that county.

The relations between the US and China at times become perilous and nasty. Many have difficulty trying to understand what the US wants to achieve and why it now wants to decouple that country.

The most basic understanding of what the US seeks to achieve by decoupling China is to curtail that country’s export potential.

This means many Americans take China’s export as existential threat to its global dominance.

The US policy makers themselves know that pure economic jealousy alone would not allow her to reap the propaganda of gaining the support of the world.

For the US to zero-in on the threat of economic competition is incompatible to the concept of free enterprise, a long expounded ideological line of the Americans.

The US has lost in every aspect of the debate.

The US failed to rebut the tenability of President Trump’s protectionist policy.

The Americans always rely on what it sees as the rules-based principle in the application of international law which is more of a brusque unilateralism.

To this date, not one US policy maker has admitted the current economic woes their country suffers from is the result of its unilateralist policy done through the years by increasing the value of the US dollar, hoping it could gain additional profit by overvaluing its own currency.

When Russia tried to root out the Nazi elements in Eastern Ukraine, at the agitation of the US to expand NATO eastward, the US and its allies unilaterally confiscated the more than 600 billion worth of Russian assets in gold and foreign exchange reserves, and removed Russia from SWIFT financial institution.

But all these sanctions have backfired, with many countries wanting to join the BRICS, a powerful grouping of the world’s market economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in disgust to Western arbitrariness.

This has now posed a serious challenge to the US.

(rpkapunan@gmail.com)

They happen fast and the sad part is that, often, they are not reported to authorities. If ever reported, it’s too late to persecute the perpetrators. Even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged the increasing presence of online scams, especially the developing “threat and risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI)” while giving assurances the “government continues to monitor transactions in the digital space to protect the public against scammers and abusive online lenders.”

Although the Philippines was too late already, one of the best moves it has done to curb and prevent digital crimes is the SIM card registration for users.

“The SIM card registration (law) I think was a big step, and I think we are getting to the point where we have disposed of or taken out of the system many of the SIM cards that have not been registered because they have

A cybercrime summit involving stakeholders should be conducted to craft a unified solution that will effectively deter, if not completely flatten, digital crimes, at least, in the Philippines been used for illegal purposes,” Mr. Marcos added.

When asked how the scammers should be punished, the President said anyone found guilty of promoting such scams will be dealt with using the full force of the law.

Mr. Marcos himself admitted however that

“These are people sitting in somebody’s basement with a computer, which they can just shut down, sell away, buy a new one, and keep going. So, that’s the trouble we are finding now,” Mr. Marcos pointed out.

No less than the President himself is talking big about a subject that has not yet been acknowledged with so much fervor even by the Philippine National Police or even Congress.

Yes, the PNP has a cybercrime unit but it’s not enough to provide solutions to crimes that happen every minute.

The cybercrime unit should be expanded, and given more teeth by Congress to persecute these modern-day criminals. There must be harsher penalties for online criminals.

Social media platforms, like Facebook, should be called in and included by compelling them to act swiftly on criminal activity reported to them.

Needless to say, a cybercrime summit involving stakeholders should be conducted to craft a unified solution that will effectively deter, if not completely flatten, digital crimes, at least, in the Philippines.

Teodoro, ideal guardian of our seas and islands

WHEN President Bongbong Marcos named Gilbert Teodoro as Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND) on June 5, 2023 after a year of keeping the post vacant since the start of his term in 2022, I instinctively knew that the President made an excellent choice.

`The Cabinet portfolio is a perfect fit for Teodoro who had previously served as defense secretary from 2007 to 2009 under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. At the age of 43, he was the second youngest person to ever hold the position after Ramon Magsaysay.

Teodoro, whom many call Gibo but Gilbert to us in UP Law class of 1989, is known for his academic excellence and technocratic skills. During his previous stint as defense secretary, he was known for his efforts as the chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) when Metro Manila was hit by Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in 2009.

He also advocated the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the strengthening of the country’s defense posture in the face of territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

Secretary Teodoro, who is a civilian, is taking over the helm of the DND at a time when geopolitical tensions are high in the WPS.

Wisely, he recently declared that the Philippines is not a chess piece in the regional conflicts within its borders and that other countries should respect its development of capabilities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

He also urged China to follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to gain the Philippines’ confidence.

Teodoro will not mindlessly engage in any reckless action that will escalate the geopolitical conflict in the region but will instead prefer to cultivate the country’s partnerships with other countries including the chief rivals, China and the United States, to foster peaceful settlement and diplomacy while enhancing the country’s own capabilities.

Indeed, the way to go is to collaborate with China and other countries on areas of common interest such as trade, investment, infrastructure, maritime security, and environmental protection without territorial integrity and national sovereignty. An armed confrontation to settle the dispute is out of the equation for it will mean an unmitigated catastrophe for all concerned.

On a personal note, I have known Secretary Teodoro for more than 38 years, since we were first year law students at the College of Law of the University of the Philippines.

We became close friends in our senior year and studied together for the 1989 bar examinations which ended with both of us ranking high (Gibo number one, with me number three).

I teased him that he was only .083 ahead of me and if not for the 75 score I had in labor law, I could have been number one.

In spite of this divergence on the peace process, I am convinced that Gilbert Teodoro is the best guardian of our seas and islands

As a classmate, Gilbert was generous, supportive, easy to get along, and loyal.

He was obviously brilliant, had gone to the best schools for his basic education (Xavier School) and college (De La Salle University) and we knew he belonged to an influential and wealthy family, but he was not arrogant and never acted privileged or entitled.

That was what attracted me to Gibo. I could trust him, knew that he was always thoughtful and principled, with an exemplary mind and a good heart, and above all someone who loved our country very much.

Even then, when we were students and young lawyers, Gilbert’s vision for the Philippines was that of modernizing our economy and enabling our people to prosper in the 21st century.

This ambitious vision for the country are reflected in his work in Congress in the 1990s and early 2000s, his leadership of the

Lula, Brazil’s divisive diplomatic dynamo

political role model, US ex-president Donald Trump.

A string of world leaders have traveled to Brasilia to meet with Lula, who has in turn crisscrossed the globe from the Americas to Asia to Europe, securing big-money backing for key initiatives such as his Amazon Fund to protect the world’s biggest rainforest.

“Simply not being Jair Bolsonaro provided Lula with considerable global goodwill,” international relations expert Oliver Stuenkel wrote recently in Brazilian Report.

Stumbling on Ukraine

But the charismatic ex-metalworker has also caused several diplomatic rows with his controversial, unfiltered statements.

Lula has made a high-profile bid to set up internationally mediated talks to end the war in Ukraine, but is seen by many in the West as overly cozy with Russia.

He has declined to join Western nations in sending arms to Ukraine or imposing sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s government over its invasion.

On a trip to China in April, Lula accused the United States of “encouraging” the war. The White House hit back, saying he was “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda.” said former Brazilian diplomat Paulo Roberto de Almeida.

But he told AFP it also shows Lula’s close relationship with “the two big autocracies,” China and Russia— Brazil’s partners in the BRICS group of emerging countries.

Balancing act

Lula faces a tough balancing act on a global chessboard increasingly polarized between the United States and China.

Brazil needs both: China is its biggest trading partner, the US a natural ally on key issues such as the environment and strengthening democracy.

Department of Defense during the GMSA years, his presidential campaign in 2010, and his business engagement in the last 10 years. Through the years, Gibo and I had continued to engage with each other, exchanging observations and ideas on how to change this country for the better. He has well-conceived and well-developed solutions to many of our challenges.

We have also supported each other on our personal endeavors.

That includes our respective mothers, with my late mother Inday La Viña being Gilbert’s biggest supporter in Cagayan de Oro when she was alive. I am sure she is very happy now that Gilbert is back in government.

This is not to say that I have had no disagreement with Secretary Teodoro.

There is of course our divergent views about the martial law era and the legacy of the Marcos Sr government.

More relevant to the present, we are not in agreement on how to pursue the peace process with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the New People’s Army. I have worked for four presidential administrations for the last 30 years and have through the years taught and mentored many military officials and yes revolutionaries, on both sides of the conflict.

I am convinced that, as challenging as it is, there is no other way to achieve permanent peace but through negotiations.

Nonetheless, in spite of this divergence on the peace process, I am convinced that Gilbert Teodoro is the best guardian of our seas and islands.

The real threat is not within but is external, our giant neighbor that cannot be outfought but can be outsmarted if we have a defense chief like who we have now.

Website: tonylavina.com. Facebook: tonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Lula is also keen to strengthen regional ties in South America.

But a key summit last month -- the continent’s first in nearly a decade —practically did the opposite, as Lula provoked a squabble with his controversial comments on Venezuela.

Lula warmly welcomed Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, a pariah in some quarters for his government’s alleged rights violations and authoritarianism, painting him as the victim of a hostile “narrative.”

In May, a planned meeting between Lula and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan fell through, officially because of “conflicting agendas.” Zelensky quipped he imagined Lula was “disappointed.” Lula replied he was rather “upset.” Lula’s Ukraine stance is part of “the traditional anti-Americanism” of his left-wing Workers’ Party (PT),

Lula was warmly welcomed by US President Joe Biden at the White House in February, but came away with no big deals or announcements.

His China trip, in contrast, yielded a flurry of economic cooperation agreements.

“Brazil’s biggest risk and fear is having to take sides” between Beijing and Washington, said international relations specialist Pedro Brites of the

That drew criticism not only from center-right President Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay, but also from fellow leftist Gabriel Boric of Chile.

“Lula’s unfortunate statements erased any evidence of the summit’s success,” Almeida said.

At home, Lula meanwhile faces pressure to spend more time on domestic affairs, given the tricky, treacherous politics of navigating a virulent opposition and a Congress dominated by his conservative enemies. AFP

US-INDIA TIES. US President Joe Biden looks on as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during an official State Dinner in his honor at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 22. AFP