Protecting ourselves from fake news Settling row over illegal wealth

CURRENTLY,we are bombarded wth the issue on "fake news", and being in the journalism profession for almost 23 years , I'd like to share a series on how we should protect ourselves of "fake news".

Why do we need to protect ourselves online?

As millennials would say nowadays, “online is life”. More and more of us are spending time online.

Before, our country used to be the texting capital of the world. Now, as the social media capital of the world.

Filipinos are number 1 in terms of time spent on the Internet and on social media. The Global analytics firm, We Are Social, recently reported that Filipinos are number 1 in the world in terms of time spent on social media and online. But what are the reasons why we go online? Based on the top websites and online apps most frequently used by Filipinos, most go online for the following reasons:

Social media and entertainment, Access to news and information, Increasingly for bank transactions, online finances, shopping and bills payment, and #ParaSaBayan: Extension of civic duties and to take part in the national narrative. (Example: 2016 Elections – Social Media campaign and President Duterte)

And because of this, we continue to leave a footprint for every activity we do online. Whether consciously or not, for every click, every app that we use and website that we access – we leave a trail of information about ourselves. · personal information · location · preferences, beliefs, likes and dislikes · connections and affiliations Data now is considered as the new oil. Your stocks and mutual fund can be the better option in building wealth.

COL Account, the caretaker of clients’ money, can be reached through their website https:// www.colfinancial.com

Many dream of having a better life and future. Investing your money with the help of trusted people can be a good start towards the fulfillment of that aspiration.

For comments and suggestions email alahsungduan@gmail.com personal information is now the world’s most valuable commodity.

What happens with all the information we share? Commoditized.

Well, the Top 4 most valuable brands in the world now are data-driven/digital: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook to which we are all moving commodities. Someone is always after the information we share online.

But is that entirely bad? Should we be paranoid? Positive applications:

Data mining/Big data: Information/data is processed and analyzed for various applications, it Drives Economy for brands and companies to get to know you and understand you more so that they can create and offer you more relevant products and services (Example: Facebook, YouTube ads, Smart?), Opportunities for Governments: For national security, information dissemination (ECBS, mobile disaster alerts), digitized public services

Big Data/Data mining is about achieving efficiencies through analytics of consumer behavior. It is considered to as "Data Usage Gone Wrong". The instances when information is used against you are Bullying/Bashing. An example of this is that of Jeman being bullied after sharing his views on an overpriced F21 t-shirt.

He got shared and got hundreds of comments. Some people found it offensive. Got bashers and people branding him as “no taste/no fashion sense”. We continue with this next week, thanks. Its been sometime since my last column but things came up. May I extend my gratitude to Sunstar Baguio General Manager Former Baguio City Mayor Peter Rey Bautista, Sunstar Baguio Editor Roderick Osis and Newshen Maria Elena Catajan for welcoming me into this publication. ness. No more hate. No more Mocha. No more cursing. No more hiding bank accounts. No more threats against other government officials. No more fake news. No more congressmen without balls. No more Speaker Alvarez. No more Cayetano. No more Pacquiao. No more balimbing senators. No more Tito Sotto. Again, Santa, please no more Mocha. These THINGS are not helping the country develop and reach its full potential.

Dear Santa, please make my wish come true. Thank you in advance.

PRESIDENTDuterte has offered two ways to end the controversy over his alleged illegal wealth, which Sen. Antonio Trillanes first raised during the 2016 election campaign and continued with his complaint before the ombudsman. These wouldn’t work: Duterte and Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales and Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno with the president and others showing their bank passbooks before lawmakers.

Morales and Sereno resigning with Duterte at the same time. The measures are abnormal and unorthodox. They may resign, yes, but the simultaneous quitting is surreal and seismic and won’t identify the corrupt and how corrupt. And neither will any of it happen.

“Just give us a table,” Duterte said, and it will expose “the really corrupt.” Really.

All their bank books or selected ones? And how does it assure that all their assets can be figured out on that table? Money can be stashed away in a lot of ways, with and without paper trail. And documents they’d offer would be expectedly self-serving.

Unanimity of consent would be difficult, with no rules laid down to assure full disclosure or precisely because of such rules. “Ano ‘ko, gago,” Duterte once retorted when asked if he’d show his medical records.

Resignation is also dubious solution to the problem. The president is formally and officially accused of unexplained wealth but the others--Morales, Sereno and Trillanes are not. Duterte said he won’t submit to the probing and instead threatened to have the ombudsman investigated by his office (which can’t be done), calling Morales corrupt and threatening to arrest the agency’s personnel who won’t submit to a Palace probe. And would Morales and Carpio jump off the cliff with Duterte? Maybe again this is all rant although the presidential spokesman’s usual explanation has yet to come.

Perhaps Morales is what the president says she is. He should know her well. His son-inlaw is a Morales nephew. That, aside from the president’s vast spying arsenal. Rules and procedures exist for removing the unfit public official.

If they have evidence against the ombudsman, she can be impeached and tried. CJ Sereno is already facing such a complaint in the House and she has responded to the accusations with arguments, not threats. Duterte may already be building evidence against Morales.

With a solid evidence base against the ombudsman, the public may shed off suspicion that this is all spiteful counter-attack.

Turmoil in the top leadership of three constitutionally independent bodies (ombudsman, Supreme Court and Comelec), raging at the same time, is unprecedented. The vacuum from a mass resignation of the highest leaders may not bring down any of the institutions but the tremor would shake the nation totally. And the cost may only be imagined for now.

Late today, the president was reported to have pushed Morales’s impeachment. There. That’s the means under the Constitution. The odds may be stacked against her, with the House being controlled by the ruling party but she’ll have the chance to refute the charges against her before the Senate sitting in an impeachment trial. SSCebu