Privacy commission links SMS-based ‘phishing’ attacks to leaks of contact-tracing information

October 5, 2021 | 8:48 pm

THE National Privacy Commission said it has received reports of leaked contact-tracing data resulting in “phishing attacks” via mobile phone texts, in which recipients are tricked into revealing sensitive personal data.

A commission bulletin issued Tuesday said the unsolicited texts, sent by Short Message Service (SMS), sought to trick recipients into visiting malicious websites. The practice of using SMS to carry out phishing attacks is known as “smishing.”

The commission said the complaints it has received linked the incidents to personal information given in contact tracing and health declaration forms.

“The contents of these unsolicited messages reportedly include links that redirect to legitimate looking but fraudulent sites when clicked. These sites may steal users’ personal data, introduce mobile malware, and even commit fraud,” the commission said.

According to the commission, smishing can be used to trick recipients into opening a dummy Facebook account. The text message contains a code and a short link that, when clicked, associates the recipient’s mobile number with the dummy account.

The commission said smishing has been connected to fake online shopping or delivery transactions, which victims fall for because they are expecting an actual delivery.

“Clicking the shortened link will redirect the recipient to a website that prompts them to fill out their personal and banking information to complete the delivery,” the commission said.

Privacy Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro recommended that recipients “scrutinize text messages, especially if they come from an unknown number and request information about you. Be skeptical and do not assume that every message you receive is genuine.”

The commission warned against messages with shortened links, and recommended avoiding in-app links and disabling link previews in the mobile message application.

It also noted that individuals may block messages from a specific phone number, filter messages from unknown senders, and redirect spam or junk mail.

The commission also urged parties who have custody of and process personal information to adequately protect contact-tracing data. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PHL considering more nationally funded BARMM projects

October 5, 2021 | 8:46 pm

THE GOVERNMENT plans to identify more nationally funded programs for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for inclusion in the 2023 national budget, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

Officials representing the national and Bangsamoro governments in the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) said after a virtual meeting on Sept. 22 that they would engage with their respective Cabinet departments and ministries to identify such programs, the department said in a statement Tuesday.

Some programs for health facilities, school building, cash grants, and social pension in Bangsamoro are funded by the National Government.

“The (National Government) and BARMM have previously agreed that this list is not an exclusive one and that (National Government) agencies may still fund other national programs and projects in the Bangsamoro region as decided upon by the two sides,” the DoF said.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that the BARMM ministries and national agencies should discuss the nationally funded programs for the 2023 budget because the government makes its budget call in February each year.

“The IGRB continues to meet regularly to resolve matters and issues brought before the body as it remains determined in accomplishing its targets through unrelenting dedication, strong partnership and mutual trust between the National Government (NG) and the Bangsamoro Government,” he said.

The group also discussed speeding up addressing overlapping jurisdictions of national agencies and Bangsamoro ministries. It plans to report updates on identifying the nationally funded programs in the next meeting, scheduled for December.

House legislators last month approved the postponement of the first regular elections in the BARMM to 2025 from 2022. — Jenina P. Ibañez

British beef imports temporarily banned after mad cow disease outbreak

October 5, 2021 | 8:46 pm

BEEF AND CATTLE imports from the UK have been banned temporarily due to an outbreak of mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Agriculture Memorandum Order No. 60, signed on Oct. 4, banned the processing, evaluation, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) of meat and meat by products derived from cattle, including live cattle, from the UK after the detection of classical BSE.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said UK veterinary authorities on Sept. 17 submitted a report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that confirmed a BSE outbreak in Somerset, a county in the southwest of England.

Beef products from an animal suffering from BSE can lead to the development in humans of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

“All shipments in transit/loaded/accepted unto port before the official communication of this order to the British authorities shall be allowed provided the slaughter and production date is on or before Aug. 31, 2021,” according to the order.

“All previously approved SPSICs which were not yet in transit/loaded/accepted unto port after the official communication of this order to the British authorities are hereby revoked.”

Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. Vice-President Jerome D. Ong told BusinessWorld via mobile phone that classical BSE “poses very high risk to both animal and human health. The UK’s share of our beef imports is about 4%, mostly beef fat.”

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) estimates that beef imports from the UK as of the end of August have totaled 4,429.46 metric tons (MT), or 3.96% of all beef imports.

Mr. Ong said the DA and BAI should lift the ban on beef imports from Brazil.

The DA issued Memorandum Order No. 54 on Sept. 16 that banned the import of Brazilian beef due to an outbreak of atypical BSE.

“They should lift the import ban because it involves only atypical BSE which, according to experts and the OIE, does not really affect animals and humans. Brazil beef accounts for up to 70% of the raw material requirements of some local processors,” Mr. Ong said.

The BAI estimates that Brazilian beef imports as of Aug. 31 amounted to 36,371.45 MT, or 32.51% of all beef imports. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Global energy crisis draws new lines in coal’s trade map

October 5, 2021 | 8:45 pm

THE global energy crisis is reshaping trade routes for coal, illustrating the heightened demand for a fuel many considered on the downswing.

China’s eastern province of Zhejiang recently received its first seaborne cargo of Kazakhstan coal, as well as a rare railed shipment from Xinjiang. Meanwhile, European power plants are interested in buying Indonesian coal for the first time in two years, according to Chinese industry publication Fengkuang Coal Logistics.

The unusual moves show just how desperate nations are to secure as much of the fuel as they can with energy crises looming on multiple continents ahead of the northern hemisphere winter. Coal prices are at record levels in Asia, by far the largest market.

Few cargoes have taken as much of a roundabout journey as one that traveled from Kazakhstan by land to Russia’s Zhelezny Rog Port, where it was loaded onto the bulk carrier Caro at the end of August, according to Bloomberg data. The ship spent 30 days at sea sailing 8,501 nautical miles (15,744 kilometers) before offloading the 136,000 tons of high-quality coal on Monday, according to a statement from the state-owned Zhejiang Energy Group.

“It reflects demand from some areas in China amid an overall supply tightness, so they reach out to further coal producers,” said Zeng Hao, an analyst with consultancy Shanxi Jinzheng Energy. — Bloomberg

DoF, NEDA support transfer of irrigation agency to Agri dep’t

October 5, 2021 | 8:45 pm

NIA-building — PHILIPPINE STAR/BOY SANTOS

THE proposed transfer of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to the Department of Agriculture (DA) is supported by the Department of Finance (DoF) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the DA said.

In a statement Tuesday, the DA cited a memorandum by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III dated April 20 pushing for the transfer of NIA from the Office of the President (OP) to the DA.

“By making NIA an attached agency of the DA, we believe that both agencies will be better able to fulfill their respective mandates and deliver better outcomes,” Mr. Dominguez said in the memorandum for President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said in a letter on Sept. 13 to Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration McJill Bryant Fernandez that he supports the transfer of the NIA to the DA, adding that it is consistent with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.

“The transfer of supervision over NIA will also ensure the accelerated development of modern and climate-resilient irrigation facilities which are critical in implementing DA’s reform agenda to achieve a modern and industrialized Philippine agriculture,” Mr. Chua said.

On April 19, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar sent a proposal to Mr. Duterte in which he claimed that the transfer “will support better integration and enhance coordination to maximize available resource to improve the productivity of Philippine agriculture.”

“The transfer will lead to simplicity, economy and efficiency, and better integration and coordination on the fulfillment of their complementary governmental mandates,” Mr. Dar said.

NIA was created in 1963 and placed under the OP. In 1972, it was attached to the Department of Public Works, Transportation, and Communication.

In 1987, it was attached to both the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the DA.

It returned to the OP in 1992 as authorized by Executive Order (EO) No. 22 and was transferred again to the DA via Administrative Order No. 17.

In 2014, NIA was transferred to the OP after the issuance of EO 165, along with the National Food Authority, the Philippine Coconut Authority, and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, under the supervision of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization.

The NIA board is currently chaired by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, who also heads the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Late dictator’s son to run for president next year

October 5, 2021 | 8:26 pm

THE SON and namesake of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos on Tuesday said he would run for Philippine president next year, giving his family a chance to return to the presidential palace more than three decades after his father was ousted by a people power uprising.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., a former senator who lost by a hair in the 2016 vice-presidential race, said he wanted to bring back “unifying leadership” amid a coronavirus pandemic.

“Join me in this noblest of causes and we will succeed,” he said via Facebook Live.

Mr. Marcos, who was among the first to return to the Philippines from exile in the United States in 1991, announced his presidential ambition hours after his transfer to a party that endorsed him for president.

His family was forced to flee the country in 1986 after a popular street uprising toppled his father’s two-decade rule, during which the family allegedly amassed billions of pesos in ill-gotten wealth.

The government has recovered P174 billion of the assets, according to the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

More than 70,000 people were jailed, about 34,000 were tortured and more than 3,000 people died under the dictator’s martial rule, according to Amnesty International.

There have been speculations that the camp of President Rodrigo R. Duterte was considering Mr. Marcos, 64, as either a presidential or vice-presidential candidate.

The Supreme Court in February rejected Mr. Marcos’s election protest, as it ruled his claims “appeared bare, laden with generic and repetitious allegations and lacked critical information.”

He filed the protest in June 2016 after narrowly losing to Ms. Robredo, alleging widespread fraud.

In the Philippines, the president and vice president are elected separately and can come from different political parties. Both are barred by law from seeking reelection.

A group campaigning against the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang said the presidential run of Mr. Marcos is “a brazen show of disregard and contempt” for the thousands of Filipinos who were killed and tortured and the Filipino nation whose economy was plundered during his father’s rule.

“Bongbong Marcos and his family have long been seeking to reclaim the highest seat of power after they were kicked out of the country by the people and today, their shameless gall to return to the highest office in government is in full display,” the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) said in a statement.

The late dictator stole as much as $10 billion (P507 billion) from the Filipino people, according to government estimates, earning him a Guinness World Record for the “greatest robbery of a government.”

Last week, the country’s anti-graft court ruled that bank deposits worth more than P100 million made by the late dictator at Traders Royal Bank (TRB), now called the Royal Traders Holdings Co., Inc., should be returned to the Philippine government.

The Sandiganbayan’s latest ruling “is but a small showcase of the largesse and greed of the Marcoses,” CARMMA said.

A recent Pulse Asia poll showed that Mr. Marcos was among the top choices for president. He is the fourth mainstream politician to announce a presidential run.

Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso filed his certificate of candidacy for president on Monday, after Senator and boxing champion Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, a former police chief who served in the now defunct Philippine Constabulary, a defense institution responsible for human rights violations during the dictator’s martial rule, is also seeking to replace Mr. Duterte, who is said to be retiring when his six-year term ends in 2022. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Offshore investments valid and legal, says Transportation chief

October 5, 2021 | 8:24 pm

TRANSPORTATION Secretary Arthur P. Tugade on Tuesday said his offshore investments were a “personal financial move” made before he joined the government.

He issued the statement in response to a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) that he has been “keeping an offshore company while he occupied government posts in the last eight years.”

Mr. Tugade had been listed as a director of Solart Holdings Ltd., a British Virgin Islands-based firm since 2007, according to the investigative report. PCIJ said he had not declared the company among his assets as required by law.

PCIJ published the report on Monday in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and news website Rappler. It used documents leaked to the ICIJ, PCIJ said.

“I would like to acknowledge that due to an administrative oversight, I was not made aware of the interview request letter sent by PCIJ,” Mr. Tugade said in the statement.

He said Solart Holdings was organized in 2003 to hold a portion of his family’s cash assets.

“Having some of our family’s savings invested in Solart Holdings was our legitimate attempt to grow our financial portfolio like what any astute and judicious entrepreneurs would do to diversify their investments,” Mr. Tugade said. “We decided to have a portion of our savings invested outside the Philippines, which is valid and legal.”

He said the matter was disclosed in his net worth statement from 2012 to 2020.

Offshore investments may mean cash deposits in banks outside the country or shares of companies abroad, PCIJ said, citing former Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares.

“If it’s the former, then he has properly disclosed his assets, but if [it is supposed to mean he has an offshore company], then his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth are lacking,” she said.

Mr. Tugade, whose life is described as a “rags-to-riches success story,” in a profile published on the website of the Tourism Promotions Board, was appointed in 2012 as president and chief executive officer of Clark Development Corp., a state-owned company that manages the Clark Freeport and Clark Special Economic Zone. He was appointed secretary of the Department of Transportation in 2016.

In 2003, he founded Perry’s Group of Companies, a corporation that is into trucking, logistics, shipping, fuel distribution, travel and fashion, according to his profile.

The PCIJ report was meant to “besmirch the character of Secretary Tugade, and by extension, the Duterte administration,” according to an open letter posted by Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran on Facebook.

“Consider this as a stern warning and an assertion that our lawyers will exert all necessary effort, to the fullest extent of the law, to find those behind the malicious and irresponsible publication of this report.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Approval ratings for state action on key national issues fall

October 5, 2021 | 8:23 pm

vaccination — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

FEWER Filipinos approved of the Duterte government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the fight against corruption, according to a September poll by Pulse Asia Research, Inc.

The government’s approval rating fell across all national issues from a quarter earlier, including fighting criminality protecting migrant Filipino workers and defending Philippine territories.

Government rating in containing the coronavirus fell by 6 points to 59%, while its score for fighting graft dove by 12 points to 52%, Pulse Asia said.

The approval ratings for the protection of migrant workers fell by 7 points, equal enforcement of the law by 7 points, promoting peace by 6 points and fighting crimes by 5 points.

Most Filipinos were dissatisfied with several economic policies of the government. The government scored lowest in controlling inflation, with a 37% approval rating.

The government also scored poorly in reducing poverty (41%), increasing the pay of workers (48%) and creating more jobs (49%).

“Year on year, levels of appreciation for the Duterte administration’s performance on all national issues on which its performance is assessed in the Ulat ng Bayan survey declined significantly,” Pulse Asia said.

Approval ratings for nine of 14 key national issues were greater than 50%.

Pulse Asia interviewed 2,400 Filipino adults for the poll which had an error margin of ±2 points. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Gov’t in talks with partners for COVID-19 loans

October 5, 2021 | 8:22 pm

THE FINANCE department on Tuesday said the government is in talks with development partners for $900 (P45.6 billion) million worth of loans that it will use to buy coronavirus vaccines.

“We are in discussions with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for up to $900 million in financing for vaccines,” Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y. Joven said in a text message.

Vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. earlier said Finance chief Carlos G. Dominguez was preparing the funding for more vaccines.

The Philippines’ supply of coronavirus vaccines is expected to hit 160 million by yearend, Mr. Galvez told a taped Cabinet meeting aired on Monday, as the country tries to fully vaccinate 70% of its population either by the end of this year or early next year.

“By December, we will have 140 to 160 million vaccines,” he said. The government was also negotiating with at least four vaccine makers for more doses, he added.

The Philippines has received 77.4 million coronavirus vaccine doses. The government aims to reach population protection by vaccinating at least 50% of its population by yearend. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Lawyers, senators assert Duterte’s directives on Senate probe unconstitutional

October 5, 2021 | 8:21 pm

MEMBERS of the Philippine’s oldest organization of lawyers have said that President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s directives to executive branch officials, police, and the military to ignore the Senate’s probe on the use of pandemic funds are unconstitutional.

The Philippine Bar Association, Inc. (PBA), in a statement posted on its social media page on Monday, asked Mr. Duterte, “a brother in the legal profession, to immediately recall his twin directives that in our view constitute clear violations of the Constitution.”

The PBA explained that Mr. Duterte’s orders go against the separation of powers of the three branches of government — executive, legislative, and judicial — under the Constitution, which in turn “upsets our system of checks and balances.”

It further said that the directives are “detrimental” to Filipinos who demand public accountability from officials and others involved in the alleged deficiencies in pandemic spending and is a “disservice to the principle of civilian supremacy over the military.”

In a televised public address Monday night, Mr. Duterte announced that he has issued a memo to bar his Cabinet officials from participating in the ongoing investigation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee into the government’s controversial pandemic deals, specifically those linked to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

“We cannot allow blatant disrespect of resource persons at the ongoing hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee,” Mr. Duterte said in a taped Cabinet meeting aired Monday night.

On Sept. 29, Mr. Duterte also ordered the military and police to ignore the Senate’s warrants of arrest in relation to the probe.

Several business groups and academic institutions have earlier urged all parties involved to cooperate with the Senate investigation as the Filipino people “deserve a full and fair accounting” of how the government spent taxpayers’ money.

Meanwhile, senators also asserted that the President’s directives are “unconstitutional.”

“This has all the red flags of unconstitutionality. It only covers this particular blue ribbon committee hearing. I cannot see any other memorandum as blatantly unconstitutional as what we have before us,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said during Tuesday’s hearing.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said the mandate was “Gordon-specific,” since the ban did not include investigations under the House of Representatives, referring to Senator Richard J. Gordon, chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Commission on Audit (CoA) Chairman Michael G. Aguinaldo said the Senate’s probe had provided significant contributions on their intention to undertake a special audit of transactions relating to Pharmally.

“You are in the right position to ask questions about that (dubious transactions),” Mr. Aguinaldo told Mr. Gordon during the hearing.

The Senate probe was prompted by the CoA’s 2020 report flagging the Budget department’s procurement service, which awarded the pandemic supply contracts to Pharmally. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago, Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

House leaders to seek reelection

October 5, 2021 | 8:20 pm

HOUSE Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco filed his certificate of candidacy on Tuesday for a third and last consecutive term in the House of Representatives.

He will run as representative of the lone district of Marinduque.

“I’m really grateful to the people of Marinduque for giving me many chances and I’m asking them for another one so I can continue to champion their interests and welfare in Congress,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Velasco assumed the House leadership in Oct. 2020 after the ouster of then speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano.

He first became Marinduque representative in 2010 but lost in 2013 to Regina Ongsiako Reyes-Mandanas, where he disputed the result due to citizenship issues which was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Velasco was later proclaimed as the legitimate Marinduque representative by the House Electoral Tribunal following the court’s ruling and was sworn in on Feb. 2016.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas City Rep. Camille A. Villar is also seeking her second term in the lower chamber as she filed her certificate of candidacy on Tuesday. — Russell Louis C. Ku

7 more file certificates to join race for Senate

October 5, 2021 | 8:20 pm

ANOTHER seven certificates of candidacy for senator were filed Tuesday, bringing the total candidates to 46 as of the 5^th of an eight-day filing period.

The top 12 senators will be proclaimed winners in the May 2022 national and local elections.

Among those who filed Tuesday were lawyer Lorenzo G. Gadon, who is running for the third time after losing in 2016 and 2019.

Nur-Ana Sahidulla, an advocate of peace and unification of Muslims and non-Muslims, also filed a certificated under the Katipunan Pamilya Pilipino.

Vying as independent senatorial candidates are: Samuel A. Jardin; Orlando Bernardo; Norberto Esmeralda, Jr.;Joseph Dy; and Paul M. Escolano. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan