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Privacy regulator issues security guidelines for online data collection

ELECTRONIC DATA collection for contact tracing must have adequate security safeguards, with devices using updated operating systems and security patches, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) said.

The commission on Thursday released advisory 2020-03 as additional guidance for workplaces processing data for pandemic response. The advisory details NPC rules on collecting and sharing data, including the use of digital forms.

For electronic-based data collection, NPC said that data storage and transmission must be encrypted, while the devices used must be regularly scanned for viruses and malware.

Users filling out forms must also be required to complete each field so that information is complete, and the autocomplete feature must be disabled.

Access to the data, the commission said, should also be limited to authorized personnel.

“The electronic devices deployed must be enabled with an automatic lock feature, encrypted with a password or protected with biometrics for login and equipped with a remote wipe functionality, whenever practical, so that data are securely deleted should the device be reported lost or stolen.”

When using QR (Quick Response) codes to log health declarations, a privacy notice with the contact number of the establishment’s data protection officer must be displayed beside the code.

“Where QR codes are used, establishments should assign a unique QR code to each employee,” NPC said. When scanned on entry to the premises, the code will automatically log each employee health declaration to their system.

“For Clients/Visitors, QR codes posted in the entrance of the establishment may be used. Such codes, when scanned by a mobile phone camera, shall link to an electronic web form to be filled out by clients visiting the premises.”

The commission reminded establishments that data collected should only be used for contact tracing, and should not be used for direct marketing and profiling. NPC had received reports that businesses have been misusing contact tracing information, such as customer names, ages, addresses, and contact details.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we are seeing an unprecedented manner of data collection and processing, which proportionally also increased its associated privacy risks. Data privacy is crucial to the survival of businesses and therefore must be embedded into processes or policies that involve the personal data of employees and customers,” Privacy Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro said.

Personal data should only be disclosed to the Health department and its partner agencies, local government units, and other authorized entities. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Bill requiring relocation of informal settlers within or near same city clears House panel

A MEASURE requiring informal settlers to be relocated within or near the same city or municipality has passed out of committee at the House of Representatives.

The House Committee on Housing and Urban Development approved Wednesday House Bill No. (HB) 4869, or the proposed Local Government Unit-led On-site, In-City or Near-City Resettlement Act, which seeks to amend Republic Act. No. 7279 or the Urban Development and House Act of 1992.

HB 4896 authorizes local government-based resettlement programs to implement on-site, in-city, near-city, or off-city resettlement strategies for informal settlers.

The bill also requires consultation and hearings with affected families and civil society organizations before a relocation or demolition takes place.

The measure requires the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, in collaboration with LGUs, to provide basic services and livelihood for the relocated families.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus B. Rodriquez, the bill’s author, said the Constitution requires the government to “undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.”

Citing a study by the University of Asia and the Pacific, Mr. Rodriguez said the country is projected to have a “housing need of 12.3 million by 2030.

“The housing and resettlement policy is primarily offsite relocation. The government builds houses for informal settler families in areas outside Metro Manila or in rural areas in Cagayan de Oro, where there is lack of employment, sustainable livelihood and social services,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Rodriguez noted that many of those who had agreed to be relocated often returned to the capital region and other urban centers for jobs, healthcare and other services.

“Thus the need for onsite, in-city or near-city resettlement, which upholds the urban poor’s right to the city in order to comply with our Constitution’s mandate,” he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Agri dep’t livestock, poultry program targets aid distribution to cooperatives, farmer groups

A P377-million Agriculture department aid program for livestock and poultry will be given to cooperatives “clusters” of 15 farmers or more affected by the pandemic and various animal diseases, with the group channels designed to improve distribution efficiency.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said qualified beneficiaries will initially receive animals to revive their herds and flocks and serve as an additional source of income.

“We aim to help farm families recover from the loss of jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those whose hogs and poultry stocks were depopulated due to the African Swine Fever or avian influenza (bird flu), respectively,” Mr. Dar said.

He said beneficiaries must belong to a group of at least 15 farmers, or a cooperative, association, or organization.

The project will be implemented by the Bureau of Animal Industry and falls under the DA’s National Livestock Program.

The DA said beneficiaries are expected to realize earnings in as little as two months for those involved in broiler production, while those in the layer chicken and livestock sectors can benefit within four to six months.

The project will also provide animal feed and farm equipment.

The poultry restocking part of the program includes P15,000 worth of broiler chicks; P55,000 worth of hens, roosters, feed, and incubators for native chicken and egg producers; and ducks and drakes at P35,000 worth of ducks and drakes for duck and duck egg producers.

The livestock component involves P25,000 worth of piglets and feed; and P30,000 to P120,000 worth of goats or carabaos. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Literacy rate estimated at 93.8% among 5 year olds or older — PSA

THE literacy rate was estimated at 93.8% among those five years old or older, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, citing survey results.

The PSA’s 2019 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) returned that estimate for “basic literacy,” defined as to read and write “with understanding of simple messages in any language or dialect.”

This corresponds to around 90.8 million Filipinos out of 96.8 million who are considered to be literate on a basic level, or around six million above the age of five who cannot read or write.

Females recorded a basic literacy rate of 94.5% while males were literate at a rate of 93.2%.

Those in the 15-19 age bracket were 98.6% literate on a basic level, while those aged 5-9 had the lowest rate at 73.2%.

Metro Manila posted the highest basic literacy rate of 97.6%, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was bottom of the table at 78.7%.

Those who had completed at a least junior high education were deemed 100% literate. The corresponding rate for those who had completed an “early childhood education” was 40.1%.

The PSA survey also returned a literacy rate of 94.4% for those that had access to electricity, against 82.1% for those with no access.

The urban-rural split in basic literacy for those with access to electricity was 95.9% to 92.5% in favor of urban households.

For those without electricity, the corresponding literacy rates were 88.3% for urban households and 79.1% for rural.

The segment of the population 10 years and over posted a basic literacy rate of 96.5% — the same rate recorded in 2013. Within this segment, the gender breakdown was 97.1% for females and 95.9% for males.

There was no discrepancy in basic literacy among the unemployed and employed aged 15 years old and older, with both at 96.1%.

Those who worked for government or in any government-owned and controlled corporation were 99.3% literate while those who worked without pay or in family-operated farms or business had the lowest rate of 91.9%.

Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Economist John Paolo R. Rivera attributed the “overall high literacy rate” to developments in the curriculum in the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels that “put weight on reading, writing, comprehension, and mathematics.”

“Teacher training in the country is also very rigorous. The efforts of Filipino educators cannot be underestimated,” Mr. Rivera said in a text message.

University of Asia and the Pacific Senior Economist Cid L. Terosa noted the unchanged basic literacy rate for those 10 years and over in 2019 from 2013 is “alarming… since one would expect the basic literacy rate to improve even minimally after six years.”

“(T)his reflects the possibility that efforts to improve proficiency in basic literacy skills (reading and writing) have not progressed or the quality of education has not pushed basic literacy higher. Also, it is possible that better access to education has not resulted in exemplary results in terms of acquiring basic literacy skills due to inadequate quality and quantity of educational facilities and teachers,” Mr. Terosa said in an e-mail.

“Some of the factors affecting the basic literacy rate in the Philippines are the inadequate public provisioning of educational services and facilities, constrained access to public education, and insufficient upskilling of teachers,” Mr. Terosa added.

Mr. Terosa expects literacy rates to drop this year as the coronavirus pandemic persists.

“The decline in real per capita incomes of many households, particularly those in the lower income classes, and glaring inequalities in access to educational technology that is apt for the current condition, are two of the most important factors that would stall or derail the quest to reach higher levels of basic and functional literacy,” he said.

AIM’s Mr. Rivera said literacy rates may be maintained assuming the satisfactory performance of blended learning  programs.

“We need to make sure learning assessments and outcomes are monitored, learning materials are at par and effective,” Mr. Rivera said.

FLEMMS is conducted every five years with the latest iteration being the sixth in the series of literacy surveys that began in 1989. The 2019 survey ran from November to December 2019. — Jobo E. Hernandez

Windmills of corruption and racing to the bottom

In two parts, we discussed in our column in another broadsheet the Philippines’ deficit in public governance in the context of managing the pandemic crisis and navigating through a sensitive trade-off between health and economic recovery (“Of substance and spirit,” Manila Bulletin, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22).

It is the same deficit that breeds “untrammeled corruption in government,” something that President Rodrigo Duterte bewailed two days ago. The President ordered Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to lead the investigation of the entire bureaucracy through the so-called “mega task force” with expanded powers until the end of his term on June 30, 2022.

With less than two years in office, the President sadly wasted four years fighting the windmills of corruption with very little to show for it.

For public governance and administration of justice in the Philippines, unlike COVID-19 facilities, have hundreds of rooms for improvement. Let’s talk about numbers. Not everyone knows that the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) maintains a website, though it needs some updating, to monitor the Philippines’ performance in relation to various international indices that measure how we fare in relation to governance and administration of justice. The NEDA monitors the country’s ratings in the Open Budget Index, Ease of Doing Business, Economic Freedom, Global Competitive Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, Worldwide Governance Indicators and World Justice Project-Rule of Law Index.

If we want to move as one whole society, it is hardly enough to get the bad eggs in government, prosecute them, and shame them. There are other equally crucial aspects of governance that have to be improved if we are to advance fast.

Focusing first on the Open Budget Index is important because that would tell us about the transparency of the budget process. For 2019, the Philippines ranked 10th out of 107 countries representing an improvement from its 2017’s ranking of 19th out of 115 countries. The country’s score surpassed those of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Ease of Doing Business covers the simplicity of business regulation and implementation. For the 2020 report, the country managed to land 95th out of 190 countries, a big leap from 124th last year. However, we are the lowest among the five founding ASEAN countries.

In terms of the Economic Freedom Index, the Philippines ranked 70th freest in the 2020 rating based on its performance in the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, government size and open markets. We are 14th among the 42 countries in the Asia-Pacific region with a score well above the regional and world averages.

A big let-down was seen in the country’s Global Competitiveness Index for 2019, dropping from 56th out of 140 countries to 64th out of 141 countries. Almost all the components of the Philippines dropped specifically on infrastructure and delays in delivery of public services. We are behind Singapore’s 1st, Malaysia’s 27th, Thailand’s 40th and Indonesia’s 50th.

An interesting performance of the country was in Worldwide Governance Indicators for 2018, as updated last year. The Philippines scored the lowest in the control of corruption and rule of law. We were high in government effectiveness and regulatory quality.

Finally, the last two governance indicators — Corruption Perceptions Index and World Justice Project – Rule of Law — mirror the indicators on corruption control and rule of law in the Worldwide Governance Indicators.

In anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International’s ranking for 2019, the Philippines slipped 14 notches, scoring 34 and placing 113th in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) out of 180 countries, from its previous 99th spot. Our CPI score was lower than the average of 45 among Asia-Pacific countries.

In terms of the World Justice Project – Rule of Law Index, we scored lowest in fundamental rights, order and security and criminal justice. Out of the participating 113 countries, we ranked 88th. We bested only Cambodia and Myanmar in the ASEAN 10.

What these numbers are telling us is undeniably clear. In most of these metrics of public governance and administration of justice, the Philippines is lagging behind ASEAN even as our macroeconomic performance in the last 20 years has been quite stellar. We can just imagine how we could have consolidated our good economic fortunes with only a small deficit in public governance, and not as huge as these numbers show, to produce a role model of an economy that did its homework in pursuing policy and structural reforms, as well as in trying to do big in infrastructure.

It is not helping that some were cynical about the latest directive of the President for the Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate everyone in government. Very few gave credence to the previous directive for the DoJ to investigate alleged corruption in PhilHealth because even before the exercise began, the Health Secretary was already exonerated. The latest judicial exercise is no less unnecessary. While ordering the investigation of the Public Works department, the Department Secretary was simultaneously declared innocent. Both the Health and Public Works Secretaries are men of great means and integrity and therefore, they do not need the Palace to shield them from any congressional inquiry or action by the Ombudsman.

There is little wisdom for the Palace to substitute itself for the proper public agencies tasked to establish the truth. In the case of the Health Secretary, for example, despite the presidential clemency supporting him, two House committees decided to recommend the filing of charges against him and other PhilHealth executives. The Ombudsman also suspended five Health Department officials for the delay in the release of the health workers’ benefits during the lockdown and eight PhilHealth officials for the alleged irregular release of P2.7 billion from the insurer’s interim reimbursement mechanism.

Prudence dictates silence on the part of the Palace after issuing its directive. Secretary Guevarra with his impeccable record of integrity and straight thoroughness can be relied upon to take it from there.

No one can argue with the timely action of the President especially in the twilight of his constitutional term. Corruption seems to be mushrooming and metamorphosing even to “pastillas.” Thus, the Ombudsman suspended for six months 44 Bureau of Immigration officials and personnel for allegedly “allowing the unchecked entry of foreigners, mostly Chinese, into the country in exchange for bribes.”

What is most bothersome is the best-kept secret of some congressmen’s reported involvement in extracting pork from the national budget. The 2021 budget, even before it completes the legislative mill, has been torn apart by so many competing demands. Money is needed to finance our health measures including the long-awaited vaccines as much as social safety nets and infrastructure. Since public revenues are challenged this year and the next, our Treasury can fund the budget only with more loans and bond floats. Every peso counts and therefore appropriating the national budget for private gains is unconscionable.

We read with so much trepidation last Monday, the broadsheets’ report of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission’s announcement that they have a list of some congressmen involved in “corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways” that they would submit to the President and appropriate agencies for proper disposition. This report is not alone in its allegation.

Two days ago, last Wednesday, PhilStar columnist Jarius Bondoc cited a figure of P532 billion in the 2021 budget, or more than 11%, as “plunderable.” These are “lump sums and rehashed items from (2020) public works program.” Bondoc quoted Senator Ping Lacson saying “Legislators make the laws; Executive officials enforce (them). But every budget year congressmen and bureaucrats collude to break the law.”

Putting these instances of alleged corruption in the public domain is just the first step. It will not define our commitment to good governance. It will not enhance our ratings in the CPI. Investigation, presentation of evidence and prosecution will.

Not that corruption is something new; it has been with us since ancient times. Vito Tanzi of the IMF, writing in 2002, cited Kautilya, the prime minister of an Indian kingdom writing about corruption 2,000 years ago in his book Arthashastra. Who can forget Dante of the Medieval Age who assigned those guilty of bribery in the deepest parts of hell? Shakespeare made corruption as popular as many of his plays.

Corruption is simply the abuse of public power for private benefit. Reading Tanzi’s article in the book Governance, Corruption, Economic Performance by George T. Abed and Sanjeev Gupta, should give us some historical perspective. The Philippines’ score in the CPI in 1998 was 56th out of 85 countries which means there were 55 countries with higher ranking or some 66% of the sample countries. About 20 years later, we were 113th out of 180 countries. There were 112 other countries that scored higher than the Philippines or around 63%. It was also during this period that we saw the Philippines’ excellent performance of 20 years of sustained, uninterrupted growth.

The Fund also presented some econometric results that corruption reduces investment and economic growth as well as expenditure on education and health. It also pushes up public investment because “public investment projects lend themselves easily to manipulations by high-level officials to get bribes.”

If President Duterte’s campaign proves credible and inspires support from the whole of civil society especially those with propensity to bad governance, perhaps our economic managers do not have to revise their prognosis and forecast of grim scenarios for this year and the next. There would be no need to race to the bottom.

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

Unreason as norm

Although already all-powerful by 1972, Ferdinand Marcos still delivered his public statements with care. Only rarely did he allow his temper to break through his carefully contrived image as articulate, civilized and reasonable.

He did raise his voice when during a press conference an American journalist confronted him with the latest human rights violations of his fascist regime. But he neither insulted him nor cursed. No profanity ever escaped Marcos’ lips in public throughout his nearly two-decade rule. He apparently approved his propagandists’ description of Corazon Aquino as “a mere housewife” when she ran against him in the snap elections of 1986, but that wasn’t really as insulting as it seemed. Being a housewife is, after all, an honorable calling despite what misogynists may think.

The “mere housewife” proved to be Marcos’ undoing not only by winning the elections, but also by being the rallying symbol of the 1986 EDSA mutiny that finally removed him from power.

Despite the coup attempts against her, once in Malacañang Aquino remained as gracious as her finishing school education had trained her to be. Only when a columnist claimed that she had hidden under her bed during one such incident did she reveal a hitherto unknown side of her by filing a libel complaint against the alleged offender, and inviting the media into her bedroom to prove that there was not enough space under her bed to hide in. But filing that libel complaint was the limit of her use of presidential power against a member of the press, although she imposed a dress code — no T-shirts and denims in her presence, please — on journalists covering her.

Fidel Ramos took what journalists said about him and his administration seriously enough to phone them to explain his side of things or to invite them to breakfast so he could get a better press. But he too tried to sound as presidential as his former boss Marcos even in those times when he felt unjustly criticized.

Joseph Estrada launched an advertising boycott against the broadsheet he detested most, and filed a P100-million libel complaint against another. But despite his “bad boy” filmdom-inspired pretensions, he never quite went beyond late night drinking and associating with riffraff to curse critics publicly or threaten them with harm.

Neither did Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, despite the many scandals that hounded her regime. She kept her composure despite her low approval and trust ratings, and tried to sound as academic and as reasonable as her having a PhD in economics demanded. In 2004 she even confessed to a “lapse in judgment” when she called a Comelec official during that year’s elections. She left the foul labeling of critics to her subalterns.

Benigno Aquino III was too much his mother’s son to curse or threaten anyone, although he did complain often about the press, and downplayed the killing of journalists during his term. Despite his obvious limitations, he was enough of a gentleman to occasionally listen to criticisms so as to contradict them without rancor or arrogance.

Every President has set the tone and shaped the messaging of his or her administration on public issues, and is also among the most likely models for imitation by officials as well as ordinary citizens.

Rodrigo Duterte is no exception. But uniquely among Philippine Presidents, all of whom have at least tried to endow their policies with some coherence and what they say with a semblance of tolerance for dissenting views, over the four-and-a-half years that he has been in power, Mr. Duterte has disdained criticism, dismissed it as of no value, insulted and cursed critics and even threatened them, and in general cultivated a give-them-hell model of regime discourse.

Among its consequences is some of his officials’ adopting his model as their own in dealing with criticism and citizen concern over the wisdom, honesty, justice, or effectiveness of government policies in addressing the issues and problems that confront the nation. Perhaps part of the reason is their perception that since Mr. Duterte seems to be as popular as ever, berating critics as he does is acceptable to the public.

The fear factor helps explain Mr. Duterte’s phenomenally high approval and trust ratings despite the corruption scandals that have rocked his administration and its less than sterling handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. But even if those ratings accurately reflect public sentiments, they are not as transferable as these officials may think.

They nevertheless make free with their views which very often are interpreted by the citizenry not only as government policy but even as echoes of Mr. Duterte’s own opinions, hence the occasional need for his Spokesperson to correct such impressions. But despite the usual “clarifications” from Malacañang, some still persist in airing and defending even the most outrageous views on public issues. They refuse to weigh their words carefully, apparently because they think themselves infallible and accountable to no one.

Not only are they mistaken in that assumption. Their hostility to criticism is also counter-productive. Defending what the government does is best served through reasoned discourse. It defies logic why some regime officials launch name-calling tirades rather than, for example, explaining why the suggestions of the University of the Philippines Marine Sciences Institute on the rehabilitation of Manila Bay are unacceptable. The same may be said about reacting to public criticism of police and prison officials’ brazenly inhuman acts by dismissing the grief of a mother over the death of her child as merely staged for dramatic effect while at the same time accusing her of crimes for which she has not been convicted.

Both reactions provoke further criticism and even outrage not only from ordinary citizens but even from their fellow officials themselves. No one can blame those who, as a result, end up concluding that regime bureaucrats focus on non-essentials because the administration they’re serving can’t even articulate its own policies and actions.

It didn’t use to be necessary to remind the bureaucracy that the citizens of this rumored democracy have not only the right but also the duty to call the government to account, and that as their sovereigns are entitled to hear from them more than profanities, arrogant displays of power, and evasion.

Conceding that in some instances both ordinary citizens and the experts in fields they’re unfamiliar with may be right; admitting errors so flagrant they cannot be denied; and assuring the public that complaints will be seriously studied and addressed should be second nature to everyone in government. Contrary to their usual mantra that they serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority, they are in office only with the consent of the citizens who have delegated their sovereign powers to the officials they elect. They are the people’s servants, not their masters.

Because of the loss of civility and any sense of public duty in the discourse of some of its officials, the citizenry has to remind them from time to time of these fundamentals of public service in a government that claims to be democratic. But as unteachable as many regime functionaries are, they will continue to validate the growing perception that the administration they’re part of has made irrational speech the norm and is beyond redemption.

 

Portions of this piece were part of this columnist’s answers to the questions of another broadsheet on the hostility to criticism of some Duterte administration officials.

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

Mandatory public mask laws are unconstitutional

FREEPIK

In 1918 the Spanish flu wrought its way across the United States. Within a near two year span, the virus would end up killing 675,000 Americans, around 500 million people worldwide.

Amidst the carnage, mask wearing became an issue. “Masks were called muzzles, germ shields and dirt traps,” and “bandits used them to rob banks,” wrote the New York Times’ Christine Hauser (“The Mask Slackers of 1918,” The New York Times, Aug. 3, 2020).

The thing is: mandatory public mask policies don’t work.

One prominent California physician in 1918, Dr. J.C. Bainbridge, was reported then as saying that “the common use of the mask tends to propagate rather than check influenza.” He went on to say that “the mask arrests bacteria influenza. The masks are part of the face, it catches more germs than would the nose and mouth without it, since the catcher is broadened many times by its use.”

Many other doctors of the time agreed with the assessment that public mask policies were ineffective.

It thus becomes understandable why the World Health Organization consistently advised the public (up to early June 2020) not to wear masks: “the widespread use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not yet supported by high quality or direct scientific evidence and there are potential benefits and harms to consider” (“Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19,” June 2020, interim guidance, https://www.who.int/publications).

Both the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services also advised the public against mask wearing.

The CDC (in its May 2020 Policy Review) said it “found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.” The US Surgeon General even tweeted that masks “are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus.”

That all of the aforementioned health officials would make a complete reversal of their position against masks is a mystery that needs to be brought to light. “Science” couldn’t be the reason for their turnaround.

Denis Rancourt, former physics professor at the University of Ottawa, with hundreds of medical journal articles to his name, explains: “Masks and respirators do not work. There have been extensive randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies, and meta-analysis reviews of RCT studies, which all show that masks and respirators do not work to prevent respiratory influenza-like illnesses, or respiratory illnesses believed to be transmitted by droplets and aerosol particles.” (“Censored: A Review Of Science Relevant To COVID-19 Social Policy And Why Face Masks Don’t Work,” April 2020, posted on various websites including www.rcreader.com, www.technocracy.news, covidinfos.net, and straightlinelogic.com)

Dr. Rancourt is not alone in saying so.

Oxford’s Dr. Carl Heneghan, director of the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine: “Despite two decades of pandemic preparedness, there is considerable uncertainty as to the value of wearing masks” (“Masking lack of evidence with politics,” www.cebm.net, July 2020).

Many other European experts agree. Henning Bundgaard, chief physician at Denmark’s Rigshospitale, says that “all these countries recommending face masks haven’t made their decisions based on new studies.”  Medical Care Minister Tamara van Ark chimes in: “From a medical point of view, there is no evidence of a medical effect of wearing face masks, so we decided not to impose a national obligation.” Then there’s Sweden’s Anders Tegnell: “We see no point in wearing a face mask in Sweden, not even on public transport.” (“Europe’s Top Health Officials Say Masks Aren’t Helpful in Beating COVID-19,” Foundation for Economic Education, August 2020)

And the more information that comes in, the more evidence there is against public mask policies.

The US CDC (in its Report dated Sept. 11, 2020) pointed to a study showing that 85% of those who got infected “always” or “often” wore masks, while 70% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 “always” wore masks.

This is echoed by White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Scott Atlas: “general population masks and mask mandates do not work” and noted that “infections exploded even with mandates in Los Angeles County, Miami-Dade County, Hawaii, Alabama, the Philippines, Japan and other places.”

And contrary to those who keep inanely blaming Filipinos and their supposedly “pasaway” (disobedient) attitude, our citizens are actually amongst the most mask compliant in the world (see YouGov/Imperial College July 2020 survey).

This amidst the world’s longest (and still ongoing) lockdown.

Bottomline: if the science on public mask wearing shows that such is useless or doesn’t work, or at the very least uncertain, then for the government to make public mask wearing a mandatory requirement is arbitrary, capricious, and even perhaps despotic.

It is one thing to recommend people to wear masks. But to force people to wear masks under risks of penalty is simple government overreach. Government power is and should be strictly confined to what is provided for under the Constitution. If the government is allowed to make unnecessary, arbitrary rules against its own citizenry, such is indulging in unconstitutional acts that could only eventually lead (if history is any guide) to unbridled government power.

If that happens, COVID-19 will be the least of our problems. Masks, merely unhelpful now, will be utterly inutile.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

jemygatdula@yahoo.com

www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com

facebook.com/jemy.gatdula

Twitter @jemygatdula

Eduard ‘Landslide’ Folayang in ‘crossroads’ fight Inside the Matrix

FILIPINO MMA STAR EDUARD FOLAYANG returns to fight at “ONE: Inside The Matrix” on Friday. — ALVIN S. GO

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo , Senior Reporter

FILIPINO mixed martial arts (MMA) star Eduard “Landslide” Folayang returns to the ONE Championship stage on Friday in what many consider as a “crossroads” fight for him that would dictate the direction of his career from here on.

Mr. Folayang, 36, of Team Lakay of Baguio City will be part of the card of “ONE: Inside The Matrix” at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, taking on Australian Antonio “The Spartan” Caruso in a three-round lightweight battle.

Eyes will be on the former two-time ONE lightweight champion as he shows he still has it amid calls by some for him to call it a career already, more so after losing three of his last four fights.

“For now, I’m not even thinking about how long I have left to compete. It’s not on my mind right now. The only thing I’m focused on is Oct. 30, and my goal. I want to accomplish the mission and take home the victory,” said Mr. Folayang (22-9).

“Critics will always be there, whether you’re doing well or you’re not. I just want to go in there and do my thing. I’ve been in this game a long time, and I know enough not to dwell on what my critics say. I think my performance in this event will speak for itself,” he added.

Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao fully supports his veteran ward, sharing Mr. Folayang has put in the necessary work to make his ONE return after months of absence because of the coronavirus pandemic a success.

“I believe in him (Folayang), and for as long as the fire is still there I believe he can still do it. Physically I feel like we’re 100 percent prepared,” said Mr. Sangiao.

Mr. Folayang last fought in ONE in January here in the country at “ONE: Fire & Fury” where he lost to Pieter Buist of the Netherlands by split decision.

A short-notice replacement opponent, Mr. Buist’s length proved problematic for Mr. Folayang in said fight.

He tried to find ways to better combat his opponent, but in the end, two of three judges saw the bout in favor of Mr. Buist.

In three fights in 2019, meanwhile, Mr. Folayang went 1-2, losing to MMA legends Shinya Aoki of Japan and Eddie Alvarez of the United States early in the year before bouncing back with a technical decision victory over Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu of Mongolia in November.

Against Mr. Caruso (7-1), the Filipino is expecting a no-easy challenge, leaving him more determined to see his cause through.

“As always, my biggest motivations in life and my career are my family, my country, and God. I will continue to fight for those that matter to me most… I’m focused on inspiring more young athletes with my performances, and lifting the spirits of my people in the Philippines. I continue to fight more for my country than for my own personal gain,” he said.

ONE: Inside the Matrix is highlighted by four world title fights, headlined by the middleweight world championship clash between champion Aung La Nsang of Myanmar and challenger Reinier De Rigger of the Netherlands.

Co-headlining is lightweight champion Christian Lee of Singapore versus Moldova’s Iuri Lapicus.

Featherweight champ Martin Nguyen of Vietnam/Australia, meanwhile, clashes with Thanh Lee of Vietnam/United States while women’s strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan of China tries to defend her belt against Tiffany Yeo of Singapore.

Inside The Matrix will be shown live here over One Sports at 9 p.m. with an encore telecast on Oct. 31 at 11 p.m. over TV5.

Strong finish pushes Alaska past Phoenix

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

The Alaska Aces used a strong fourth-quarter push to outlast the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, 105-97, in their PBA Philippine Cup match on Thursday at the Angeles University Foundation Arena in Pampanga.

Found themselves in a nip-and-tuck affair with the Fuel Masters for much of the time, the Aces saw a chance to make a run in the fourth quarter and capitalized on it to go on and win and take their record in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association tournament to five wins as opposed to three losses.

The loss, meanwhile, stopped a two-game winning streak for Phoenix (4-3). 

The opening half of the contest was marked by runs and counter-runs.

Phoenix rode Calvin Abueva and its hot shooting from beyond the arc to speed to a 29-19 advantage in the first 12 minutes of the match.

But in the second quarter it was Alaska which would explode early, led by the hot hands of JVee Casio.

The Aces would outscore the Fuel Masters, 23-12, in the first six minutes of the frame to take their first lead, 42-41.

Phoenix, however, regained its footing and finished the quarter strong to build a 55-49 cushion at the break.

The pendulum pace of the game continued in the third canto.

The Fuel Masters went on a 7-3 run to stretch their lead to double digits, 62-52, by the 9:37 mark.

Then in the next two minutes Alaska unleashed a 9-0 blast to come within a point, 62-61.

Phoenix survived the onslaught, establishing a wider distance anew, 71-61, with four minutes left in the frame before settling with a 75-71 lead after three quarters. 

The affair was tight to begin the payoff quarter as both teams would not budge and sought control. 

The count stood at 81-80, with Alaska slightly ahead, with 8:55 to go.

Michael DiGregorio, however, started to heat up from three-point land to key an 8-0 run in the next minute and a half to help the Aces build an 89-80 advantage.

The Fuel Masters tried to regain some real estate after but the Aces kept their opponents’ push to a bare minimum.

Alaska’s lead ballooned to 15 points, 97-82, with 4:14 left on the clock.

Phoenix made a last-ditch effort to salvage the win behind Matthew Wright.

It got to trim its deficit to just six points, 103-97, with 37 seconds to go.

The Fuel Masters though would not go near beyond that as Alaska held on for the win.

Vic Manuel led the way for the Aces with 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Mr. Digregorio had 21 points with Mr. Casio finishing with 13.

Phoenix, meanwhile, had Mr. Wright top-scoring with 27 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.

Mr. Abueva had 18 points and eight boards while Justin Chua finished with 15 markers.

Alaska next plays the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (4-2) on Nov. 1 while Phoenix returns to the court on Nov. 3 against the Blackwater Elite (2-3).

China growth lifts Asia as virus persists and US election nears

BEIJING/SEOUL — Asia is starting to see signs of economic recovery as it rides on the back of an upturn in China, which is entering a new expansion phase less than a year after it recorded the world’s first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

While international attention has been focused on the looming US election and the struggle to halt the spread of the coronavirus in the Americas and Europe, China has quietly been clocking up improvements in several key sectors.

After imposing some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures early in the pandemic, China is now the only major economy forecast by the International Monetary Fund to report growth — of 1.9% — this year.

Official data showed China’s economy grew 4.9% in the September quarter from a year earlier, following 3.2% growth in the second quarter and a 6.8% contraction at the start of the year when the domestic coronavirus outbreak was at its peak and lockdowns were imposed.

“The underlying details … make clear that the new expansion phase China is entering will prove strong and resilient,” Westpac senior economist Elliot Clarke said.

“As the world contracts by 4% in 2020, China is set to grow around 2%. And come 2021, a key support for world growth of around 6% will be near-10% growth in China.”

For China’s neighbors, that growth is increasing demand for their exports and supporting activity in their own economies.

“China remains the only major commodity consumer where industrial production is now higher than pre-COVID levels,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts said.

China’s imports surged 13.2% year on year in September, with a 28% rise in semiconductor imports a boon for Taiwan and South Korea in particular.

The flow-on for Seoul is already evident. Data on Tuesday showed South Korea posted its fastest quarterly growth rate in a decade in the September quarter, expanding a seasonally adjusted 1.9% after a 3.2% contraction the previous quarter. Exports soared 15.6% in the third quarter, the biggest rise since 1986 and largely reversing a 16.1% contraction in the second quarter.

“Exports rapidly improved on the back of recovery in China and other major economies, which spearheaded our third quarter growth,” Finance minister Hong Nam-ki said on Tuesday.

China’s early recovery has also been a relief for Japan, as China is the destination for more than 22% of its overall exports, just ahead of the 19% share that heads to the United States.

Japan’s exports to China jumped 14% in the year to September, the biggest rise in more than two years, driven by robust demand for nonferrous metals, chip-making equipment and automobiles.

That is giving the Bank of Japan (BOJ) some optimism over the domestic outlook, with industry feedback pointing to improving demand from China.

“Automobile sales in China are increasing from year before levels after economic activity resumed. We’re seeing an increase in auto-parts exports to China,” a transport machinery maker in Nagoya was quoted as saying in the BOJ’s quarterly report on the regional economies. Taiwan is also benefiting, even as political tensions with Beijing remain high. Its exports to China rose an annual 22% in September, and export orders, a key leading gauge for global tech demand, rose 9.9% as Chinese orders jumped by almost one-third.

RISKS REMAIN
China’s renewed growth has been spread across several sectors, including manufacturing, construction, investment and domestic demand.

There are risks to the outlook, however, including the potential that some economies shut down again to tame the coronavirus, a scenario mining giant Rio Tinto flagged in a production report.

While Rio noted strong global activity in the third quarter, it also cautioned that a range of data suggested “the rate of recovery in growth is slowing in most economies, with pent-up demand dissipating, and the rise of renewed lockdowns threatening recovery”.

Further, any escalation of China-US trade hostilities or other geopolitical tensions after the US presidential election would also be a risk for Asia’s hopes of sustained economic recovery. — Reuters

Record 200 days with no local cases makes Taiwan envy of world

WHILE many countries around the world are hitting new highs in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, Taiwan has achieved a different kind of record — 200 days without a locally transmitted case.

Taiwan holds the world’s best virus record by far and reached the new landmark on Thursday, even as the pathogen explodes anew in Europe and the US Taiwan’s last local case came on April 12; there has been no second wave.

What did this island with 23 million people do right? It has had 550 confirmed cases, with only seven deaths. Experts say closing borders early and tightly regulating travel have gone a long way toward fighting the virus. Other factors include rigorous contact tracing, technology-enforced quarantine and universal mask wearing. Further, Taiwan’s deadly experience with SARS has scared people into compliance.

“Taiwan is the only major country that has so far been able to keep community transmission of COVID eliminated,” said Peter Collignon, an infectious disease physician and professor at the Australian National University Medical School. Taiwan “probably had the best result around the world,” he said, and it’s “even more impressive” for an economy with a population about the same size as Australia’s, with many people living close to one another in apartments.

Curve of Taiwan’s confirmed cases remains flat compared with Australia’s.

Taiwan will be among the few economies to grow this year, with the government in August forecasting that the gross domestic product will expand 1.56% in 2020.

Still, Taiwan isn’t out of the woods yet as it recorded 20 imported cases in the past two weeks, mostly from Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. And others that fought the virus well initially, like Singapore and Japan, then had spikes in cases.

What countries with surging infections can take away from Taiwan’s experience is that nothing works without contact tracing those who have tested positive and then quarantining them, said Chen Chien-jen, Taiwan’s former vice president and an epidemiologist, in an interview.

Also, as it’s not easy to make people stay in quarantine, Taiwan has taken steps to provide meal and grocery delivery and even some friendly contact via Line Bot, a robot that texts and chats. There is also punishment — those who break quarantine face fines of up to NT$1million ($35,000).

Here is how Taiwan has achieved its milestone:

Border control.  Taiwan shut down to all non-residents shortly after the pandemic broke out in January and has kept tight control over its borders since. “Taiwan’s continual success is due to strict enforcement of border control,” says Jason Wang, director of Stanford University’s Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention. That includes symptom-based surveillance before travelers board flights and digital fence tracking via cellular signals to ensure their compliance with a 14-day quarantine, he said.

Masks, distribution. The decision to stockpile and have central distribution of face masks played a key role in Taiwan’s success. The government early in the pandemic stockpiled all domestically produced face masks and banned export. Within four months, companies increased production from 2 million to 20 million units a day, enabling the island to ration masks to residents on a regular basis. 

Contact tracing. Taiwan has world-class contact tracing — on average, linking 20 to 30 contacts to each confirmed case. In extreme situations, such as that of a worker at a Taipei City hostess club who contracted the virus, the government tracked down as many as 150 contacts. Then, all contacts must undergo a 14-day home quarantine, even if they test negative.

So far, about 340,000 people have been under home quarantine, with fewer than 1,000 fined for breaking it. That means 99.7% have complied, according to Mr. Chen. “We sacrificed 14 days of 340,000 people in exchange for normal lives for 23 million people,” Mr. Chen said.

Sars experience. The painful lessons of past epidemics paved the way of Taiwan’s success in fighting COVID. It began building an emergency-response network for containing infectious diseases after its experience with SARS in 2003, when hundreds became ill and at least 73 died, for the world’s third-highest infection rate. Taiwan later experienced pandemics like bird flu and influenza H1N1. As a result, its residents are acutely aware of disease-fighting habits like hand-washing and mask wearing. — Bloomberg

US eyes ways to cooperate with Indonesia in South China Sea

JAKARTA — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said Washington would find new ways to cooperate with Indonesia in the South China Sea and respected Jakarta’s efforts to safeguard its own waters while rejecting China’s “unlawful” claims in the area.

Mr. Pompeo’s visit to Indonesia comes amid a five-nation swing through Asia, where he has sought to strengthen strategic and economic ties amid rising tensions between the United States and China.

In a joint news conference with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, he hailed Jakarta’s “decisive action” to protect its sovereignty in the waters near the Natuna Islands, which China also claims as its territory.

Mr. Pompeo said China’s claim was “unlawful”. “I am looking forward to cooperating together in the new ways to ensure maritime security protects some of the world’s busiest trade routes,” Mr. Pompeo said in a streamed news conference after his meeting with Indonesia’s foreign minister. Ms. Retno said she wanted a “stable and peaceful” South China Sea where international law is respected.

Indonesia has repeatedly turned away Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels that have entered the North Natuna Sea.

Ms. Retno said Indonesia and the United States would enhance defence cooperation by boosting military procurement, training and exercises, intelligence sharing, and maritime security cooperation in the region.

Although sharing the same position in opposing China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, Indonesian officials have expressed concern about Washington’s strident anti-China policies and rhetoric alongside rising superpower tensions.  

“I re-emphasized the need to pursue inclusive cooperation amidst this challenging time,” Ms. Retno said. “I underlined the need for every country to be part of the solution in the collective contribution towards world peace, stability and prosperity.”

This year, Indonesia rejected a US request for landing and refuelling rights in Indonesia for its P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft that monitor China’s military activity.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Ms. Retno said on Thursday she reminded Mr. Pompeo of the “free and independent” foreign policy of Southeast Asia’s largest country and called for greater economic cooperation.

Indonesia’s economic ties with China have increased at the same time Washington has considered downgrading Indonesia’s preferential trade treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility.

That review is ongoing and Ms. Retno told Mr. Pompeo that the GSP facility was important to both nations.

“I encouraged US businesses to invest more in Indonesia, including for projects in the outer islands of Indonesia, such as Natuna Island,” Ms. Retno added.

Next month, senior government officials say Indonesia is expected to sign the world’s biggest trade pact — the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership — that involves Southeast Asian states and China, but not the US.

Mr. Pompeo said he recognized the deficit in the economic relationship of the two countries, but made no commitment to retaining Indonesia’s access to the GSP facility, which gives more than 3,500 Indonesian products duty-free status.

“There should be much more investment here from the United States, especially in the digital, energy and infrastructure sectors,” Mr. Pompeo said.

Mr. Pompeo also met Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, on Thursday, and is scheduled to make an address to an Islamic youth group.

“President (Jokowi) emphasized that Indonesia wants economic cooperation between the two countries increasing in the future, including extension of GSP facilities for Indonesia,” Ms. Retno said of Mr. Pompeo’s meeting with the Indonesian leader.

She added that the president urged Mr. Pompeo to “understand Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian countries so as to create peace, stability and cooperation in the region”.

Before his visit to Indonesia, Mr. Pompeo visited India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He is scheduled to fly to Vietnam later on Thursday. — Reuters

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