TikTok promotes electoral integrity with anti-misinformation initiatives

February 25, 2025 | 8:58 pm

By Edg Adrian A. Eva, Reporter

TIKTOK, the Philippines’ third most popular social media platform, is promoting electoral integrity through its in-app Philippine Election Center and #ThinkTwice campaign ahead of 2025 midterm elections.

The platform earlier launched the Philippine Election Center to give users access to verified election information, including voting guidelines and election updates, Peachy A. Paderna, public policy manager of TikTok Philippines, told reporters in a site visit to TikTok’s Transparency and Accountability Center (TAC) in Singapore last Wednesday.

It also ran the #ThinkTwice campaign, a digital safety initiative that equips users with resources to identify misinformation during the election period.

“We want people to be properly empowered so that they’re able to express themselves not just on the platform but also at the polling booths come election day. That’s why our initiatives are centered around providing them with access to reliable election information,” Ms. Paderna told BusinessWorld.

These are in partnership with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE).

Ms. Paderna said TikTok is working with Comelec, LENTE, and NAMFREL to better understand the local context and identify policy-violating content, such as election-related misinformation.

Renowned Filipino lawyer Melencio S. Sta. Maria, Jr. found TikTok’s initiatives as important in ensuring people’s trust, especially among the youth, in the electoral process.

“The things that TikTok does in preserving integrity and preventing misinformation, along with the guidance they’re providing to users in making social media more honest and more acceptable to all in terms of the truth,” Mr. Sta Maria said.

Separately, Filipino lawyer and content creator Tony Roman told BusinessWorld that social media platforms taking steps to promote electoral integrity would help voters, especially the youth, make informed voting decisions.

“In the same way that I sort of impart and teach the law using social media, this is a good and effective way to reach the youth and voters, basically encouraging them to vote wisely,” Mr. Roman said.

Apart from the Philippine Election Center and #ThinkTwice, TikTok also plan to release a three-part podcast series with LENTE covering election-related topics.

During a site visit to TikTok’s TAC, the platform shared how its algorithms work, its content moderation practices, and its efforts to combat violations such as alcohol use, proliferation of misinformation, among others.

The company shared that it employs a content moderation system that combines automated detection with over 40,000 members of its trust and safety team to identify and remove content that violates the platform’s community guidelines.

TikTok said that it takes down an average of 1.6 million videos per day globally, or about 1% of the 160 million videos posted on the platform daily, due to violations.

In the Philippines alone, TikTok’s latest data revealed 4.5 million videos were taken down from July to October 2024, with 99.7% proactively removed by TikTok’s automation and 98% taken down within 24 hours after being reviewed by members of its trust and safety team.

TikTok said it has yet to release data on videos and fake accounts removed from November to February, covering the 2025 candidacy filing and campaign season kickoff.

Youth uphold People Power spirit

February 25, 2025 | 8:57 pm

OPTING not to declare the EDSA People Power anniversary as regular holiday will not stop Filipinos from commemorating the revolution nearly four decades after the ouster of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr., a senator said on Tuesday.

“Even if Malacañang cancels (the) holiday, the spirit and message of People Power will remain alive — especially among the Filipino youth who stand up and speak out for freedom, justice, and collective empowerment,” Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement in Filipino.

Ms. Hontiveros lauded students, teachers, schools, universities and youth organizations for leading the commemoration of the event this year, even without the declaration of a state holiday.

In October, the Palace declared Feb. 25 as a special working holiday this year, diverging from past administrations’ practice of observing it as a special non-working holiday.

The day commemorates the popular street uprising that toppled the late Mr. Marcos, Sr. in 1986, the father and namesake of the current Philippine president.

Last year, Mr. Marcos moved the special nonworking holiday of the People Power Anniversary from Feb. 25 to Feb 24.

“We should take inspiration from the courage of our young kababayans (countrymen), and never be cowed into fear and inactivity,” she said. “We must speak truth to power, overcome disinformation and historical distortion, and continue to resist the corruption, violence, and lust for power of those who are supposed to serve the nation.”

Multiple schools have also declared that they have suspended classes on Feb. 25 or shifted to alternative learning modes.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Tuesday dispelled accusations that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is trying to halt the commemoration of the revolution by not making it a national holiday.

“When we say special working holiday, still there is encouragement to commemorate, to join any event and it will not hinder any activity to commemorate the People Power,” PCO Undersecretary Claire B. Castro said at a news briefing at the Palace.

“Since he became the President, we did not hear him stop activities to commemorate the said event.” — Adrian H. Halili and John Victor D. Ordoñez

Sandiganbayan rules on coco levy

February 25, 2025 | 8:56 pm

THE PHILIPPINES’ anti-graft court has ordered the surrender of multi-million stocks from an insurance company tied to the coconut levy fund controversy.

In a 27-page decision released on Feb. 24, the Sandiganbayan Second Division ruled the 255 million shares of a now-defunct state bank in an insurance company should be surrendered to the government, citing a 2021 law creating a trust fund for coconut farmers.

In a ruling, penned by Associate Justice Edgardo M. Caldona, the insurance company was directed to cancel existing stock certificates and issue new certificates with the same number of shares in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.

Signed into law by ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Republic Act No. 11524, the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF) Act, cited that coco levy assets declared by the Supreme Court as belonging to the state should be given to the government.

“The shares of stock… are reconveyable coconut levy assets within the purview of the CFITF Act,” the ruling stated.

The petition stems from a complaint filed for the recovery of alleged ill-gotten wealth, in which the Philippine Commission on Good Government had claimed the insurance company was created or funded using coconut levy funds. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Comelec prints 63% of ballots

February 25, 2025 | 8:55 pm

Comelec-printin ballot — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has printed 45.65 million ballots — 63.32% of the required total — for the May 12 national and local elections, it said on Tuesday.

As of Feb. 24, the poll body still needs to print 26.45 million ballots, Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told reporters in a Viber chat.

The poll body aims to finish the printing on March 9 to 10, ahead of the May 12 midterm elections, using printers of the National Printing Office and Comelec’s poll automation partner, Miru Systems Joint Venture.

He earlier said they are exceeding their daily targets, printing about 1.7 million ballots every day.

The campaign period for senatorial and party list candidates started on Feb. 11, while local bets will start their campaign on March 28.

Up for grabs in the May 12 elections are 317 congressional seats and thousands of local posts. The biggest battle will be for 12 spots in the 24-seat Senate, a chamber packed with political heavyweights and wielding outsized influence. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Credits for poll duties increased

February 25, 2025 | 8:54 pm

Teachers-electoral-board-PHILSTAR-RUSSELL-PALMA — Teachers, who serve as electoral board members during elections, undergo training on vote counting machine operations in this March 11, 2022 photo. — PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL PALMA

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) approved a resolution increasing the service credits of all government personnel rendering election-related duties for the 2025 midterm elections to ten from five.

In a memorandum, dated Dec. 2, 2024, sent by Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia in a Viber chat group, the poll body adopted the resolution recommended by its Law Department which clarified concerns regarding leave privileges, particularly the computation and application of service credits for election services.

The recommendations included ensuring that all eligible government officials and employees, regardless of their specific roles, are granted service credits and addressing service credits’ non-commutative and non-cumulative nature under the Election Service Reform Act.

It clarified that extra credits should be in line with the guidelines on leave privileges as it recommended a meeting with the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Education.

Comelec earlier reported it is yet to train 186,000 teachers to work in the upcoming polls.

The training period is set from March 3 to 31. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

GCG revises whistleblower policy

February 25, 2025 | 8:53 pm

GOVERNMENT-OWNED and -controlled corp. (GOCCs) whistleblowers against illegal and unethical acts in the sector are now protected under a new policy of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).

In a memorandum circular No. 2025-01, the GCG said the Whistleblowing and Integrity Program (WHIP) for the GOCC Sector seeks to strengthen transparency, accountability, and integrity within the sector.

“The revised WHIP introduces important amendments to address emerging issues in the GOCC Sector,” the GCG said in a statement on Feb. 24.

“Among the most significant revisions is the inclusion of sexual harassment, illegal dismissal, and retaliatory acts against whistleblowers,” it added.

Additionally, the GCG, the monitoring body of the GOCC sector, said retaliation acts against whistleblowers “who submit reports in good faith shall not be tolerated by the Governance Commission, which shall extend all possible assistance to the whistleblower under the law and given circumstances.” — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

BoC intercepts P3.25-M unmarked fuel in Bicol

February 25, 2025 | 8:50 pm

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Tuesday said it seized P3.25 million worth of unmarked fuel and a tank truck from two gasoline stations in the Bicol Region.

In a statement on Tuesday, Customs said authorities confiscated 31 liters of gasoline and diesel worth P1.75 million, along with a fuel truck valued at P1.5 million, bringing the estimated total confiscated assets to P3.25 million.

The BoC conducts random field tests of retail stations and tank trucks to verify compliance with fuel sold to the public under the Fuel Marking Program.

On Nov. 26, the agency reported that over P1 trillion in taxes have been collected in the program since it began in 2019.

“The identification and seizure of non-compliant fuel highlights our proactive stance against illegal fuel sales and tax evasion. We urge all fuel station operators to strictly adhere to regulatory standards to avoid severe consequence,” District Collector Guillermo Pedro Francia IV said.

In a separate statement, the BoC also reported that it seized undeclared currency consisting of 3.95 million Japanese yen, 20,000 euros, and 8,500 Kuwaiti dinar from a departing passenger at NAIA Terminal 1 on Feb. 21. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

Maguindanao del Sur residents surrender 13 rifles to Army

February 25, 2025 | 8:49 pm

COTABATO CITY — Residents of Mamasapano town in Maguindanao del Sur surrendered 13 combat rifles to the Army’s 33^rd Infantry Battalion (IB) on Monday.

Army Brig. Gen. Donald D. Gumiran, commander of the 6^th Infantry Division, told reporters on Tuesday that the voluntary turnover was done along with the forging of a peace covenant by candidates for elective posts in Mamasapano in support of efforts to ensure peaceful elections in the municipality in May 2025.

The gathering of candidates was held at the battalion command post of the 33^rd IB in Barangay Zapakan in Radjah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur. It was witnessed by local executives, Muslim religious leaders, and officials of units under the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Mr. Gumiran said the peace dialogue, where candidates signed a manifesto expressing support for the security efforts of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), was jointly organized by Comelec officials in the Bangsamoro region, the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office, the Mamasapano Municipal Police Station, Mamasapano Mayor Akmad A. Ampatuan, Jr., and Col. Edgar L. Catu, commander of the 601^st Infantry Brigade. — John Felix M. Unson

Busway stations to be modeled after 2 stations donated by SM

February 25, 2025 | 8:29 pm

edsa bus carousel — Commuters line up at the Main Avenue station of the EDSA bus carousel in Quezon City, July 18, 2022. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

THE planned privatization of the EDSA Busway project is on hold for now as the Department of Transportation (DoTr) studies improvements that will be patterned on two “model” stations serving the SM group’s malls in Quezon City and Mandaluyong.

Transportation Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon told reporters on Tuesday that the DoTr “will use the model stations of SM North EDSA and SM Megamall station,” which will be donated by the SM Group.

“There is a budget for (overall system upgrades) but we are going to find out exactly how much we have for this year,” he said, adding that the SM stations will serve as the “blueprint for the planned construction and improvements of the remaining 21 stations.”

“We are confident that within the President’s term, by 2026 or 2027, we will really have a proper, very modern busway carousel system.”

The DoTr is planning to auction contracts for the upgrade of EDSA Busway’s current stations, Mr. Dizon said, adding that the construction is projected to start within the second half of the year.

Mr. Dizon said in terms of immediate relief for commuters, the DoTr will fund some more immediate upgrades, for which the operations and maintenance contracts will be offered to bidders.

The EDSA Busway Project initially involved the financing, design, construction, procurement of low-carbon buses, route planning, and operations and maintenance of the busway, according to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.

Mr. Dizon said the feasibility study for the EDSA Busway project is expected to be completed within the next few months pending finalization of the terms of reference by its consultant.

The project’s privatization is now expected to take place by 2026, he said in a separate statement.

According to Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior adviser on PPP at Libra Konsult, Inc., a transportation analyst, described the change of plan as in line with accepted practice.

“That model is a common arrangement for many cities in the world. In essence, the more permanent and fixed parts which will last for the long term are taken on by the government while the operations or moving parts are carried by private sector,” he said via Viber.

Amkor Technologies in further Palace visit amid prospect of PHL expansion

February 25, 2025 | 8:28 pm

KEVIN ENGEL, CEO of US chipmaker Amkor Technology, paid a visit to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and heard a pitch from the Palace centered on helping the Philippines make higher-value products.

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) quoted Mr. Marcos as saying during the visit: “Your continued involvement in the Philippines is something certainly we would like to encourage as we are trying to move our semiconductor industry up the value chain from pure fabrication to design.”

According to the PCO, the company sees potential in Philippine efforts in growing its chip workforce.

In December, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) said US semiconductor companies are exploring local partnerships to transform Manila into an investment destination.

Amkor Technology, Allegro Microsystems, Analog Devices, Micro Technology and OnSemi also met with the President in December, exploring the possibility of setting up shop in the country.

In 2023, the Philippines generated about $50 billion in exports, with the industry supporting about 3 million direct and indirect jobs, according to OSAPIEA.

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. has said that exports of semiconductor and electronic products are likely to be flat in 2025.

OSAPIEA said the government is encouraged by opportunities presented by the US CHIPS and Science Act, which features a $500-million International Technology Security and Innovation Fund to be allocated to seven countries over five years, as the US moves to de-risk its technology supply chains. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Drop in sugar yields stable since October

February 25, 2025 | 8:28 pm

THE Sugar Regulatory Administration said the drop in sugar yields has been holding steady since October, adding that it nevertheless expects to hit its 1.78 million metric ton (MMT) target for the crop year.

“We are currently about 11% down on LKGTC (50-kilo bag of sugar per ton of cane), and we have not seen a significant change in the percentage,” Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona told reporters.

Sugar production during the current crop year, was 1.01 MMT as of Feb. 16. The crop year runs from September to August, meaning that cane being grown starting last year experienced the tail end of the El Niño dry spells and the subsequent La Niña, which brought heavier-than-usual rains.

“The percentage decrease in yields has been the same since October,” he added.

Mill production fell 27.68% year on year to 1.01 MMT between Sept. 1 and Feb. 16. Output during the previous full crop year had been 1.92 MMT.

“The main factor that we are anticipating is the El Niño damage,” Mr. Azcona said.

He noted that the harvest in northern Negros has been delayed by rains, giving the final output numbers some upside that makes hitting the 1.78 MMT target possible.

“You move a bit south (in Negros), it’s already dry,” he said, facilitating the harvest there.

Mr. Azcona said big farms, which account for only 10% of the industry, are doing very well in terms of tonnage due to their access to water.

“The 85% do not have access to water. The other problem with the unirrigated farms is their costs this year are very high,” he said, noting that such farms planted and fertilized twice.

“They planted let’s say in October, and had to replant in May,” he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

ECCP sees exit from FATF gray list strengthening Philippine argument for attracting investment

February 25, 2025 | 8:27 pm

PHL-flag-Peso — A Philippines peso note is seen in this picture illustration on June 2, 2017. — REUTERS

THE Philippines’ removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list is expected to improve the overall investment climate and enhance confidence, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) said.

“The ECCP believes that the Philippines’ exit from the FATF gray list will significantly enhance its attractiveness as a prime destination for local and foreign investment, fostering a more stable and secure business climate,” the ECCP said in a statement on Tuesday.

The FATF recently removed the Philippines from the category of jurisdictions requiring increased monitoring for “dirty money.” The Philippines had been on the list since June 2021.

The ECCP noted substantial progress in the implementing policies to counter money laundering and terrorism financing.

In particular, the ECCP said that the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) passed in July 2024 helps strengthen the integrity of financial accounts and the overall financial system.

“The chamber reiterates its support for the effective implementation of AFASA, which will further empower financial institutions to protect client accounts and combat financial account scamming,” it said.

“The passage of AFASA demonstrates the government’s proactive approach to addressing financial crimes and ensuring a secure financial environment,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile