HOAX:

A viral Facebook post claims that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV wants to investigate on Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s hidden wealth.

On March 14, 2019, a netizen uploaded a composite photograph of the Senators with the caption:

                trillanes gustong pa imbistigahan kung san galing ang tagong yaman ni manny.

FACT:

According to verafiles.org, a reverse image search can be traced back from Sen. Pacquiao’s official Facebook page. The photos were taken during the March 8, 2017 session when both of them delivered privilege speeches. Sen. Pacquiao, in his speech, admitted that he took offense after Sen. Trillanes’ comment on senators who questioned retired police officer Arturo Lascanas’ spiritual renewal.

It can be remembered that Lascanas claimed that he decided to tell everything he knows about the so-called Davao Death Squad after dreaming of a “child-like image” saving him from the devil.  Sen. Pacquiao then questioned Lascanas about his understanding of “spiritual renewal”.

Sen. Trillanes apologized to Sen. Pacquiao saying that it was not his intention to offend him.

This fake Facebook post has been shared over 19,000 times and has gained 12,000 reactions and almost 1,000 comments. This came out three days after Sen. Trillanes asked the Court of Appeals to stop the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 from retrying his rebellion case in connection with the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. The appellate court denied his petition on March 18.

Sources:

http://verafiles.org/articles/vera-files-fact-check-trillanes-probe-pacquiaos-hidden-wealth

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/08/17/trillanes-apologizes-to-pacquiao-for-saints-comment

I’m not really a fan of government offices but times come that you really need to pay them a visit.

Para sa mga katulad kong voluntary member ng sss at nagsstruggle sa Payment Reference Number (PRN) every month here’s some tips po.. na kanina ko lng dn nalaman (bk ako na dn ang huling nakakaalam).

Aside sa mga nakalagay sa sss website, pwede din pala sa bayad center na mag generate cla ng PRN. Not sure though if may bayad.

Sa SM malls dn pwede clang mag generate ng PRN with a fee of P60.

So yun lng po. Para ndi na tyo pipila sa sss o mag iintay ng text na ndi naman dumarating ☺️

Ciao!

Update: Friends told me that you can also pay thru LBC, it’s much faster.

            In the telecommunications industry, there are two Dennis Uys who might just end up as business partners.

            Converge ICT is a private company owned by Dennis Anthony Uy, founder of ComClark Network and Technology. Converge ICT claims to be the fastest growing internet and other digital consumer-centric services provider in the Philippines today. Their premium products and services run through the first pure end-to-end fiber internet network in the country.

                On the other hand, Mislatel’s local partner is diversified company Udenna Corp., owned by Davao-based Dennis A. Uy.

            Converge ICT has enthusiastically displayed its openness to a partnership with Mislatel Consortium, a venture backed by China Telecom. It was recently confirmed that Mislatel will be the new major telcom player in the country.

            “We do not see any problem working with Mislatel if they require backhaul, backbone or even international services,” Jesus Romero, Converge ICT Chief Operating Officer.

            An issue was raised whether Mislatel can beat its aggressive roll out targets. Mislatel’s spokesperson Adel Tamano mentioned of a tie-up for the plan to be possible. Converge ICT is also engage in wholesale bandwidth business, so Mislatel can really be a possible customer.

Source:

https://business.inquirer.net/261981/telco-rivals-may-end-up-as-partners?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1

On January 10, 2019 Facebook banned a digital marketing group in the Philippines — Twinmark Media Enterprises and all its subsidiaries — from Facebook. According to Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Cyber security Policy,  “This organization has repeatedly violated our misrepresentation and spam policies — including through coordinated inauthentic behavior, the use of fake accounts, leading people to ad farms, and selling access to Facebook Pages to artificially increase distribution and generate profit.”

Based on Twinmark’s official website, TMMI is a young, digital company based in the Philippines. Founded in 2014, they own and manage websites in different market niches catering to the interests of its many followers and readers. Their company provides engaging content shared among various online audiences. TMMI sites garner over 1 billion engagements monthly. According to data gathered by Rappler, Twinmark is also the company behind Trending News Portal, the top website shared by former Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

Facebook released a breakdown of what they have removed as part of the ban:

• Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 220 Facebook Pages; 73 Facebook accounts; 29 Instagram accounts
• Followers: About 43 million accounts followed at least one of these Facebook Pages
• Facebook Pages with highest number of followers:
• Filipino Channel Online: 10.4 million
• Gorgeous Me: 5.7 million
• Unhappy: 4.9 million
• Text Message: 4.4 million
• TNP Media: 4.3 million

“We do not want our services to be used for this type of behavior, nor do we want the group to be able to reestablish a presence on Facebook,” Gleicher said.

Gleicher said their investigation into Twinmark began after they learned the company was selling admin rights to Facebook Pages it had created, in order to increase distribution and generate profit, which violates their spam policy. He reiterated the reason for ban is the violation of the policies and not their content.

“This prompted our teams to take a deeper look at a broader group of Pages and accounts associated with these users, ultimately uncovering a large network of Pages and accounts that were engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior, the use of fake accounts, leading people to ad farms and selling access to Facebook Pages,” Gleicher added. The investigation, according to Gleicher, began in November 2018.

Gleicher believes that this step is just one of the many steps they will take to prevent “bad actors” from abusing the platform.  Now that the 2019 election campaign has begun, Facebook’s promise of investing heavily in safety and security will for sure be put to test.

Banning Twinmark Media Enterprises in the Philippines from Facebook

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/11/19/facebook-takes-down-twinmark-media-220-pages-for-fake-news-spam

https://www.rappler.com/technology/social-media/220741-facebook-remove-trending-news-portal-twinmark-media-enterprises

President Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña, posted on Facebook a series of video clips of the President, mocking rumors about his “death.”  This came after the President failed to show up in a barangay summit for peace and order in Palo, Leyte. DILG Secretary Dino said he had to attend other commitments while Bong Go texted reporters that the President was not feeling well.

“For those who believe in the news that I passed away, then I request of you, please pray for the eternal repose of my soul. Thank you,” he said in the video.

The Malacanang could have issued an official statement about the President’s real health status as the number of Filipinos concerned about his health has grown. The recent SWS survey showed 66% of adult Filipinos are worried about his condition, showing an increase from the last quarter’s survey of 55%. Sec. 12, Art. 7 of the Constitution requires the public to be informed of the president’s state of health in case of “serious illness.”

An SWS graph of the results of its “Extent of Worry on PRRD’s health” survey conducted in December 2018

On July 22, 2018, the President underwent a medical check-up on the eve of the SONA. It was in August 2018 when Joma Sison spread the rumor that the President was seriously ill and in a state of coma. October 3, 2018, the President went to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City to undergo endoscopy and colonoscopy. It was later released that it was not yet cancerous. In November 2018, he skipped six meetings in the ASEAN Summit and the APEC gala.

The 1987 Constitution frames the president’s health as a matter of national security. Sec. 12, Art. 7 specifically states that–aside from public disclosure–the military chief and members of the Cabinet in charge of national security and foreign relations shall not be denied access to the president in case of serious illness. VERA files filed an FOI request for an official statement or medical records on the President’s health condition but was denied.

As of press time, we are still waiting for the official statement coming from Malacanang. We can only hope for the good of the country.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/02/03/1890525/duterte-mocks-those-who-spread-rumors-he-dead

http://verafiles.org/articles/palace-denies-vera-files-foi-request-dutertes-health-officia

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton