Foundation for Media Alternatives Issues Briefing Paper on SIM Card Registration

Wazzup Pilipinas!

With efforts to establish a mandatory SIM card registration gaining steam in Congress, the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) released a briefing paper on the subject this Monday, February 5, 2018.

FMA is a civil society organization whose aim is to assist civil society organizations and other development stakeholders in promoting and defending their right to information and communication.

In its brief, the organization presented an overview of the benefits and risks that come with a SIM card registration system, as evidenced by the actual experiences of other countries. It noted that the rationale behind most SIM card registration policies is their supposed ability to deter crime and terrorism, while at the same time increasing public access to mobile-based government services. Something that is inconsistent with the experiences of many jurisdictions that have such a system. In a number of instances, its weakness in curbing terrorism has been exposed due to the ability of criminals to circumvent regulation. It even caused the emergence of black markets where stolen or counterfeit SIM cards are sold, as well as an increase in handset theft incidents, as demand for untraceable phones spiked.

In the recent past, concerns about its effectiveness have already been raised by local stakeholders such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the telecommunications industry. Even the Office of the President of the previous administration had occasion to express its doubts about the measure.

The briefing paper highlights other issues surrounding the controversial measure, not least of which is its potential use for surveillance against those belonging to at-risk groups or sectors such as journalists, whistleblowers, witnesses, and victims of discrimination and oppression. Ultimately, it argues, an environment where intrusions to privacy become institutionalized and prevalent, inevitably poses a significant risk to other fundamental rights and freedoms, such as free speech, freedom of assembly, and right to information, just to name a few.

In conclusion, FMA declares that the promise of SIM card registration to help law enforcement and improve the delivery of government services has already been revealed as illusory, or at least significantly inflated. The group then enjoins the government to consider all things—particularly the dangers posed by the proposal—before rushing to pass a policy that can do more harm than good. For the public, they need to remain vigilant and resist any or all measures that attempt to narrow individual space for privacy and other related rights and freedoms.

Tugade Asks Public to Stop Spreading Fake News About Baggage Pilferage in Airports

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade today urged the public to be more responsible in sharing posts on social media about baggage pilferage in airports. 

Tugade acknowledges that incidents in the past have left a dent on the integrity and honesty of airport officials and personnel, but he said sharing non-verified posts would only make things worse.

The transportation chief was reacting to a reported incident at the Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Terminal last January 31. A Filipina traveler, Fe Cabalquinto, claimed in a Facebook post that a senior couple arriving from Korea were victims of baggage pilferage. 

Authorities of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) immediately conducted an investigation and found that while the box was partially opened, no important items were lost. 

The couple, Efren Valero and Teresita Velero, also signed a certification to state that they did not authorize Cabalquinto to share the incident on social media.

Further, the investigation found that the box was inspected at a US airport, and not at the NAIA. The tape wrapped around the box was a US TSA inspection tape.

With this, Tugade said that he strongly supports the call of MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal for Cabalquinto to take down her post and make a public apology, and reminded the public that by doing such reckless actions, the country’s image and tourism may take a hit. 

“Naiintindihan ko na may mga kababayan tayong wala nang tiwala sa mga tauhan sa airports. Malamang naalala pa nila ‘yung mga insidente ng pagbubukas ng balikbayan boxes dati pati na laglag-bala. Pero nakikiusap kami na sana naman mas maging responsible sa pagpapakalat ng mga impormasyon sa social media. May mga tao rin naman sa airports na maayos na nagtatrabaho at maaaring maapektuhan ng mga maling paratang,” said Tugade.

For his part, Monreal assured passengers that MIAA is doing all it can to ensure their safety, as well as baggage handling and safekeeping.

“We are making all necessary steps in order to prevent these incidents. But, while it is your freedom to share anything on social media, remember that freedom comes with responsibility,” added Monreal.

New guidelines for baggage handling

In January, Secretary Tugade summoned airport officials, airport ground handling companies, manpower service providers, and security managers following a reported incident of baggage theft at the Clark International Airport.

He bared new guidelines for baggage handlers: (1) personnel uniforms must not have pockets, (2) boots or shoes must not be loose, (3) concerned personnel are no longer allowed to bring or use cellphones while on duty, and (4) are not likewise allowed to wear jewelry.

The incident reached President Rodrigo Duterte and warned that should a similar incident happen again, “heads will roll.”

G.SKILL Releases World’s Fastest DDR4-4700MHz Trident Z RGB Memory Kit

Wazzup Pilipinas!

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is thrilled to announce the world’s fastest Trident Z RGB memory kit at an extreme speed of DDR4-4700MHz CL19-19-19-39 1.45V 16GB (2x8GB). Not only is this kit the first retail DDR4 memory kit to reach DDR4-4700MHz, it’s also the first RGB-enabled kit to reach this extremely high level of frequency speed. This ultimate memory kit is achieved with highly-screened, high-performanceSamsung DDR4 B-die ICs and validated on the MSI Z370I GAMING PRO CARBON AC motherboard andIntel® Core™ i7-8700K processor.

Reaching the World’s Fastest Memory Frequency with RGB

Ever since the first release announcement of the G.SKILL Trident Z RGB series at the end of 2016, DDR4-4266MHz had reigned as the highest frequency speed for an RGB memory kit. Over the past year, the G.SKILL R&D team has been dedicated to break through this technology bottleneck and aimed to provide an even higher speed RGB memory to PC enthusiasts. Today, all the hard work is finally paying off. G.SKILL successfully developed the world’s fastest RGB memory kit at a blistering DDR4-4700MHz, while maintaining ultra-low timings at CL19-19-19-39.

Engineered for Reliability

Designed for high-stability, this Trident Z RGB DDR4-4700MHz memory kit has proven itself through stress-testing on the MSI Z370I GAMING PRO CARBON AC motherboard and Intel® Core™ i7-8700K processor. Please see the testing screenshot below:

XMP 2.0 Support & Availability

This ultra-fast G.SKILL Trident Z RGB memory kit is equipped with the latest Intel XMP 2.0 profile for easy one-click memory overclocking, and will be available from authorized G.SKILL distribution partners in 2018 Q2.