OP ED EDITORIAL & CARTOONS: MANILA- Mining a tragedy

September 22, 2018September 22, 2018 Editor 0 Comment OP ED EDITORIAL & CARTOONS: MANILA- Mining a tragedy

At least 40 people are still missing after a landslide in Itogon, Benguet, but the Office of Civil Defense has ordered rescuers to stop because of the threat of further landslides.

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.Residents of Barangay Ucab have also been told to evacuate.

On Saturday as Typhoon “Ompong” battered Northern Luzon, a landslide buried a church where small-scale miners and their families sought refuge. So far, 32 bodies have been recovered.Amid the tragedy, it is easy for local officials and other entities to lay blame on anybody but themselves. For example, Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said his administration was not able to stop families from living in the area because the structure they called the bunkhouse was guarded by personnel of Benguet Corp.

The men were engaged in small-scale mining and gold processing in the Antamok area. The company, however, said they were undertaking these activities without its permission.Even former Environment secretary Regina Lopez was quick to point the finger of blame. She stayed on at the department until her appointment was not confirmed, waging a war against the mining industry, but doing nothing to stop the arguable more dangerous and unregulated practice of small-scale mining in areas like Itogon and Diwalwal in Mindanao.Tragedies leave valuable lessons on their path and it is up to us to mine them for lessons so that they do not occur again.

ASEANEWS EDITORIAL & CARTOONS:

7.1. Pushing on a string – Daily Tribune – A better sanctuary

7.2. Manila Bulletin –CHANGING WORLD –How agribusiness can eradicate poverty By DR. BERNARDO M. VILLEGAS

Whatever we do to improve the infrastructures for the urban centers of the Philippines through the “Build, Build, Build” program, such as building modern airports, subways, rapid trains, and tollroads, we will not make any significant dent on mass poverty because poverty is fundamentally a rural phenomenon in our country. Development has to happen in the countryside, and especially in the agricultural sector. It is providential that Malaysia is now in the news because of the recent dramatic return of the oldest head of state in the world today in the person of Prime Minister Mahathir who is over 90 years of age. It is the example of Malaysia that can inspire us to implement one of the most effective solutions to rural poverty that the agribusiness sector can offer. Dr. Rolando Dy describes in great detail this outstanding example of an agribusiness model that helped Malaysia reduce poverty from the high of 52.4 percent in 1970 to practically zero today. How did they do it? Let me summarize Dr. Dy’s article entitled “The Dramatic Transformation of Rural Malaysia.”

7.3. The Manila Standard – Mining a tragedy

7.4. The Manila Times – INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL

7.5. The Philippine Daily Inquirer – Defending Julie

7.6 The Philippine Star – Revisiting martial law

7.7. Pilipino Star Ngayon – Hatol sa ‘berdugo’

8.0. The Straits Times

The Straits Times says:
Wide arsenal needed to fight fake news

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There is no shortage of examples from around the world to illustrate just how live, serious and insidious the threat of fake news can be. Individuals, groups and states have sought to generate and disseminate false information to advance their own interests and undermine those who are opposed to or at odds with them. The report of the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods, released on Thursday, noted that such falsehoods have been aimed at discrediting leaders, swaying election outcomes, and sowing discord. These have also been used to spark tensions among ethnic groups and between residents and immigrants. The deliberate spread of falsehoods is not new. States large and small have weaponised information throughout history. But technology has magnified untruths and amplified their reach.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have aided – and in some cases abetted – their spread. The report underlined how this has become a strategically attractive option for states to spread disinformation, especially as research suggests that falsehoods have the upper hand over facts in today’s environment. Singapore has been a target of foreign, state-sponsored information warfare. This is expected to continue as agencies and states seek to influence policies here. Such assaults are part of a spectrum of non-military tools and were seen in recent cyber attacks, including the hacking of SingHealth’s databases. In other instances, a foreign country is known to have used news articles and social media to influence a segment of Singapore society to come round to accepting its actions globally. Foreign actors may well attempt to stir tensions during periods of leadership transition or at elections – directly, or by exploiting the ready availability of cyber armies and troll farms in the region. They may also use these to disrupt Singapore’s cohesion and multiracial make-up.

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/wide-arsenal-needed-to-fight-fake-news

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