“It seems to be arbitrary and how are they able to get away with it? How come we don’t hear anything from CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines)?… Dapat makialam na ang gobyerno dito. Dapat tignan nila ’yan, imbestigahan nila. (The government should step in. They should look into this, investigate this.),” Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde said in a Facebook post after his family’s travel was thrown into disarray due to a flight cancelation. 

“I don’t know if this is something they take seriously,” he told Rappler on June 14. “It’s not only just the flight; there are other arrangements that one needs when traveling, the whole domino effect,” he noted. 

The Senate committees on tourism and on public services heard the distressed calls, and will start on June 21 an investigation into these complaints, philstar.com reported.

Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, told Rappler on Thursday, June 15, that weather woes, given the onset of the rainy season, are among the reasons for the flight cancelations, which in turn cause “consequential delays.”

Carmina Reyes-Romero, the airline’s director for corporate communication, said Cebu Pacific had heightened their customer care for canceled flights and refunds. 

She said that travel vouchers and hotel accommodation were offered if needed for on-the-spot and significant delays.

This contradicts the reports reaching Senator Nancy Binay’s office that “Cebu Pacific has not provided immediate assistance and support” for passengers who seek help from the airlines’ customer service hotlines and in-person help desks. Binay chairs the Senate committee on tourism. 

Delayed, boarded, deplaned

Michael Kevin Gox Goco is used to delayed flights by Cebu Pacific Air. Things came to a head, however, on May 19.

While he and his wife were already at the airport, they received an announcement that their flight to Iloilo had been moved from 7 pm to 9 pm. But when 9 pm came, airline staff said their plane needed fixing.

After waiting for some more time, the affected passengers stormed the manager’s office and demanded an explanation from Cebu Pacific.

“Majority of us refused [to rebook or cancel] because we must be in Iloilo for some urgent matters. One passenger was even bringing medicines. We told them that we would wait for our flight,” Goco said in a phone interview with Rappler on May 31.

By 2 am, they eventually were allowed to board the plane for a 3 am flight to Iloilo. But Goco noticed that the plane was understaffed and short of one pilot. At around 3:30 am, they were told to deplane because the flight had been canceled partly due to thunderstorms.

“That’s what you get if you fly on a budget. It was ‘business as usual’ for Cebu Pacific,” Goco said.

All he wanted, he said, was for the airline to deploy personnel who know crisis management, especially in dealing with irate passengers, but that didn’t happen. 

The Goco couple ended up rebooking their flights and paying the corresponding fees. 

No choice but…a class suit?

Conde, his wife, and children were also bound for Iloilo on June 1, having booked an 8 am flight through the Cebu Pacific website. 

It wasn’t a budget flight, the full fare was paid. 

The night before the flight, however, Cebu Pacific notified them that their flight had been moved earlier by four hours, to 4 am. 

Then an hour or less before 4 am, they received another notice – the airline had converted their trip into travel vouchers instead of giving them a refund.

“That would mean they already canceled our flight” without explicitly saying so, Conde said, frustrated.

“If Cebu Pacific is overbooking flights, as other passengers say on social media, then the government needs to control that,” said Conde. 

“Thousands of thousands of lives are affected by these arbitrary cancellations and delays. Maybe it’s time these affected passengers organize and file a class action suit against Cebu Pacific because there is no way you can get away with this,” he added.

“Objectively speaking, in terms of options, you don’t really have a choice. The refund will take at least a month or something. For someone who is financially distressed, you can’t wait for another month to refund your money,” Conde, who initially wanted a refund instead of vouchers, told Rappler.

“It’s just pointless to raise an argument with them, all you can do is just sigh, really. First of all, I don’t call their hotline anymore. Their travel customer service experience is really terrible. You can hardly talk to a human being. It’s infuriating because we are all looking forward to our flights. No explanations at all.”

Binay’s Senate Resolution No. 575 refers to complaints of offloading “without  any verifiable cause or reason due to the airline’s overbooking.” 

“Being offloaded without alternative flight options or compensation not only has a direct impact on someone’s travel plans, but it also reflects how airlines treat customers and tourists,” the draft resolution points out. 

Early reservation, offloaded nonetheless

Maizy Colleen Tan was scheduled to fly to Incheon, South Korea, on June 13 using a free-of-charge (FOC) ticket courtesy of Cebu Pacific. “I’m an influencer for Cebu Pacific,” said the fashion designer and influencer from Davao City.

She paid for her trip to from Davao City to Cebu City, where she was to take the connecting flight to Incheon. She was traveling with her mother and aunt, whose tickets were paid for. 

She had booked their flights as early as December 2022.

“What happened was my mom and my auntie’s flight [from Davao to Cebu] was rebooked. We bought the tickets at the full price of P45,000 plus a rebooking fee of P4,000,” Tan told Rappler on Wednesday, June 14. 

When Tan asked Cebu Pacific how they could catch the June 13 Cebu-Incheon flight, she was told the three of them would have to travel a day earlier, June 12, but with an added stop in Siargao. So it would be Davao-Siargao-Cebu, then Incheon.

Tan said they agreed to take the Davao-Siargao-Cebu flight.

However, while Tan eating breakfast at the airport in front of the gate where boarding for the Siaorgao flight had already started, she “received another Viber message that the June 13 Korean flight will be moved to June 18 instead.”

She asked the Cebu Pacific staff at the boarding gate what their group should do. She was told they should proceed to Siargao, then Cebu, and then inquire about the status of the Incheon flight there. 

She said the instruction made no sense if the flight to Korea had been moved back by a few days.

“It was just odd for them to abruptly offload those who booked early,” Tan said. 

Her original post said she sadly wheeled her bag home.

But when her Facebook lament received 9,000 reactions, 1,100 comments, and 6,900 shares, Tan said Romero reached out and rebooked their canceled local flights and also booked them on the earliest flight to Korea.

She stressed that aside from her FOC Cebu-Icheon flight, they did not get free flights. Instead, the airlines got their old reference codes for the paid canceled flights and regenerated new schedules at the original prices.

Her post update states she and her companions are now in Korea. While thanking the airlines for making the trip happen, Tan said she still wanted compensation “for the damage Cebu Pacific’s glitches have caused.”

Rainy season woes

When Rappler asked Romero on Thursday about passengers’ complaints on social media, she said: “We encourage our passengers to send their requests for assistance in our social media channels, via Facebook messenger or Twitter, or in our Guest Feedback form. We have agents who will answer passenger concerns and solve their issues.”

“The rainy season has officially started and it is [a] period that may dampen plans for many air travelers,” Romero explained. “If a Lightning Red Alert is imposed at the airport, all flight and ground operations are suspended until the alert is lowered to a Lightning Yellow Alert, indicating the resumption of flight operations.”

Romero acknowledged that flight suspension “may lead to consequential delays and sometimes, cancellations.”

Their foremost consideration is everyone’s safety, she stressed. “We will always prioritize the safety of the passengers, crew, and airport workers. Nevertheless, Cebu Pacific remains committed to hearing from our passengers and to flying them safely to their destinations.” 

Romero said the chain consequences of bad weather conditions include delays and cancellations.

“It impacts on crew limitation. Also, there are sunset-limited airports. ’Pag nag-cascade ang delay and sunset, limited ang airport, paano pa lilipad? (Once the delay cascades and sunset limits operations at airports, how can we fly?) – with reports from Francis Allan Angelo/Rappler.com 

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They complained of intermittent access to various services, including Google’s suite of workplace tools, YouTube, and Facebook.

Individuals who were heavily reliant on internet services for communication and daily activities pointed out that the the issue seemed common to the network provider. (READ: PLDT, Globe provide poor #PHInternet services – netizens)

In a message to Rappler, PLDT attributed the intermittent connection issues to a reduction in internet bandwidth capacity by one of their submarine cable partners.

“One of our submarine cable partners confirms a loss in some of its internet bandwidth capacity, and thus causing slower internet browsing. We are now working with our partners to provide alternate capacity that would restore the browsing experience in the next few hours,” the company said.

In a statement on the morning of June 6, PLDT said its “submarine cable partner confirms supplementing additional capacity, restoring browser experience.” The company asked users to restart their routers to refresh the connection.

Losing access

PLDT users had been enduring intermittent interruptions for approximately three hours before the network provider relayed the message.

Keywords such as Google and Gmail trended on Twitter after social media users were unable to access those services. They shared how PLDT’s network issue disrupted crucial tasks. 

“As someone who relies on the internet to get work done, it’s frustrating when connectivity issues arise,” a netizen said in a shared post.

Some students also took to social media to express their difficulties in accessing online platforms used for educational purposes.

A social media user from Sta. Cruz, Manila, left a comment, saying he couldn’t access YouTube from his location.

Another netizen compared his browsing experience between streaming and gaming platforms and social media sites: “Super bagal ang browsers and [social media]. Pero mabilis ang Netflix, Discord, at Valorant ko. ‘Di ko gets?“

(Browsers and social media sites have prolonged loading times, but platforms like Netflix, Discord, and Valorant are not affected by this issue. I don’t understand.)

Others shared they were able to access Google services using a different network, but encountered difficulties specifically with their PLDT connection. 

One subscriber said PLDT users had struggled with internet connection since the era of dial-ups, but they had not seen any improvements in services. “Panahon pa ng dial-up connection, ganyan na reklamo namin. Walang bago,” she said. (Since the period of dial-up connection, that has always been our problem. There’s nothing new.)

A netizen observed that system updates supposed done by PLDT only result in slower connection. “May pa-update update pa kayo. Lalo lang bumagal. Nako po talaga. Scammer kayo, she posted on Facebook.”

(Your updates only slows down the internet further. Scammer.)

Some individuals criticized PLDT for being quick to cut off connections for unpaid bills, yet slow to fix its connectivity issues for paying customers.

One user said, “Sobrang bagal. Pero kapag hindi ka makabayad, putol agad.“

(The internet connection is very slow. But they’re quick to cut your connection if you don’t pay on time.)

Some subscribers of Smart Communications, a subsidiary of PLDT, also encountered disruptions while attempting to connect to the internet and access various online services.

For me, it’s a PLDT issue. I can connect to Google services just fine when I use Globe LTE but not when I use PLDT wifi.

— Lecky (@bekinglecky) June 5, 2023

SmartBro sa amin, pero hindi rin gumagana GMail. Kanina ko pa tinatry. Okay ang YouTube.

— Chesa (@esa865) June 5, 2023

PLDT users expressed heightened dismay over the network’s unresponsiveness and the perceived lack of urgency in addressing the issues.

Expressing frustration over PLDT’s customer’s service, a netizen said, “Dapat may fine ang mga company na puro tanggap ng bayad, ang poor naman ng service!”

(Companies that just get payments from their clients but offer poor customer service in return should be fined.)

In recent months, PLDT subscribers have been airing their frustration over recurring internet connectivity issues and unsatisfactory customer service.

In a May 18 post, a Facebook user called out PLDT for not immediately attending to his connectivity issues. “Do you feel powerful when your ‘customers’ beg you to fix their internet problems for a week now?” he said.

– Rappler.com

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MANILA, Philippines – Ride-hailing firm Grab Philippines faces fresh fines totaling P9 million for failing to refund customers more than three years after it was ordered to reimburse funds.

In a statement on Monday, May 15, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it imposed a P6-million fine on Grab for violating three separate commission orders for the company to return a combined P25.45 million to its customers.

The refund orders were issued after Grab failed to deliver on its price monitoring commitment. 

The PCC also imposed a P3-million fine on Grab for allegedly providing “incorrect and misleading information” in its compliance reports on the refund orders.

Grab claimed that it had completed the refund, yet a PCC review found that only 24% of the total was returned by June 2021. It was only after the PCC issued a show cause order in January 2022 that the compliance with the refund went up to 73.8% as of April 2022.

The PCC said the P9 million is on top of the P63.7 million in penalties that have been imposed since Grab acquired Uber in 2018. 

The PCC said Grab needs to put in place an alternative refund mechanism for customers who do not have GrabPay. Grab also needs to exhaust various platforms to inform customers about the pending reimbursement.

‘Surprised’

In a statement, Grab said it was “surprised” by the decision and will evaluate its “legal options” regarding the fines.

“We are glad that the PCC has finally come to a decision on the disbursement mechanism for the remaining administrative fees – so we can put this matter to rest. At the same time, we are surprised at the PCC’s decision to fine us – given that we’ve been proactively engaging with them for over a year with proposals for alternative mechanisms to disburse the remaining administrative fees,” the company said.

Grab said it has always been committed to refunding customers.

“We proposed alternative disbursement mechanisms and are surprised that the PCC made a decision in February 2023 without informing us – given that we’ve been regularly following up with them,” it added. – Rappler.com

In a statement on Saturday, May 13, the NPC said that its complaints and investigation division began closely monitoring the matter since the incident happened on Tuesday “to determine the existence of breach and its extent, and whether there are any other violation[s] of the provisions of the Data Privacy Act of 2012.”

On Tuesday, May 9, some GCash users reported unauthorized transactions in their accounts that reduced their balance. GCash conducted a “preventive maintenance” sometime around Tuesday morning to investigate the complaints.

Within the day, the app went back online, and GCash assured customers that their money was not lost, and that any deductions would be adjusted by 3 pm that day.

On Wednesday, May 10, the NPC issued a notice to explain addressed to G-Xchange, Incorporated (GXI), the company that manages GCash. It also sent an order requiring GXI to appear before the NPC for a clarificatory meeting, and to present more information and documents about the incident.

This meeting was held on Friday, May 12, the NPC said. GXI had presented information about the investigation they undertook and the actions taken to address the incident.

Gilda Maquilan, GCash vice president for corporate communications, said on Wednesday that a fraudster using phishing techniques was behind the unauthorized transactions, based on initial investigations.

Maquilan added that there was “definitely no hacking.” She said GCash continues to upgrade its security mechanisms, such as through the recent rollout of a facial recognition security feature.

Despite the explanation, the NPC is set to issue another order for GXI to provide more information and documents, which would then be checked through an “independent assessment” to verify GXI’s claims that phishing was the cause of the unauthorized transations.

“The NPC is committed to safeguard the privacy of all individuals and will continue to provide guidance on how the public can better protect themselves from violations of their data privacy rights, even as these threat actors are also becoming more sophisticated in the pursuit of their criminal design,” said Privacy Commissioner John Henry Naga.

Naga assured the public that the NPC was making all necessary steps to protect GCash clients’ data privacy rights.

EXPLAINER: What is digital fraud and how do you protect yourself from scams?

House Deputy Minority Leader Bernadette Herrera earlier called for a congressional inquiry into the irregular fund transfers.

Herrera said officers of GCash, GXI, Mynt, Globe Telecom, Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial should explain the incident that alarmed GCash users.

GCash has a consumer base of 81 million. – Rappler.com

“On the part of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), unfortunately, over the last 14 years, this is the first that has been conducted,” Lotilla told the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).

Regulators had recently concluded a financial audit of the NGCP, and Lotilla said that a performance audit is up next. In addition, a contract performance review will be done by the National Transmission Corporation (Transco) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).

The NGCP had “resisted” contractual performance reviews from Transco and PSALM in the past, Lotilla said in the interview.

He hoped that this remains in the past, and that the NGCP will now allow these audits.

“We want to be able to ascertain exactly where the weak points in the transmission system are and address them,” Lotilla said.

Power solutions

Based on NGCP’s internal investigation, its Bolo-Masinloc 230 kilovolt (kV) Line 2 tripped, which led to two (315 megawatts each) of three units of the Masinloc power plant tripping and the loss of 630 megawatts (MW) in energy supply. Since there were other power plants on forced outage, the total loss to the grid on Monday reached 1,354MW.

A red-alert status was thus raised over Luzon by the NGCP from 2 pm to 4 pm and 7 pm to 8 pm, while a yellow-alert status was raised from 5 pm to 6 pm.

In a press conference the day after, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the NGCP’s initial explanation was that a lightning strike on the transmission line caused it to trip.

The NGCP, in a statement on May 8, said the “redundancy” or backup system to the Bolo-Masinloc 230kV transmission line worked, but the “protection settings” of its customers connected to the system were not consistent with those of the NGCP.

“We are coordinating with Masinloc power plant and other grid-connected generating plants on the way forward and to ensure that protection settings are in sync between generating plants and NGCP,” the company said.

Lotilla explained in the interview that the “ultimate solution” would be the completion of transmission upgrades to the Luzon power grid, which the NGCP is also handling.

In queue

On the supply side, Lotilla hopes that the Ilijan power plant, which is capable of supplying an additional 1,200MW to the Luzon grid, can resume operation in June this year to help bolster energy reserves. This power plant has not been in operation since June 2022 as it is being retrofitted.

Lotilla added that they are also waiting for the NGCP to complete connecting other systems around the country, namely the Bataan-Hermosa line, the Cebu-Negros-Panay connection, and the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection. These projects are expected to be completed by the August 2023 revised deadline.

The energy chief reiterated the call for all stakeholders, including Congress, to help facilitate and speed up the process of the construction of transmission towers and distribution lines.

“We call on everyone’s cooperation in the completion of these projects and the identification of other critical transmission projects that need upgrading or rehabilitation,” Lotilla said in a statement.

The NGCP consortium is made up of Henry Sy Jr.’s Monte Oro Grid Resources Corporation and Roberto Coyiuto’s Calaca High Power Corporation with the State Grid Corporation of China as technical partner. Congress granted it a 50-year franchise to operate, maintain, and expand the country’s transmission system. 

Outrage over outages

Meantime, a consumer group and a senator called for a review of the NGCP’s franchise agreement over alleged shortcomings.

Kuryente.org called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “reprimand and review” the NGCP.

“The power outage we experienced in the sweltering heat of the country’s dry season is not an accident but a result of NGCP’s failure to fulfill its obligations as a private corporation responsible for operating, managing, and ensuring that the country’s grid provides reliable, sufficient, and safe electricity,” Roland Vibal, national coordinator for Kuryente.org, said in a statement.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also made a call to address the power shortage “looming over the country.”

“Either the energy officials or the entire power system itself is suffering from integrity problems. Mayroon nang reseta na noon pa na-prescribe para lutasin ang parehong problema ng suplay at reserba pero hindi sinusunod. Pangakong napako na naman,” she said in a statement.

(There was already a prescribed solution to the problems of supply and reserves but this wasn’t followed. Another unfulfilled promise). – Rappler.com

Great expectations: Can DOE chief Popo Lotilla avert an energy crisis?

MANILA, Philippines – A fraudster was behind the anomalous transactions that affected the accounts of multiple GCash users the past two days, according to initial investigations.

GCash examined the logs of the actions of the fraudster and found that a link was sent out to several users. Those who clicked on it would receive a request to link a device. From that point on, the fraudster was able to phish information from customers. 

“When they were able to access the link, information from their device were phished. ‘Yun ‘yung phishing natin (That’s what we call phishing). Any activities from then on, nakikita ng ating mga fraudster (the fraudster could see). Ang ginawa niya (What he did was), he requested to link a device,” Gilda Maquilan, vice president for corporate communications of GCash, told the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) on Wednesday, May 10.

“When you were able to link that, you can make your transaction. ‘Yun naman ‘yung ating (That’s the) regular process to access the GCash. You have to have the MPIN, and you have to have the OTP, which the fraudster was able to acquire,” she explained in the interview on ANC’s Headstart.

Maquilan also confirmed that there was “definitely no hacking.” The impact would have been bigger had there been a hacking incident, she said. As it stands, less than a thousand users of GCash’s 81 million customer base was affected, although Maquilan declined to give an exact figure given that the investigations were still ongoing.

Several GCash users complained about deductions to the balance of their accounts on Monday, May 8. Affected users reported that funds were transferred from their accounts to accounts in EastWest Bank and Asia United Bank (AUB).

Following this, GCash conducted a “preventive maintenance” to investigate the complaints and restore the account balances of affected users. During this period, the app remained inaccessible for several hours. The app was back online in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 9.

Maquilan explained that although funds were indeed transferred from the accounts of some users to other banks, the money remained “intact” because GCash managed to trace and return amounts back to customers.

“When we mentioned that no funds were lost, the money is intact, because we were able to trace kung nasaan ‘yung pera (where the money is). It was intact doon sa partners natin (with our partners),” Maquilan said. “Because of our safety protocol and coordination with the bank, naibalik ‘yan (the money was returned). ‘Yun po ‘yung meaning namin na (That’s what we mean by) the money was intact.”

EXPLAINER: What is digital fraud and how do you protect yourself from scams?

Following the incident, GCash underscored that it was “safe,” even as it continues to battle fraudsters and scammers. Maquilan also mentioned that bad actors were taking advantage of the recently extended SIM registration.

“Meron tayong (We had a) deluge of text messages. Even the fraudster took advantage of our SIM registration. Not only that, there are also merchant sites that say they are a certain brand. So, when you do your transaction there, hindi mo alam na meron na palang phishing na nagaganap (you don’t realize that phishing is already occurring),” Maquilan said.

(READ: Marcos signs SIM Card Registration Act. Will it really stop scammers?)

Maquilan said that GCash continues to upgrade its security mechanisms and technologies, including its launch of its “double safe” feature. In addition to requesting an OTP and MPIN when linking a device, the app may also request users to pass a facial recognition test.

“Ang kalaban natin ay scammer and fraudster, at hinuhuli po natin ‘yan. We work closely with PNP [Philippine National Police] and NBI [National Bureau of Investigation], at meron po kaming nahuhuli. So ‘yung mga fraudster and scammers na ‘yan, we will really run after you,” she said.

(Our real enemies are scammers and fraudsters, and we’re going after them. We work closely with the PNP and NBI, and we’re able to catch some of them. So, to those fraudsters and scammers, we’ll really run after you.)

In a separate statement, Globe reported that it had blocked 4.07 million malicious bank-related messages in the first quarter of the year, 2.7% higher than the number of malicious messages from the previous year. In the span of a year, Globe blocked 85 million bank-related spam and scam messages, which formed part of the record-high 3 billion scam and spam messages filtered by the telco between January 2022 and January 2023. – Rappler.com

“We wish to reiterate that our customers did not lose their funds on GCash. The app is now up for service, so you can safely proceed with your regular transactions,” GCash said in an official statement late afternoon of Tuesday, May 9.

“Our proactive cybersecurity policies are in place to protect our customers as the safety and security of your account is our top priority,” it added.

GCash had conducted a “preventive maintenance” earlier on Tuesday, May 9, to investigate the complaints of multiple customers regarding the deductions to their balances.

“Yesterday, some customers may have noticed a deduction in their GCash accounts. We assure you that an adjustment in their balance will be made within the day, and that funds will remain safe and secure with GCash,” the fintech giant said in an advisory earlier on Tuesday.

Reports of anomalous GCash transactions started the day before, on Monday, May 8. Several netizens noticed that their account balances were deducted, with funds being allegedly transferred to accounts in EastWest Bank and Asia United Bank (AUB).

“Naka-receive nga po kami ng mga complaints sa ating mga customers kahapon at ginawa po namin, immediately, tinignan po namin at conduct kami ng (We received complaints from our customers yesterday, and we immediately looked at it and conducted a) investigation. In fact, until now, we are still coordinating with our partner banks. Pero (But) what we would like to say is there are no funds lost,” said Gilda Maquilan, vice president for corporate communications of GCash.

“Bigyan lang po kami ng until 3 pm today, at ito ay ma-rereflect back doon sa kanilang mga account,” she said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Teleradyo on Tuesday.

(Just give us until 3 pm today, and this will reflect back in their account.)

‘No hacking happened’

In an interview on DZBB, Maquilan dismissed speculation that the incident was caused by hacking.

“Definitely, wala pong hacking ang nangyari. Kaya lang, pagkameron po tayong transaction or complaint, ang ginagawa po natin ay chinecheck po natin at ini-investigate ‘yan. At this point, hindi lang ako makadisclose ng full details din po kasi ongoing pa rin po ‘yan, at meron din po kasi kaming bank partners na kailangan po natin makapagugnayan for the full investigation,” Maquilan said.

(Definitely, there was no hacking that occurred. But when there are these type of transactions or complaints, we need to conduct an investigation. At this point, I can’t disclose full details since it’s still ongoing, and we have bank partners that we need to coordinate with for the full investigation.)

GCash is also already coordinating with EastWest Bank and AUB to come up with an “immediate resolution” and determine what transpired.

“Kung meron pong na-inconvenience, kami po’y nagpapaumanhin (If anyone was inconvenienced, we apologize),” Maquilan said. “I assure everyone that there is no fund loss.” 

GCash also reminded its customers not to share their one-time password (OTP) and PIN to prevent an account takeover and loss of funds.

EXPLAINER: What is digital fraud and how do you protect yourself from scams?

Banks respond

EastWest Bank said that it was “actively cooperating with authorities and investigating these reports.”

AUB, on the other hand, said GCash alerted the bank on Monday regarding the transfer of funds via Instapay to a specific AUB account, which the bank had since temporarily put on hold.

“Be assured that we at AUB are extending our utmost cooperation with GCash on the matter and assisting GCash in so far as looking into the said AUB account,” Emma Cabochan, legal services head and data privacy officer of AUB, said in a statement. – Rappler.com

The case was filed by the local government unit (LGU) of Hermosa, Bataan, represented by its Municipal and Environmental and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO).

In granting the Demurrer to Evidence filed by the camp of lawyer Beulah Coeli Fiel, president and CEO of Econest Waste Management Corporation, Judge Amelita Cruz Corpuz of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 96 Dinalupihan, Bataan dismissed the case due to insufficiency of evidence. 

The court said, “There was no testimonial or documentary evidence presented that will prove beyond reasonable doubt that herein accused committed the act complained of,” and “that the evidence of the prosecution is insufficient, hence, dismissal of this case is proper under the premises.”

Prosecution witness Ronel Pagcaliwangan, chief operating officer (COO) of Udenna Environmental Services (UdESI) had admitted that they did business with Econest, but denied disposing any untreated hazardous wastes at the Hermosa landfill. UdeESI had a liquid waste treatment facility located across the Hermosa Sanitary Landfill.

The court also noted Pagcaliwangan’s letter dated February 26, 2020, wherein he wrote, “There was no instance where we disposed of any liquid chemical wastes in your sanitary landfill, as these were either treated via our Physico-Chemical Treatment Facility in Taguig or Thermal Oxidation in our Bataan Plant”.

The court also highlighted that the complainant, Hermosa MENRO Jesus De Luna, admitted that the two Notices of Violation against Econest dated September 19, 2019 and February 11, 2020, respectively, attached to the complaint show nothing about hazardous wastes.

De Luna was appointed Hermosa MENRO in October 2020. Prior to his appointment, he was an employee of Limay LGU detailed to Hermosa LGU. This was after the landfill was ordered closed by the Hermosa LGU in February that same year.

Amethya dela Llana, head of the Ecology Department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, who also testified for the prosecution that some locators inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone had disposed of wastes at the Hermosa Sanitary Landfill, clarified on cross-examination that none of the wastes listed in the certification that she issued could be classified as hazardous or toxic under RA 6969.

Prosecution witness Elvis Atendido, Hermosa LGU garbage trucks supervisor, narrated that garbage truck driver, Jorry Villanueva, also a witness, reported to him about the unpleasant smell  in the landfill. 

In his testimony, Atendido said that he immediately went to the landfill and stopped 10 meters away from a jumbo sack because of the “nakakasulasok na amoy” (disgusting smell).

The court noted that Atendido admitted not opening the jumbo sack and not knowing what it contained. 

Atendido also admitted to having no expertise in identifying toxic or hazardous wastes, but merely based his testimony on the alleged foul odor, which he could not differentiate from regular municipal waste.

Two former employees of Econest, Aljon Puzon and Jaime Baltazar, testified that they allegedly witnessed toxic wastes being dumped at the landfill, but were unable to provide proof such as videos or photographs, and could not ascertain who gave the directive from the top management of Econest. 

The court ordered the release of Fiel’s cash bond amounting to P120,000.

In a statement, Fiel said she was relieved and deeply grateful for the dismissal of “these trumped-up charges.” 

“I hope that this will now put the issue to rest and help me regain my tarnished reputation. We had 74 regular and informal workers who depended their livelihood on that sanitary landfill . That is translated into 74 familes who were left hungry and poor, especially during the economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fiel added.

Hermosa LGU and Econest entered into public-private partnership agreement for the operation of the Hermosa Sanitary Landfill but the LGU unceremoniously closed it without any final finding from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). Neither did the EMB participate in prosecuting the case against Fiel. – Rappler.com

[EXPLAINER] Plastic sachets: As big brands cashed in, a waste crisis spiraled

On Wednesday, April 11, PLDT’s Smart Communications and its value brand TNT filed a formal letter of request to ask the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission for an extension of the mandated April 26, 2023 deadline for subscribers to register their SIMs.

“We are filing this request to help give ample time to all mobile users, particularly the marginalized sectors and those located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas of the country, to register their SIMs,” said Cathy Yang, head of group corporate communications at PLDT and Smart.

Smart said that only 46% of the total number of subscribers have registered.

“[W]e see the need to give subscribers more time to secure the government IDs required to register their SIMs. We stand ready with government to support any undertaking to fast track completing the SIM Registration process as required by law,” Yang said.

Globe earlier said it has reached only 32% or 27.85 million of its total mobile customer base.

Globe attributed the low figure to the lack of government IDs and access to the internet.

“Given these issues, we appeal to the government to extend the SIM registration process to give our customers more time to get their required government IDs and input the required information on our site,” Globe said.

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Globe also urged the government to allow the following measures:

• Alternative forms of identification: Consider allowing alternative forms of identification, such as company IDs, school IDs, and barangay certificates, for those who do not have a valid government-issued IDs.
• Allow conditional registration: Provide conditional registration options that allow individuals to continue using their telecommunication services while they work to obtain a valid ID within a reasonable period. They can either have a post-verification or update their details once they have the appropriate government ID.
• Create always-on government-handled assisted registration centers: Use government offices as hubs for SIM registration through volunteers and local government unit employees, complemented by ID issuance services.

As of April 10, DICT said that only 65 million or 39% of total subscribers have registered their SIM cards.

Dennis Uy’s Dito Telecommunity has yet to respond to queries whether it is also asking for an extension.

Failure to register SIMs would result in deactivation and curtail the basic right to communication.

“This will impact several aspects of their daily life including banking (ayuda is distributed via e-wallets), e-commerce, transportation (ride-hailing apps, food delivery, etc), healthcare, education (online learning), entertainment and more,” Globe said. – Rappler.com

In either case, you may have just fallen victim to digital fraud.

From phishing emails to third-party scams, fraudsters are finding ways to deceive people in the digital landscape. According to a report by TransUnion, the Philippines had the third-highest rate of suspected fraudulent digital transactions among all countries and regions analyzed in 2022. As much as 8.7% of digital transactions in the country that year were suspected to be fraudulent.

Although the number of digital fraud attempts in the Philippines has actually dropped by 18% since pre-pandemic levels in 2019, experts say the risk of fraud remains high.

“Despite the return to the pre-pandemic levels, the Philippines’ digital fraud rate still stands at a much higher level than the global average, leaving no room for complacency,” Amrita Mitra, chief operating officer at TransUnion Philippines, said in a statement.

Where digital fraud is happening

The cyberworld is vast, and fraud infiltrates it to varying degrees. Globally, TransUnion observed that digital fraud attempts hit the gaming industry – online sports betting, gambling, and the like – and retail industry the most.

The story, however, is different in the Philippines, where logistics tops the list of industries targeted by digital fraud. Since 2019, the logistics industry in the country has seen an explosion of suspected digital fraud, with fraud attempts increasing by 133%. 

The gaming and communities industries also saw a rise in fraud attempts, while the video gaming, retail, financial services, and telecommunities industries all saw a fall in fraudulent activity.

Here is the global rate of suspected fraud attempts among the 10 most targeted industries. The table below also shows the increase or decrease in the rate of attempted digital fraud in the Philippines from 2019 to 2022.

What digital fraud usually looks like

In a three-month period from September 2022 onwards, 71% of Filipinos said they had been targeted by digital fraud attempts through emails, phone calls, online messaging, or texts, according to a survey commissioned by TransUnion. Out of these, 11% of those surveyed admitted to falling victim to fraud. 

Here are the three types of fraud schemes most commonly experienced by Filipinos, according to the survey:

• Phishing (fraudulent emails, social posts, websites and QR codes) – 46%
• Smishing (fraudulent mobile text messages) – 46%
• Third-party seller scam – 33%
• Identity theft – 25%

Phishing and smishing, which have similar intentions, are both attempts by fraudsters to trick you into sharing valuable information, like account passwords, credit card numbers, or one-time passwords (OTP). The government has tried to crack down on smishing with the SIM Card Registration Act.

Meanwhile, third-party seller scams happen when fraudsters – who may pose as official resellers or even the official vendor – sell fake products through a legitimate website.

Identity theft occurs when fraudsters steal your personal information and use it to withdraw money from your bank account, or open a line of credit under your name, among other possible scams. (WATCH: PAK, Check! Ingat sa fake gov’t registrations, mga vebs!)

How digital fraud is being prevented

Louis Smith, Visa’s chief risk officer for Southeast Asia, observed that the nature of fraud has changed.

“Face-to-face fraud doesn't really happen anymore. It's all digital,” he said during a media roundtable. “As the fraudsters became more sophisticated and figured out ways to abuse that, we had to adapt.”

In response, digital payments companies have had to readjust their security measures, such as using tokenization. Rather than storing an individual’s valuable financial information clearly – like his or her card number and card security code – it is instead“tokenized” so that even if a fraudster obtains that data, it can’t be read or used outside of a particular online marketplace.

“Our 16-digit card numbers, when fully exposed, they're invaluable to a fraudster. They can be used anywhere. But when they're tokenized, we can control where it can be used, how it can be used, how long it can be used, who can use it,” Smith said.

According to Smith, Visa also employs artificial intelligence to screen every transaction using 500 variables to look for patterns of fraud. The Visa Advanced Authorization system then lets the merchant and bank know whether the transaction is safe or not – a process which happens in a second or less.

How to stay protected as a consumer

Even with these security measures, Smith emphasized that consumers still need to learn how to keep themselves safe.

“A massive tool in the process of protecting transactions actually is education – helping consumers understand that your bank will never fool you and ask you for your one-time PIN, but a fraudster would,” he said.

Here are some tips from Smith on how to keep your valuable information secure in the digital age:

1. Never share. Never share your one-time passcode or card number on a telephone or any sort of clickable link. Your bank will never send you a clickable link. Your merchant should never send you a clickable link asking you for your bank credentials.
2. Stay where you’re safe. Educate yourself about the type of sites that you’re shopping at and whether they’re safe. High-risk environments like gambling websites are where the majority of fraud occurs.
3. Don’t send valuable information over chat. Credit card details sent over an unsecured messaging app could be stolen. Sending a photo of your card could similarly be dangerous.
4. Treat your digital wallet as you would your physical one. You wouldn’t leave your credit card lying around or with someone else you don’t trust. Protect the digital version of your payment credentials in the same way.

Online buyers, beware! ‘Pasabuy’ scams target Filipinos abroad

– Rappler.com