MANILA, Philippines – Two more Filipinos will vie for Paris Olympics berths in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Aleah Finnegan and Kylee Kvamme will join Carlos Yulo in the global showdown set in Antwerp, Belgium in September after making the cut in the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Singapore on Friday, June 16.

Finnegan finished seventh in the women’s individual all-around with a total of 50.399 points and advanced to the apparatus finals of the vault, balance beam, and floor exercise.

The reigning Southeast Asian Games vault champion, Finnegan emerged as the second-best qualifier in the apparatus after earning an average of 13.533 points, just behind Korea’s Yeo Seojeong, who normed 13.683 points.

Finnegan then ranked seventh in balance beam with 12.833 points and netted 12.933 points for eighth place in floor exercise, where compatriot Emma Malabuyo also clinched a final berth after placing fifth with 13.033 points.

The top eight gymnasts in each apparatus (a maximum of two per federation) will advance to the finals.

Meanwhile, Kvamme caught the bus to the world championships after garnering 48.765 points for 14th place in the individual all-around.

Since there were seven higher-ranked gymnasts (three from China and two each from Korea and Chinese Taipei) who qualified for the worlds through the team event, Kvamme made the cut as one of the next-best eight gymnasts.

China bagged the team all-around gold with 163.529 points, while Korea (160.095) and Chinese Taipei (147.397) settled for silver and bronze, respectively.

The Philippines – also composed of Lucia Gutierrez and Ancilla Lucia Mari Manzano – wound up at fifth place after posting 145.096 points.

Yulo looks to produce a pair of gold medals on Saturday as he competes in the men’s floor exercise and rings finals, while Finnegan eyes the women’s vault crown.

Also set on Saturday is the women’s floor exercise final, with Finnegan and Malabuyo seeking decent finishes. – Rappler.com

BEIJING, China – Chinese President Xi Jinping called Bill Gates “an old friend” and said he hoped they could cooperate in a way that would benefit both China and the United States, in Xi’s first meeting with a foreign entrepreneur in years.

In a meeting at Beijing’s Diaoyutai state guest house, where China’s leaders have traditionally received senior foreign visitors, Xi said he was very happy to see the Microsoft MSFT.O co-founder and philanthropist after three years, and that Gates was the first American friend he had met this year.

“I often say the foundation of US-China relations lies with its people. I place my hopes on the American people,” a video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi as saying.

“With the current global situation, we can carry out various activities beneficial to our two countries and people, activities that benefit humanity as a whole,” he said.

Gates, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, June 14, said he was “honored” to have the chance to meet. “We’ve always had great conversations and we’ll have lot of important topics to discuss today…. It’s very exciting to be back.”

In a post on his personal blog, Gates said he and Xi had discussed global health and development challenges such as health inequity and climate change.

Xi stopped traveling abroad for nearly three years as China shut its borders during the coronavirus pandemic and his international meetings since the reopening have mostly been with other state leaders.

A number of CEOs have visited China since it reopened early this year, but most have met with government ministers.

Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020 to focus on philanthropy in the fields of global health, education and climate change.

The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province. In early 2020, Xi wrote to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for its fight against COVID-19.

Xi also discussed the global rise of artificial intelligence(AI) with Bill Gates and said he welcomed US firms including Microsoft bringing their AI tech to China, two sources familiar with the talks said.

One of the sources said they also discussed Microsoft’s business development in China.

Not pursuing hegemony

The mood of the foreign business community towards China has turned more cautious as Sino-US tensions intensify and Xi increases China’s focus on national security.

Gates’ visit comes ahead of a long-delayed trip to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at stabilizing relations between the world’s two largest economies and strategic rivals.

Blinken had a tense call with China’s foreign minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, during which Qin urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security.

During his meeting with Gates, Xi said China would not follow the old path of a “strong country seeking hegemony” but would work with other countries to achieve common development, according to the People’s Daily newspaper. China often accuses the United States of pursuing hegemony.

Apart from meeting Xi, Gates gave a speech at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute about the need to use technology to solve global health challenges during his visit.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Beijing municipal government, which founded the institute with Tsinghua University, also pledged to each provide $50 million to bolster the institute’s drug discovery capacity. – Rappler.com

BERLIN, Germany – Global climate negotiators had little specific progress to report at talks intended to prepare for this year’s COP28 UN climate conference in Dubai, which it is hoped will get governments to embrace more ambitious steps to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, June 15, that countries must start phasing out oil, coal and gas – not just emissions – and demanded that fossil fuel companies “cease and desist” measures that aim to hobble progress on the issue.

Some Western governments and climate-afflicted island nations agree, but the oil-producing United Arab Emirates, host of COP28, says the talks should focus on phasing out emissions. Nevertheless, the UAE’s incoming COP28 president said last week the phasedown of the fuels themselves was inevitable.

The United Nations climate change body said the Bonn talks closed on Thursday with progress on the issues of financing measures to mitigate climate change; the question of liability for the loss and damage it has caused; and funding for measures to adapt to its effects. But it did not specify what had been decided.

The meeting is seen as a mid-way check-in to prepare decisions for adoption at COP28, which begins on November 30.

The landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement set a 1.5ºC increase in the global surface temperature as a limit for averting the most catastrophic effects of global warming in the industrial era – a threshold already close to being crossed.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said delegates in Bonn had laid the groundwork for more ambitious action.

“From what I have seen and heard, there are bridges that can be built to realize the common ground we know exists,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said late on Thursday.

But activists accused the US, Britain and the European Union of trying to divert discussions away from their legal accountability for climate change.

And they said rich industrialized countries were pushing developing countries to commit to measures such as expanding renewable sources of power without taking into account their inability to pay for them.

The UNFCCC said climate finance was among the topics heavily discussed in Bonn.

Environmentalists did, however, welcome new UNFCCC requirements for participants in the UN process to disclose their affiliation, a step aimed at curbing the influence of fossil fuel industry lobbyists. – Rappler.com

BASILAN, Philippines – Around 300 individuals were displaced while a rubber tapper was wounded when a heavy firefight ensued between government forces and a group of armed men at around 1 pm Friday, June 16, in Barangay Materling, Ungkaya Pukan, in the province of Basilan.

This was confirmed by Police Major Alphad Osalli, chief of Ungkaya Pukan Municipal Police Station (MPS), who said that the gun battle lasted until 2 pm, when the armed men withdrew toward an unknown direction.

This paved the way for the immediate evacuation of the displaced individuals in coordination with Municipal Social Welfare Development Officer Nursira Estajal together with Municipal Administrator Madznur Maturan.

Osalli said the internally displaced persons from barangays Materling, Bohe-Suyak, and Lower Ulitan were temporarily housed in Ma’ahad Darul Ulum before they proceeded to their respective relatives in the neighboring villages.

At around 2:30 pm, the patrol team was conducting a chokepoint operation at the crossing of Materling when the wounded rubber tapper identified as Aragon Sajid Abon, 38, was taken to the Ungkaya Pukan Rural Health Unit.

Authorities conducted a briefing at around 4 pm to harmonize the armed encounters, reduce casualties, avoid escalation of hostilities, and promote peace.

Early on, another group of unidentified armed men attacked a detachment of the Army’s Scout Rangers also in Ungkaya Pukan, as confirmed by Basilan Provincial Police Director Colonel Carlos Madronio. No casualty was reported. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Long lines formed at the departure area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on Friday, June 16, the first day of the transfer of all Philippine Airlines (PAL) international flights from Terminal 2.

Meanwhile, all domestic flights of PAL will now operate from Terminal 2, alongside domestic flights of AirAsia.

The reassignments are part of the Schedule and Terminal Assignment Rationalization (STAR) program of the Manila International Airport Authority, which started on April 16. Under the program, MIAA estimates the capacity of Terminal 2 to increase from 7.5 million to 10 million passengers a year.

Terminal 2 was originally designed as a domestic terminal with continuous passenger flow. But in the 1990s, PAL began to use Terminal 2 exclusively for its international and domestic operations, an arrangement that was entered into during a time of financial distress for the flagship carrier.

Prior to this, PAL also began moving flights to and from Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, and Phnom Penh to Terminal 1.

See the full list of terminal reassignments here. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Juami Tiongson erupted for 37 points and took over in the second half as Terrafirma gave NLEX a 110-96 beating in the PBA On Tour at the Ynares Sports Arena on Friday, June 16.

Tiongson scattered 22 of his game-best output in the last two quarters to steer the Dyip to their second win in five games in the preseason tournament.

Catching fire from three-point land on a 7-of-13 clip, Tiongson shot 13-of-26 overall and added 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in 35 minutes of action.

The Road Warriors still led 53-52 at halftime thanks to Kevin Alas’ buzzer-beating triple before Tiongson and the rest of Terrafirma hit their stride.

Four more Dyip players scored in double figures, with Gelo Alolino and Andreas Cahilig backstopping Tiongson with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Cahilig pulled down 14 rebounds to complete his double-double effort and recorded 2 blocks in the rout that saw Terrafirma lead by as many as 20 points, 107-87, off a Tiongson triple with under three minutes remaining.

Eric Camson and Allen Mina chimed in 12 points apiece for the Dyip.

Don Trollano showed the way with 20 points and 4 rebounds in the loss that dropped NLEX to the second-to-last place at 1-4 in the 12-team tiff.

Alas finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Road Warriors, while Ben Adamos put up 13 points and 9 rebounds.

The Scores

Terrafirma 110 – Tiongson 37, Alolino 14, Cahilig 13, Mina 12, Camson 12, Go 6, Calvo 6, Ramos 4, Alanes 3, Taladua 3, Gomez de Liano 0, Grospe 0.

NLEX 96 – Trollano 20, Alas 15, Adamos 13, Pascual 10, Doliguez 10, Rosales 9, Anthony 9, Fajardo 8, Nieto 2.

Quarters: 18-22, 52-53, 85-76, 110-96.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena wants to push beyond his limits after being the first Asian pole vaulter to hurdle the six-meter barrier.

Obiena said he welcomes the lofty challenge of clearing 6.25m set by Philippine Athletics and Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano after surpassing 6.0m in the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway last June 10.

It is a dare for the world No. 3 Obiena to up the ante as he looks to contend for an Olympic gold medal against an elite field of rivals in the Paris Games next year.

Among the top 10 in the world rankings, three others have also cleared the six-meter plateau this year: reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden, KC Lightfoot of the USA, and Sondre Guttormsen of Norway.

“I said you have to do 6.25. That will make all of us very comfortable going towards next year,” Capistrano told PlayItRight TV when asked about what he told Obiena following his historic vault in Norway.

No pole vaulter has reached 6.25m, with Duplantis being the closest when he reset his world record by soaring past 6.22m in France last February.

But Obiena is up to the task.

“I’m up for the challenge. I know what [Capistrano] meant by that. We’re gunning for gold in Paris,” said Obiena.

“The same motivation that I have and the same goals that I have, it’s pretty good to be aligned with people with the same mindset.”

Obiena joined the six-meter club by adopting a new 20-step technique for his golden vault in the Bergen Jump Challenge, where he beat two Americans in USA record holder Lightfoot and Tokyo Games silver medalist Chris Nilsen.

Admitting that the new method – an additional two steps from his old 18-step approach – is “difficult to control,” Obiena is convinced he can still raise the bar.

“I don’t think it’s the best jump I’ve taken. It’s one of the good ones but I don’t think it’s technically the best that I can do,” he said.

Needing to surpass the entry standard of 5.82m when the Olympic qualification period begins on July 1, Obiena aims to punch his ticket to Paris as he competes in the BAUHAS-Galan in Stockholm, Sweden on July 2. – Rappler.com

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – A group of local officials and other stakeholders in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) went to the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday, June 14, to question the constitutionality of the special Muslim-majority region’s new election code.

The petitioners accused BARMM interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim of grave abuse of discretion, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-dominated Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) of going beyond its jurisdiction when it approved the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 35, otherwise known as the Bangsamoro Electoral Code.

They said the region’s new law was an encroachment on the functions of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the SC itself, and would adversely affect the welfare and interest of political parties, voters, and taxpayers in BARMM.

Must Read

Bangsamoro parliament approves electoral code

The petitioners include the following: 

• Dimnatang Pansar
• Abdul Rashid Balindong
• Shariefuddin Lucman
• Aleem Alibasher Abdullatif
• Jamil Paisal Adiong
• Rafnanjani Pendatun Ali
• Mohajeran Balayman
• Najia Pescadera
• Sharif Jul Asiri Abirin
• Abdul Muhaimin Abuhara
• Mohammad Salmann Sakili
• Sarid Hataman
• Harisul Samanul
• Sukarno Asri
• Mohammad Yusof Tidal

The newly-formed Bangsamoro Governors Caucus (BGC) backed the petition that was submitted to the High Tribunal by lawyers Romulo Macalintal, Antonio Carlos Bautista, and Christopher Rodriguez.

The 64-page petition, which represents several local government officials, civil society, traders, and political leaders in the BARMM, sought an SC ruling to declare the regional law null and void.

The petitioners also asked the SC to issue a status quo ante order or a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the new law.

A status quo ante order is meant to restore a situation to how it was before a particular event or dispute – in this case before the law’s passage – until a final decision is reached.

The electoral code was enacted by the BARMM’s interim parliament on March 8 and took effect on May 17.

The petitioners asked the high court to immediately take action on the matter in light of the forthcoming political exercises in the country.

Speaking for the BGC, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. said the majority of the BARMM’s provincial governors support the petition but denied they meant to undermine the current leadership in the autonomous region.

“The move in seeking the intervention of the Supreme Court is to validate the constitutionality and legality of regional laws which will help strengthen the rule of law in the Bangsamoro region. We just want to put things in proper order as these may affect the future of the region,” Adiong said.

The BGC, organized in Cagayan de Oro earlier this month, is composed of governors Abdusakur Tan of Sulu, Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu of Maguindanao del Sur, Ysmael Sali of Tawi-Tawi, and Hadjiman Hataman-Salliman of Basilan.

In December 2022, the five governors first questioned some provisions of the then-draft election code such as the powers bestowed on the then-proposed Bangsamoro Election Office (BEO), which they said surpassed the powers of the Comelec.

The petition also cited a provision in the BARMM’s new election law, which provided strict rules on the use of campaign funds, and partisan activities. 

In February, a month before the BTA approved the controversial code, a group of election experts and representatives of election watchdogs, warned that some provisions in the then-proposed law conflicted with the 1987 Constitution.

They suggested revisions in the then proposal, which is now the basis for the conduct of the elections in the BARMM. The region is scheduled to hold its first regional elections in 2025, two years after the barangay and youth elections set this October.

“The legislation of the electoral code must be pursued within the framework of the Constitution and national laws. Following the hierarchy of laws, the electoral code must be consistent, adherent, and compliant with the Constitution, national laws, and international law standards,” read part of their position paper early this year.

They questioned the provisions about an electoral tribunal, registration of political parties, the budget, and the powers of a regional electoral office to list and delist voters.

The experts had recommended the removal of the provision granting the Bangsamoro parliament’s electoral tribunal exclusive jurisdiction over election disputes, arguing that the Comelec should have sole authority instead. 

Instead, they had proposed empowering the BEO to conduct recounts, oversee hearings, and make recommendations to the Comelec on petition decisions.

They had also recommended the removal of a provision granting exclusive jurisdiction to a regional electoral tribunal to handle election disputes, arguing that the Constitution has mandated the Comelec to perform such a task. 

They had proposed empowering the electoral office to conduct recounts, oversee hearings, and provide recommendations to the Comelec regarding petition decisions instead.

Concerns had also been raised about a provision in the then-draft code granting the Bangsamoro Electoral Commission the authority to approve the registration and dissolution of political parties, citing potential constitutional issues. 

The experts had recommended treating the office as the reception and screening committee for party registrations under the supervision of the Comelec. They said it should have limited powers over party dissolution petitions that require final approval or reversal by the Comelec.

Experts had called for the removal of a provision in the proposed code that grants the BEO the authority to investigate voter list anomalies and delist voters, as they argued that such matters should be decided by courts, not the BEO. 

They pointed out that courts already have exclusive jurisdiction over voter list cases in their respective areas. 

The group of experts had also recommended revising the code’s budget provision to ensure any supplemental budget for the BEO goes through the Comelec first, as it potentially conflicts with the Comelec’s status as an independent constitutional commission.

The experts who came up with the position paper included former elections commissioner Luie Guia, former justice secretary Al Agra, former interior undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, former interior chief Anwar Malang of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and former Masbate governor Vicente Homer Revi, among others. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Following the earthquake in Abra in July 2022, educator and entrepreneur Mia Magdalena Capuyan Fokno published a post on her Facebook wall, questioning the whereabouts of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Some friends later sent her the link to a malicious video by vlogger Renan Padawi (who goes by the name “Jackfloyd Sawyer” online) attacking her, but she brushed it off. She did not know Padawi personally. But this was not the first time she had had to deal with online attacks, after all.

But because close relations insisted, she finally forced herself to watch it. Her reaction was so visceral, that it took time for her to get to the end of the video. 

With each statement that Padawi made, Fokno cringed: “Kulang ka lang sa dilig (You just need watering)!” A rude way of saying she was badly in need of sex.

“Baka ‘pag nagkita tayo, shit, ibabangka kita sa dagat na walang hanggan. (Maybe when we see each other, I will send you off on a boat to the next life.)” In essence, threatening her life.

“It really was bastos. Nandiri ako. (It was really crude. It was disgusting.) I felt violated. He was saying some very sexually explicit things and kept pointing his finger and raising his clenched fist,” Fokno’s voice cracked as she recalled details during an interview with Rappler in March.

“I suffered sleepless nights, public ridicule, embarrassment, anguish. I felt unsafe online and in the real world. Knowing that he had many followers, I feared for my safety. I became paranoid and I made sure that I was home every day before it got dark.” 

Fokno’s experience is not unique. Following the rise of social media, cybermisogyny has taken gender-based violence online. 

Must Read

[OPINION] Cybermisogyny: Thoughts after I got a death threat online

There is no need to suffer in silence, however. Filipinos using the digital space have avenues of redress for incidents such as these. 

As of May 2022, 3,700 cyber libel cases have been filed since the law was passed. From 2019 to 2022, 754 cases of violations of the RA 11313 (Safe Spaces Act) were reported.

Laws like the Safe Spaces Act and Cybercrime Prevention Act, as well as various support groups can hold individuals accountable and ease trauma that can result from online hate in all its many forms. What is important is to take action. 

Roots of online misogyny

Men do not have a monopoly on misogyny, according to licensed professional teacher, psychometrician, and psychologist Eizaleen Fusingan-Lappay. But, to a certain extent, it thrives because society conditions us to think that women are inferior to men, and as such, are subject to their power and authority. 

A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study conducted from 2017 to 2022 shows that 99.5% of all Filipinos have biases against women.

To a degree, the pervasive milieu of online hate contradicts a number of Philippine core values such as pakikipag-kapwa (treating the other as an extension of the self), according to Carolyn Sobritchea of the Commission on Higher Education’s Technical Panel on Gender and Women’s Studies, and the University of the Philippines’ Center for Women’s Studies Foundation, Inc.

However, she said, some of our indigenous values, like utang na loob (debt of gratitude), can be misused, especially if appropriated by the ruling class for their personal agenda and political gains.

Lappay attributed the boldness of perpetrators of cybermisogyny to the online disinhibition effect, which makes a person disregard societal norms due to the anonymity afforded them by online platforms. 

Addressing trauma: Cybermisogyny and its discontents

Cybermisogyny can take many forms, from abusive language to grave threats. 

“Things happen very fast online,” Sobritchea told Rappler in an interview last May. “Someone can post a woman’s naked photo or make a defamatory statement with the click of a button. The damage to someone’s reputation spreads fast, resulting in trauma and emotional distress.”

Some people may be sitting with unresolved feelings that are building up as trauma, which is when residual negative energy or feelings stored in the body remain unresolved after an experience or event.

Following an encounter with cybermisogyny, Lappay said, it is important to undergo debriefing sessions. She strongly advised working with a mental health professional to process the experience in a safe space. 

Should someone not be able or ready to go to a face-to-face therapy session, there are  support groups online and MindNation has 24/7 chat support that can help.

Different ways to cope

Whenever Christine Abrigana, who started Lagim: A Filipino True Crime Podcast in 2020, receives snarky comments, she steps away from her screen until the emotions pass. 

She has made it a practice to delete inflammatory comments and block commenters because she doesn’t like dwelling on them. She also doesn’t discuss them with friends, though she sometimes vents on her Instagram Stories about mean comments. 

When she decides to answer them, she draws from her experience working in public family law and approaches with compassion, understanding, and respect – mindful that the person on the receiving end may be going through something.

When activist and academic Renee Karunungan-Edwards’ Facebook wall and message inbox were flooded with hate-filled messages following a post about then-candidate Rodrigo Duterte in March 2016, she documented them, taking screenshots that she then shared on her wall.

A previously published Rappler report documented the abusive messages online. Some Duterte supporters said back then: “Ul*l. T*ngina mo. UP ka man din galing, pero utak dilis ka. Bobo ka ang pangit mo. Sana ma-rape ka, manakawan ka. ‘Yan gusto mo, ‘di ba? Ayaw mo ng pagbabago dahil ayaw mo kay Duterte. Sana lang one of these days ma-rape ka para matauhan ka.” 

(Stupid. S*n of a b*tch. You are from UP but you have the brain of an anchovy. You’re stupid and ugly. I hope you get raped, or get mugged. That’s what you want, right? You don’t want change because you are against Duterte. I hope one of these days you get raped so you’ll become enlightened.)

She subsequently filed cases – with legal services offered pro bono – citing violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act and Omnibus Election Code. As of March, the Comelec had handed down subpoenas. The legal process is ongoing. Karunungan-Edwards, who is now based in the United Kingdom, will attend court proceedings online.

Fokno, Abrigana, and Karunungan-Edwards have accepted that the online attacks on them ebb and flow, depending on the political climate in the Philippines.

Expert Speaks

[ANALYSIS] Cybermisogyny violates human rights

Online crime and offline consequences

After suffering through many sleepless nights and anxiety, Fokno decided to file a case against Padawi. Since she lives in Benguet, Fokno went to the Philippine National Police Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit in the Cordillera. There, through an app, an officer helped her document the video that Padawi posted.

Then, she wrote an affidavit. She also asked witnesses, who had watched the video and seen firsthand the effects it had on Fokno, to write statements.

With those documents, a police officer accompanied her to the provincial prosecutor in Benguet. In September 2022, the case People of the Philippines vs. Renan Padawi was officially filed. In February 2023, Padawi pleaded guilty to violating the Safe Spaces Act. He has yet to settle the fine and civil liability of P150,000.

Fokno did not need to spend any money on any step in the process. 

She has been encouraged by messages she receives from women, many of whom are strangers to her, thanking her for inspiring them to fight back against their attackers.

Building communities of empathy and action

According to Lappay, empathy-building connections and communications will empower people to speak kindly and mindfully online, as well as to help set awareness in dealing with cybermisogynists, including forging alliances to help those who are defamed and shamed on various online platforms.

“We have the power to create safe spaces in the virtual world if we speak up and stand for the victims,” she said. Then, we can once again look at each other, eye to eye, as fellow human beings and extensions of each other, though mediated by technology. 

Sobritchea advocates for a multi-layered approach. First, for content moderation of online platforms to prevent online abuse – knowing full well that there are risks to regulation, which can curtail freedoms, especially of small organizations and the marginalized. 

Next, by showing models of positive portrayal of women and giving space for their narratives to be heard. And finally, by empowering women to help them protect themselves. She said there are many laws and mechanisms to combat violence against women.

Dr. Gregor Mate, who has lectured and published extensively on life-long impacts of trauma, blames our modern globalized culture for what he calls an epidemic of loneliness. 

But an antidote lies in technology too: “We have to use the technologies that we have to connect with each other. People need to build virtual communities where they can share their ideas, their miseries, and their joys, and talk about their values. Seek connection on the local level, internet level.”

Though it seems that cybermisogyny has become commonplace in our society, individuals and groups can fight back to destroy the culture of online hate: by healing from their trauma, by seeking justice under the law, and, in the long-term, by building communities of care that hark back to the values deeply embedded in our Filipino identity. – Rappler.com

Mari-An Santos is a fellow of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand’s caretaker government is proposing to “fully reengage” Myanmar’s military rulers and has invited ASEAN foreign ministers to an informal meeting on Sunday, June 18, in an effort to jump-start a stalled peace plan, according to a letter seen by Reuters and sources aware of the invitation.

The proposal was made in a June 14 letter to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts from Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, which was seen by Reuters on Friday, June 16, and confirmed by three sources with knowledge of the planned meeting.

ASEAN has barred Myanmar’s ruling generals from its high-level meetings over its failure to honor its agreement, known as the “5-point consensus,” which included calls for an immediate end of hostilities, dialogue between all parties and the granting of full humanitarian access.

ASEAN chair Indonesia has declined to attend the meeting, according to three sources. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The foreign ministry in Thailand, which is expected to have a new government by August following an election last month, declined to comment.

Indonesia last month cited progress in its behind-the-scenes efforts to engage multiple parties in Myanmar’s conflict in a bid to advance a peace process agreed in 2021 by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar’s military, two months after it seized power in a coup and launched a deadly crackdown on opponents.

Myanmar has been roiled by violence since the coup, with the military battling on multiple fronts to try to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement formed in response to the crackdown.

Human rights and some United Nations experts have accused the military of committing widespread atrocities. The junta says it is fighting terrorists who aim to destroy the country.

The letter from Thailand’s foreign minister did not explicitly say that Myanmar’s junta-appointed foreign minister had been invited to the meeting. However, two informed sources said the Myanmar minister had been invited.

The letter said the proposed meeting would be “part of the initial steps” of the peace process.

It cited a meeting last month at the ASEAN summit in Indonesia where “a member nation” made an unequivocal statement that ASEAN should fully reengage with Myanmar at the leadership level.

“A number of members supported the call and some were willing to consider, there was no explicit dissenting voice,” Don said in the letter. – Rappler.com