pinoytumblr: Digital Martial Law10 Scary Things About the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 Cyberspace has become the platform of the best and worst things that people can come up with when they’re online. While it’s a hotbed of game-changing ideas and artistic expression, it has also turned into a breeding ground for trolls and cyberthugs. That being said, well-meaning Pinoy lawmakers thought it best to pass Republic Act No. 10175 or The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. But, wait! There’s a catch. This very same law that professes to protect us from those who would do us wrong via digital means also threatens to take away our freedom to say what we want. Senator Tito Sotto proudly owned up to the fact that he was responsible for inserting the libel clause into the law. Senator Chiz Escudero called the insertion a “mistake” and has said that he’ll move to have the law repealed. Meanwhile, Senator TG Guingona (along with the other senators who didn’t back the law) continues to be against the law. For its part, Malacañang said President Noynoy Aquino thoroughly reviewed the law before he affixed his signature to it—a fact which strikes some people as strange. There are those who have remarked that if P-Noy’s father, Ninoy, was still around, he probably be among those protesting what has come to be called as “cyber martial law.” Read more »
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Digital Martial Law
10 Scary Things About the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

Cyberspace has become the platform of the best and worst things that people can come up with when they’re online. While it’s a hotbed of game-changing ideas and artistic expression, it has also turned into a breeding ground for trolls and cyberthugs. That being said, well-meaning Pinoy lawmakers thought it best to pass Republic Act No. 10175 or The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. But, wait! There’s a catch. This very same law that professes to protect us from those who would do us wrong via digital means also threatens to take away our freedom to say what we want.

Senator Tito Sotto proudly owned up to the fact that he was responsible for inserting the libel clause into the law. Senator Chiz Escudero called the insertion a “mistake” and has said that he’ll move to have the law repealed. Meanwhile, Senator TG Guingona (along with the other senators who didn’t back the law) continues to be against the law. For its part, Malacañang said President Noynoy Aquino thoroughly reviewed the law before he affixed his signature to it—a fact which strikes some people as strange. There are those who have remarked that if P-Noy’s father, Ninoy, was still around, he probably be among those protesting what has come to be called as “cyber martial law.”

Read more »

(via thelongdistancediaries)

Source: spot.ph

Official Gazette of the Philippines: #phtrenchquake preliminary details and advisories

govph:

What to do:


Maintain calm. Monitor. Cooperate.Listen and follow advisories. Your LGU and Local Disaster Risk Reduction Office have the timeliest advisories for your area. Monitor media for official advisories from the authorities.

Foreign resources:

Learn about the Philippine Trench from…

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The State of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines

According to data from the Department of Health, the number of new cases of HIV being reported in the Philippines is steadily on the rise. While the absolute number of cases in the Philippines is relatively small, HIV is rising at an alarming rate in the country.

Persons who are infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) may eventually develop  AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), a life threatening disease characterized by a weakened immune system.

They agreed that the HIV has spread in the Philippines largely because of the lack of public education about the virus. Because sex is a taboo topic in Filipino culture, experts speculate that the actual number of HIV cases in the Philippines may actually be higher than reported because people are too ashamed or afraid to come forward about having the infection.

[via GMA News]

HOW INCREDIBLY SAD. HIV is PREVENTABLE.

(via pinoytumblr)

A Filipina’s Guide To Avoid Getting Raped

Following the controversy of yet another rape case where a Panamanian diplomat allegedly coerced a young Filipina into having sexual intercourse, I decided to help my fellow Filipinas understand how rape works and how to avoid it. In a country where girls are taught not to get raped instead of boys being taught not to rape, here are a few things we must remember:

  1.  A Filipina should never ever lose her virginity before marriage. Everyone knows that only virgins get raped. If you no longer are a virgin and a man forces his penis to enter your unwilling vagina, it isn’t rape because technically you’re a slut.
  2.  Don’t go out and drink. A decent woman does not go to bars and socialize. Only the heathen get drunk with the exception of men of course. After all, boys will be boys. If you get drunk, pass out and wake up the next morning with your body sore and underwear missing, don’t alarm the police. It’s your fault. You shouldn’t have ordered that martini in the first place.
  3.  Don’t wear shorts and skimpy clothes, don’t wear red lipstick either because people might mistake you for a prostitute. If you don’t want a man to make a pass at you then don’t dress up. It’s not a man’s fault if he can’t stop staring at your legs or cleavage since you put them on display. If a man touches your legs it’s only because you asked for it.
  4.  Don’t go on dates. Wait for the guy to come to your parents’ house and ask permission to court you. That’s just how it is. It’s the proper way, the Filipino way. If you get a boyfriend without going through traditional courtship that’s probably because you’re easy.
  5. Don’t kiss a guy on the lips, he might think you’re ready to sleep with him. A kiss is a prelude to sex! Don’t you know any better? A kiss on the cheek is okay but French kissing is for the French and not for the Filipina.
  6. If, by any chance, a guy tries to rape you, scream and fight! Scream because that is the only way you can prove that you don’t want to be raped. Simply saying “no” isn’t enough. You might have to stab him with a fork too just to get your message across.  And God forbid you might be too scared to even talk let alone put up a fight, don’t say anything afterwards and just keep it to yourself. What would be the point? People will just think you made it up anyway because let’s face it, you’re a whore.
If you’re too dense to understand my sarcasm then let me say this flat out: I am outraged by the degree of ignorance and the prevalent patriarchy in this country! I am disgusted at the horrible things that people have been saying about “Pamela” whose claims have been tainted by a CCTV footage showing that she kissed, hugged and held hands with Erick Shcks.
Screenshot of the CCTV footage, which Shcks uses as evidence that it was consensual sex and not rape.
Image Source: Yahoo
So what if she kissed him? So what if she went up to his room? Does that mean she wanted to sleep with him? And if she did, couldn’t she have changed her mind and said no?
This girl is just another “Nicole” (Subic Rape Case), one of the many Filipinas who have been stripped of their dignity by foreigners right here on our soil and yet our countrymen have the audacity to insinuate that these women deserved it because of their so-called promiscuity and liberal lifestyle. 
Not only is the Philippines one of the worst places to become a mother, it is also one of the worst places to be a woman. Despite the fact that we have had two female presidents and a number of women elected into public office, women in this country are still treated as second-class citizens and that is the real reason why women suffer rape, domestic violence and die from unhealthy and unplanned pregnancies. We just don’t matter that much.