Globe, the Philippines’ Mobile leader, is ready to provide necessary support in the Senate’s upcoming investigation on spam and scam SMS, which continue to spread despite the enforcement of the SIM Registration Act.

Globe will send representatives to the September 5 hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services chaired by Sen. Grace Poe to share Globe’s initiatives against spam and scam SMS and insights on how to address the continuously evolving schemes of fraudsters.
“Globe is a steadfast ally of the government especially in matters that affect our customers. We are ready to work with the Senate in responding to the prevalence of spam and scam SMS, with fraudsters apparently circumventing the SIM Registration Act with new ways to bait potential victims,” said Atty. Froilan Castelo, General Counsel of the Globe Group.
Globe also reminded the public to always be vigilant and refrain from sharing sensitive information online which cybercriminals may obtain and use to illegally access their personal accounts.

“Just as we learn how to optimize new technologies, fraudsters also do the same and come up with ingenious ways to corrupt the best technologies for criminal ends. We, therefore, appeal to mobile users to also take personal responsibility in protecting themselves. Please do not share too much information online that criminals may use to access your bank accounts, e-wallets and other sensitive personal accounts,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer.

“Information security is a shared responsibility of all. If you receive a message from someone you don’t know, report the number to our #StopSpam portal or the Philippine National Police hotlines, and then block the number on your mobile phone. These cybercriminals will never stop at finding ways to get the next victim. Don’t let it be you,” she added.

Globe explained that despite SIM identification via the SIM Registration Act, fraudsters are still able to anonymously send out spam and scam messages that circumvent telco networks by at least two ways:

l Use of over-the-top messaging apps, including using unregistered SIMs to create accounts in these apps before the July 30 deactivation

l Use of overseas numbers that are outside the ambit of the SIM registration law
To protect themselves, mobile users with Android devices may install in-device spam filters to filter out malicious SMS. Check out this Globe video to learn how. They may also report via Globe’s #StopSpam portal/or the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group hotline numbers 0966 627 1257 and 0968 867 4302.

Globe continues to proactively block spam and scam SMS including all person-to-person SMS with links, logging record numbers of blocked text messages, at 2.2 billion from January to June 2023 alone. This figure is a nearly four-fold increase from the 615.01 million it logged in the same period last year, and is closely approaching the 2022 full-year record of 2.72 billion blocked messages.

It runs a 24/7 Security Operations Center fitted with technology and equipment where Globe has invested US$20 million.(PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – Over 300 public schools in Eastern Visayas are expecting to receive tables and chairs for students and teachers by October.

In an interview, Jasmin Calzita, DepEd Eastern Visayas regional information officer, said procurement is ongoing at the central office and the school furniture will be shipped to the region by October.

The school furniture program for the region amounting to P220 million, includes 99,605 sets of chairs and tables, will benefit 312 public campuses and under the 2021 and 2022 appropriations.

“The procurement is based on the actual assessment done by school officials in the past school years. While waiting for the delivery, we pull out excess furniture from other schools for use in nearby campuses with furniture shortage,” Calzita told the Philippine News Agency.

The region expects the delivery of 71,110 individual chairs and tables set for elementary pupils, 24,762 for junior high school learners, 2,028 for senior high school, 1,495 chairs and tables set for teachers, 168 working table and stool sets, and 42 science laboratory working table and stool sets.

Under its eight-year procurement plan that started in 2021, DepEd is eyeing to provide one seat and one table to every learner as mandated by Republic Act 11394, or An Act Mandating Public and Private Educational Institutions to Provide Neutral Desks to Students, said Calzita.

A neutral desk, according to the law, is a table or an armchair suitable for left-handed or right-handed students.

The DepEd standard design of armchairs is made of all wood, or a combination of wood and steel, engineered bamboo, and nonwood-based materials will be adopted.

Calzita said the top priority will be given to schools that are recipients of new classrooms under the school building program of the national government and local governments.
The next priority is schools in need of classroom seats as found in the latest furniture analysis.

However, Calzita has no record of how much furniture is needed by the region’s over 4,000 public schools.

As of Aug. 31 or the third day of the new academic year, the region has already recorded 1,113,969 enrollment, representing 86.96 percent of the actual registered learners in the previous school year.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

MANILA-On August 24, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a Php283-million ($5 million) project to help the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) address education challenges, including boosting its capacity to assess the quality of education among Filipino learners.
With the support of various implementing partners, USAID’s five-year project “Improving Learning Outcomes for the Philippines” or ILO-Ph will aid DepEd in designing, implementing, and evaluating its full range of education programs, from early childhood education to workforce development.

Through ILO-Ph, USAID will provide DepEd with on-demand technical assistance, regular consultations, and trainings to improve its strategic communications and data analysis systems. This will enable DepEd to better track the progress of Filipino learners in standardized examinations and measure learning recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. ILO-Ph will also support DepEd in conducting policy-relevant research to help Filipino educators enhance their teaching methods and positively impact learning outcomes.

“As an enduring friend, partner, and ally, the U.S. government, through USAID, will continue to work with local partners to make quality education accessible to all educators and learners wherever they are in the Philippines so we can build stronger and more prosperous communities,” USAID Philippines Deputy Education Director Yvette Malcioln said.

Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte called the new partnership a “significant milestone” that would strengthen DepEd’s goal of addressing basic education challenges under its new “MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa” agenda.

“The impact of policy-relevant research and technical assistance on educators and young learners can be profound. These can alter the fate of their future and consequently, the course of our nation,” Vice President Duterte said, in remarks delivered by DepEd Assistant Secretary G.H. Ambat during the launch.

“In the face of challenges and changes, initiatives like ILO-Ph offers hope and inspiration. I wholeheartedly support this noble project and encourage all stakeholders to tap into its transformative potential.”(PR)