Pandemic can’t halt tech, security, privacy protection

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NPC supports DILG’s bid vs discrimination of COVID-19 frontliners

NPC Commissioner Librojo

THE National Privacy Commission (NPC) supports the call of the Department of Interior and Local Government on local government units to enact ordinances to safeguard COVID-19 frontline workers against acts of discrimination.

In a statement it released this week, the NPC Commissioner Raymund Librojo, outlined how COVID-19, as a communicable disease, carries with it a stigma, similar to HIV or leprosy, that brings out the worst in others. It said that stigma affects not just patients but also all frontliners–health professions and hospital workers, police, military, and essential services personnel–people who have put so much of themselves in the nation’s fight to contain the pandemic.

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The NPC said that despite the services and sacrifices frontliners contributed to defend the rest of us against the pandemic, they often find themselves battling harassment, discrimination, and even violence from people who may be acting misguidedly out of dread or distress.

The privacy commission also revealed that some frontliners even had their personal data shared in public, without their consent, thus exposing them to potential cyber-bullying, and causing them added stress and mental strain. It stressed that any form of discrimination against frontliners are downright wrong and must be penalized, and discriminatory acts only disrupt the delivery of the most critical and valuable services our country needs right now.

“We need to act immediately to defend frontliners against discrimination, or risk losing the gains we achieved in this collective fight to beat the COVID-19 crisis,” Librojo said.

Smart’s LTE service keeps people connected despite lockdown

Parishioner joins Fr. Julius online. (Handout photo)

MSGR. Julius Perpetuo S. Heruela is the parish priest of the St. Augustine of Hippo Parish in Bacong, Negros Oriental.  Like a growing number of his fellow pastors in this largely Catholic country, he is holding “virtual masses” this Holy Week amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has made public gatherings in churches a serious health risk.

The parish priest livestreams his masses using a web cam linked to his laptop which is connected wirelessly to a PLDT Home Prepaid WiFi unit. He delivers the video to his parishioners via his Facebook page like a watch party.  The whole set up runs on the 4G LTE service of Smart Communications.  Heruela adds that 9 other parishes in the Diocese of Dumaguete are holding online Masses in the same way.

“Before, Masses were just televised on national TV. Today, we can do it ourselves every day– within the parish and with our own parishioners — with the help of technology and fast connectivity,” said Msgr. Heruela.

“We’re very happy that we are able to help people observe Holy Week rites online amid quarantine conditions, said Alfredo S. Panlilio, Smart President and CEO and Chief Revenue Officer of PLDT.

“The case of Msgr. Heruela is particularly gratifying because he is doing it in Bacong, a 4th class municipality, about 650 kilometers south of Metro Manila.  This shows that we have really made progress in expanding the reach of our high-speed LTE service to more and more areas of the country,”  he added.

Fintech provider Encash continues to serve the public.

ENCASH INC., the first Independent ATM Deployer in the Philippines, rallies behind its mission of servicing both banked and unbanked communities amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

As the health efforts during the  COVID-19  crisis continue to steer the way we live,  the necessity of acquiring and moving cash has never been higher. In the midst of this challenge, ENCASH has remained focused in carrying out uninterrupted operations for their partners and the communities they serve.

“It is high time that companies within our industry step up,” shares Mike Mapa, president of ENCASH INC.

“For ENCASH, we actually see that a situation like this requires us to be even more grounded in our vision.”

ENCASH’s vision has always been to grant financial freedom and security across the entire Philippines, including the country’s far flung areas. In keeping with this vision, the company has adjusted efforts to ensure that partners based throughout Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao continue to have access to cash despite  the  logistical  hurdles.  “With  the  government-imposed  lockdown,  financial  accessibility  has become a glaring priority for many households–and that’s a need we are committed to addressing,” says Mapa.

ENCASH supplies ATM terminals, Transaction Switching Systems, mobile POS and their recently rolled out SuperPOS,  a  handheld  ATM,  which  features  both  cash  in  and  cash  out  functions.  Now  that  people’s movements have become limited, ENCASH has been quick to lend out these SuperPOS devices to rural banks,  cooperatives,  town  halls,  and  the  like  due  to  the  product’s  portability  and  flexibility.  This  has become especially helpful for the ongoing distribution of the government’s 4P’s releases.

The lockdown has led to an influx of transactions across over 1,200 of ENCASH’s sites. Apart from keeping these sites operational during the lockdown, ENCASH has also committed to rush settlements as much as possible and to closely monitor cash balances of their deployed ATM machines considering the current challenges. “We are lucky to be working with partners who share in the same vision and are employing extra measures in light of the current crisis,” he says.

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ENCASH assures that there will be continued services despite the ongoing lockdowns around the country. “This is why ENCASH was created. We are committed to continue operations for our partners and rural communities in need of financial access,” Mapa says.

Profiling page creates link between overseas employers, verified professionals

GLOBAL leader in verification solutions TrueProfile.io, recently revealed its new and improved myTrueProfile page, in its bid to accelerate career prospects overseas and aid its applicants in securing coveted jobs abroad. Fresh graduates and young professionals can now build a shareable, online digital resume, where all their credentials are verified.

Reinforcing TrueProfile.io’s commitment to helping qualified professionals around the world pursue their dream careers, the myTrueProfile page acts as a free digital resume, where applicants can upload verified career information. The platform serves as a search engine for both domestic and international employers to browse through and contact potential, verified hires.

While allowing applicants to receive information about job opportunities, the updated myTrueProfilePage also lets users upload authenticated documents, or “TrueProofs” of their identity, job experience, education, licenses, certificates of good standing, and professional references on their profiles. When their myTrueProfile pages are shared publicly, applicants can either share their portfolios directly with employers or showcase it on their LinkedIn accounts.

“The advent of new technology, particularly social media, makes human resource practices more efficient and convenient for organizations and applicants all over the world. With the COVID-19 pandemic creating a stronger demand for qualified healthcare professionals across the globe, we see online, verified recruitment as the best solution for frontline hospitals and healthcare institutions looking to fast-track their recruitment of medical staff and safeguard their communities in this challenging time.” TrueProfile.io’s Head of Business, Alejandro Coca, said.

Another added function of the new page is that it allows applicants to indicate their preferred location of work, where overseas employers can browse applicants based on their willingness to relocate. The service allows applicants to upload scans of documents on the site itself, and request TrueProfile.io to verify the document through their Primary Source Verification solutions in order to add the credentials to his or her page.

“At TrueProfile.io, we are in the business of making sure that hires are based on merit. We believe that if you have earned your credentials, then the new myTrueProfile page is the perfect platform to promote your experience and training, especially for Filipinos who wish to work abroad.” Coca added.

The myTrueProfile page is designed to be an applicant’s companion throughout their professional life. Every new skill, experience in a new area, or work towards a new qualification, enables them to add it to the platform and allows candidates to make the move for their dream careers abroad.

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