Sulit.com.ph shall adopt Sure Seal & Sure Pass Trustmark for its Sellers and Buyers

RJ David, CEO of Sulit.com.ph, announced that they will give higher importance to advertisements posted by authenticated sellers in their site. The authentication shall be carried out through their partnership with Qartas Corporation, a company offering Trustmark certification service for Philippine-based websites to ensure a safe and responsible environment for the conduct of online trade and business transactions.

Sulit.com.ph is one of the most popular classified ads posting forum site in the Philippines. It has more than half a million members with 800 to 900 new members signing up daily. As of to date, the site has accommodated up to 2 million ads posted on the site. Around 2000 to 3000 ads get posted on a daily basis.

Its popularity made the site attractive also to those committing fraud, scam, and identity theft. As a result, due to feelings of uncertainty by both buyers and sellers, a lot of transactions happen offline.

Moving forward, Sulit.com.ph shall be giving priority to authenticated sellers in listing of ads and will have the utility to control the personal information one desires to share on an as-per-request basis.

Sulit.com.ph partners with Qartas Corporation to validate legitimacy of sellers and buyers by authenticating the details they post about themselves. This in turn, RJ David hopes will also increase overall trust to products and services marketed through the site.

Qartas offers three types of certification:

• The Sure Pass Personal is the verification service for independent entrepreneurs or individual sellers. This is applicable for professional service providers like programmers, copywriters, graphic artists, or micro entrepreneurs. The fee for this is two thousand five hundred pesos (P2500).
  
• The Sure Pass Business is the verification service for BIR, DTI or SEC registered small enterprises (Sole Proprietor, company below 2 yrs tenure) looking to have their business credentials verified. The verification process includes verifying all legal documentations of your business. The fee for this service is five thousand pesos per year (P5000).
  
• The Sure Seal Premium verification service is for established businesses (at least 2 yrs. tenure) registered with the BIR, DTI and SEC. This also includes claims, ocular, and privacy policy verification consistent with International APEC Data Privacy Standards. The fee for this service is sixteen thousand eight hundred pesos (P16,800) per year.

I first heard about the new service, Sure Pass, when Jovel Cipriano shared this in the last E-Commerce Summit. It is meant for individual sellers to assert themselves as credible individuals to deal with. (I will be personally getting this)

The Sulit.com.ph and Qartas Corporation announced their partnership as part of the Philippines 1st Data Privacy Celebration event earlier today (January 28) at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Mandaluyong City. Top sellers of Sulit.com.ph community and other industry players were invited to discuss the importance of data privacy, how integrating trustmarks in websites help in increasing conversion rates, and the growing concern on internet fraud.

Data Privacy Day, an international event that is celebrated on January 28th in the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries in an effort to raise awareness and generate discussion about data privacy and protection.

The event is graced by speakers Dir. Maria Lourdes Yaptichay (DTI E-Commerce Office), Jun Malacaman (representing Usec. Vertus Gil, National Cyber Security Awareness Coordination Office, NCC) , Atty. JJ Disini, and Jovel Cipriano of Qartas Corporation.

My take on data privacy is that it is a personal Internet user responsibility. Companies and other parties getting information from you can only abuse the data you shared will depend if you will allow them to do so. However, when you exercise your right not to give information that you feel is unnecessary (and this I do whenever I get asked to fill up forms offline), you'll realize that they can't force you to give details that you refuse - especially when data privacy is used as an argument. Here are other examples where you can assert your right to data privacy:

• Person calls your home claiming to be from a credit card company and wanting to get the contact information of a relative who is not home. Best to ask the person's number and tell that you'll have your relative return the call. I have experience in this area where the person who called can't give such information and be contacted back, I argue "how do I know that you are indeed from that credit card company".
• Be wary when your personal information is being asked through e-mail. This is most true to passwords.
• Be wary when a site asks too much information that is no longer related to become part of the service.

JJ Disini gave a lot of insight about data privacy, specifically informational privacy. Here is what he presented during the Social Networking Conference 2009 that also tackles the topic with focus on privacy in social networks.

Find more videos like this on DigitalFilipino Club Community

JJ Disini on Advocacy and Politics Online

One of the persons we interviewed for the Philippine Internet Review: Ten Years of Internet History (1994 - 2004) was Atty. JJ Disini of Disini & Disini Law Office.

JJ is a lawyer specializing in information technology matters. He represent mobile content providers, e-commerce companies engaged in e- banking, B2B marketplaces, on-line services, as well as, "traditional" IT companies such as systems integrators, ISPs, network providers. The website, http://www.disini.ph/, was established in 2000 at the same time he formed his law firm. One of his main goals in maintaining the site is to provide legal information for those interested in various areas of the law. He continuously updates the resources section of the site by including informative materials such as an Investment Primer and an Outsourcing Primer.

He was the principal drafter of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the E-Commerce Law – Republic Act 8792. He also wrote a position paper for the Philippine Internet Commerce Society, in support of Cebu-based CyberPromdi in 2000 to counter a proposed ordinance banning minors in Internet cafes.

Janette Toral (JT): Since the passage of the E-Commerce Law what's happening now in the legislative arena?

JJ: There have been various initiatives in Congress relating to e-commerce such as the cyber crime bill, the convergence bill, and of course, the bill creating the Department of ICT. However, there have been no new laws to date. I'm not entirely sure if this is a good thing or not. It seems to indicate that ICT isn't much of a priority in the national agenda. However, I do believe that certain initiatives are worth pursuing. In particular, I believe a data protection and privacy law would benefit various sectors of the IT industry including the outsourcing providers as well as the public in general (whose informational privacy can be secured through the law).

JT: What's next? Do you see tougher issues in the area of cryptography and intellectual property?

JJ: I think the challenge now in the policy arena revolves around formulating a strategy for addressing various issues. There appears to be no "game plan" emanating from our policy makers with a specific agenda and action items. I think the time for motherhood statements of support and development have passed. We need to initiate steps to implement specific programs to get the industry going and ensure the continued development of the ICT sector.

JT: Do you ever see the Internet being governed? Will it be through traditional courts or dispute resolution?

JJ: Internet governance is far too complex to have any ready answer. Overall, I do believe that the use of technology (probably through private contracting) remains the strongest source of regulation on the Internet. The best example is the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) of ICANN which effectively legislated protection to trademark owners against cybersquatting. In a mix of private contracting and technological control, UDRP has been an unqualified success. I think there are important lessons in that experience relating to Internet governance. Of course, a government can take an extreme position like China where ISPs are heavily regulated in order to block access to "offensive" sites. In the final analysis, the success of governmental control depends on many factors and an individual government's efforts may be thwarted by hackers and other liberally- minded citizens.

I don't believe the traditional courts can effectively handle multi- jurisdictional issues arising from the Net. Unless, of course, those courts are created by International agreements and some order is placed in terms of venue and jurisdiction. Still, I imagine those kinds of suits will be very expensive to litigate and very inconvenient to at least one of the parties.

JT: As work-at-home arrangements are becoming popular in the Philippines, do you find companies monitoring workers-at-home result to privacy violation?

JJ: I'm not aware if monitoring is that effective for people who tele-commute. I imagine that at best, the company can screen the person's email. Still, in the workplace, a vast majority of employers - at least in the US - monitor computer use to avoid unauthorized surfing and other factors that impact on productivity. In that respect, I believe the employer has a right to institute monitoring equipment. In the final analysis, computer resources are provided by the employer for business purposes only. As such, the employer has the right to monitor the use of those resources to ensure their proper utilization. If employees want privacy, then they should use their own computer resources -- at home, for example.

JT: Is it possible for Filipinos to elect a Philippine President from the comforts of their own home or work place (especially for OFWs)?

JJ: Theoretically, yes. The issue of course is authentication. But that's a common issue for all on-line transactions as well as current "off-line" election procedures in place.

JT: Do you think it's possible in the future that there will be a candidate in national politics that will represent the Internet community? Who do you think that will be?

I guess it's difficult to say or determine who comprises the Internet community. There are users and there are business people, government officials -- all having different interests that need to be protected. I think at most, we can have a candidate with an agenda that supports various interests within the Internet community. Perhaps, that would be enough.

Who would that be? Anybody who takes up the cudgels for promoting Internet use and commerce in the Philippines.

JT: A lot believe that the Internet changes everything about the law. Almost everyone can maximize the use of the Internet for both good and bad purpose. As a safety principle especially in legislation, what is commonly noted is that whatever is allowed in the real world should be allowed on the Internet and vice-versa. Do you think this principle will remain the rule of thumb in the next 10 years? How does this double-edged sword affect our rights and liberties?

JJ: It's not so much a rule of thumb as a stop-gap measure. The advent of the Internet and the pace at which adoption and usage has grown over the past years has far outpaced Congress. The making of laws is a deliberate and deliberative process that cannot possibly be done in Internet time. So, in the absence of any pronouncements from Congress, the courts have no choice but to apply existing laws to new situations -- with varying success. I believe this will continue but I also believe that the process is continually improving as the legal analysis improves and legal experts come to understand the peculiar issues the Internet brings to the law. On the whole, I wouldn't be too concerned about our rights and liberties. I don't think excessive regulation is in the offing and those of us online should be free from restrictions for years to come.

Online politics - good, bad, and ugly

My follow-up article just came out today as part of the ongoing online election monitoring coverage. Last week was exciting as I documented Chiz Escudero's live chat session in Ituloy AngSulong. I wonder if there'll be other candidates following the same path and have their own websites as well. For the websites I missed in my column, I'll surely make-up for that next time.

The 2004 elections gave us an initial preview as to how presidentiables can use a website for campaign purposes. Senator Panfilo Lacson's website started as a campaign platform for his presidency. At present, the site was re-titled as the Be Not Afraid movement and its latest update was as of March 2006.

There are so many websites today that claims to serve the purpose of maintaining honest elections and good governance. Very rare do we find these sites sustainable as time passes by. There are unique few such as the Transparent Accountable Governance, that despite its very rare updates, manages to survive and still online.

On a related note, is there a national candidate today that represents the Internet community? Who would that be? Taking from what Atty. JJ Disini shared in the Philippine Internet Review, this person must have an agenda that supports the various interest of the Internet community. Someone whose platform includes the promotion of Internet use and e-commerce in the Philippines. Do you know of any?

Thank you for supporting iBlog2

It is done. Last March, I could still remember myself in a meeting with UP-ISP figuring whether iBlog2 should be held on a week day or weekend. However, as we want to take advantage of Rebecca MacKinnon's visit to the Philippines, iBlog2 became a week day event.

Without the superb UP-ISP team, I don't think iBlog2 would turn out as good as it is. Although I must admit that NISMED was far more better than the Sta. Ana room, we were at first conservative with our estimates as to the number of event attendees. Around April 6, I could still recall that there's a little over a hundred then that were registered to iBlog2. It was amazing how that figure doubled in a little more than a week.

Sincerest thanks goes to Monette De Guzman. Her super coordinator skills ensured that everyone meets their deliverables and manage all our external correspondence and communications. Grace Mapala for taking care of the media. Grace and Bo also did a great job for the newsletter. Not to forget, Sharon took care of our souvenier tokens and food concerns. Rissa Ofilada ensured that we will have a nice poster for the event. UP-ISP head JJ Disini covered everything that needs to be signed and pushed - gets done. Without his leadership, iBlog2 would not have been possible. Emer of course for getting our Internet access, LCDs, computers, event recording, website registration and updates get all settled. William Varias for working on sponsorship arrangements and for covering my keynote hosting duties during the event itself.

I was supposed to be there since morning. However, I have a requirements management workshop that needs attention but managed to catch up and do the speaker recognition for the media and podcasting panel. Unexpectedly, given the opportunity to do the closing remarks as well. The tension for being the conference chair this year was more or less manageable than I first expected despite short preparation time.

Of course, the heart and soul of iBlog2 are the volunteer speakers and moderators who provided the reason for this event to be a bloggers event worth going to. Within one week, I find myself fortunate in completing the speaker and moderator roster. I realized that there have been concerns on having two tracks in parallel. However, the idea there is to accommodate as many volunteer speakers who have something relevant to share. On another hand, another possibility is to have the conference for more than a day. (Hmm... that maybe something worth considering next year)

First thanks goes to Rebecca MacKinnon. Her presence in this event really made iBlog2 something special this year.

Sincerest thanks goes to Friedrich Naumann Foundation (The Liberal Times Manila Podcast) for being one of the sponsors for iBlog2. Dr. Ronald Meinardus delivered a great talk on Blogs and Podcasts as Tools for Education. Also to Innove, DotPH, PlogHost, and CreatiVoices.

The political blogging panel is one of the most interesting topic for this event for two reasons: Manuel L. Quezon III and Davao City Councilor Peter Lavina. MLQ3 became a favorite for most of us especially during the GloriaGate scandal as his insights remains very engaging to date on these issues.

Councilor Lavina first declined to join iBlog2 as he is maintaining a perfect attendance record. However, I remember having to explain in my email that he is the only elected government official that we know of to date who blogs and can serve as an inspiration to other elected government officials. That duty call made him say yes! Cheers to Atty. Fred Pamaos for moderating this panel very well.

In the legal blogging panel, Atty. Bong Dizon's presentation is now posted online - Look Before You Link. Kudos to Atty. Punzi and Atty. Marvin Aceron as well for making this panel engaging.

In the personal blogging panel, cheers to Noemi Lardizabal Dado, Joel Yuvienco, Mike Abundo, and Anton De Leon for inspiring new bloggers.

For the art and literary blogging panel, Dean Alfar once again swept everyone away with his fun talk. I'm very thankful to Zarah Gagatiga for accepting my offer to consider speaking in this event. It helped solved my dilemma in balancing male and female speakers for this event. Of course to Jonas Diego too whose presentation has surely inspired a lot of participants to use blogs to promote their comics art creation capabilities. Thanks Lionel for moderating this panel.

In the professional blogging panel, J Angelo Racoma, Charo Nuguid, Abe Olandres, Marc Hil Macalua provided interesting insights on how one can earn a living through blogs. I'm certain our moderator Atty. Cardinez had a challenging task of managing this jampacked panel.

For the media and podcasting panel, Erwin Oliva, Manuel Viloria (notes), Ellen Tordesillas, and Brian Ligsay made their respective presentations as well. Thanks to Juned for moderating this session.

Cheers as well to Pocholo for helping me out in the raffle too.

Great coverage were made by bloggers during and after the event like Jester-in-exile (lessons learned), Jove Francisco (Rebecca MacKinnon, Manuel L. Quezon III, Solidarity, PM sessions), Rizalist, Vonjobi (Liveblogging iBlog2, Liveblogging iBlog2 Part 2, Good-bye iBlog2), Annalyn, Dominique Cimafranca (fork fight deliberating on their post analysis on what happened in iBlog2 and coverage), Peachy, Kel, Toots Ople, Sean, Edcell Gavin, Clair, Gari, Mike Lopez, JJ Disini, Michellita, Skyjade, Fatfingur, MDM, Rocky Sison, Mistervader, Reggie, Rox, Nadine, Aaron, Ienni, JM, Dr. Meinardus, Jan, ZYMM, Alced, Lampara, Thoughts Owner, Rice, Rich, Jayvee, Ellen, Azrael, Ron, Markku Seguerra, Angelo, Mike, Fritz, Charo Nuguid, Mal'akh, Architelago, among others.

Here are some interesting news coverage for the event:

• Blogging in RP still seen as an elitist activity
• Blogging
  

Here are some video coverage as well: (thanks to Manuel Viloria)

• Dean Jorge Bocobo
• Dean Alfar

iBlog2 Photo gallery

• JJ Disini
• Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
• Markku Seguerra
• Paul sharing iBlog2 making the front page of Business Mirror

Podcast (thanks to CreatiVoices and Liberal Times Manila)

• Brian Ligsay
• Ellen Tordesillas
• Erwin Oliva
• Manuel Viloria
• Media and Podcast Q&A
• Rebecca MacKinnon, Manuel Quezon III, Erwin Oliva, Peter Laviña

I will update this page as I get more coverage updates. Check out iBlogPH also for updates. Maraming salamat muli and see you all in iBlog3!