MANILA, Philippines – In creating change in the Philippines, it is possible to envision a country with no one left behind, various advocates highlighted in Rappler’s 12th Social Good Summit on Saturday, October 19.
On Saturday, Rappler hosted its annual Social Good Summit themed “Be The Change: How Storytelling and Technology Empower Changemakers” at De La Salle University Manila.
The jam-packed day featured discussions with government officials, analysts, influencers, and advocates, on how to harness technology to fix perennial problems that plague a wealth of areas: education, the information ecosystem, Philippine elections, climate change, and making cities liveable.
Storytelling in fixing the education crisis
The keynote speech by Education Secretary Sonny Angara set the tone for the summit, as he described his first 100 days since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him to the position. In around three months, Angara said the department was “sober” enough to admit that the new leadership was still navigating the vast landscape of the Department of Education (DepEd).
“I just want to make the trains run on time,” he said, fully aware that this may even be seen as “unambitious or unvisionary.” But it is still nonetheless a goal, he said, especially when the majority of Philippine learners have yet to hold a school book, or use the internet.
In making this goal work, Angara described two dimensions – listening to stories, and using technology as a tool to find solutions.
“Data is the means. The end, as the President emphasizes, is to better Filipino lives. The goal is for students, teachers, and parents to tell better stories, to have better stories, to have their own stories. And stories start with dreams,” he said.
The nitty-gritty of making this work was discussed in the panel on the role of technology in addressing the education crisis. Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa moderated the panel featuring Angara, Maria Mercedes Rodrigo, who heads the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences, and Save the Children CEO Alberto Muyot.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made its way into Philippine schools, creating a tricky situation for both students who may be tempted to rely on it, and teachers who have to have an extra guard up to detect it. But Muyot said in the panel that teachers need to “redefine” their teaching methods to embrace AI as a tool.
But embracing new technologies comes with a reminder to make sure our young learners still “touch grass,” Rodrigo said.
“If you go to any public space, any restaurant with families in it, you’ll see that [parents] hand their kids the cellphone to keep them quiet and to placate them… How do we encourage our students or children to… touch grass? How do we encourage them to get out and actually be out in the sun?” she said.
Tech platforms as a tool
Tech platforms can also be an avenue for people to build safe spaces. On Tiktok — where false narratives and misinformation thrive — some were able to use the platform for good by sharing their knowledge and expertise, building their own communities in the process.
In the “Content Creation for A Cause” panel hosted by Rappler Senior Producer JC Gotinga, creators Arshie Larga, Lyqa Maravilla, Jo Sebastian, and Buji Babiera fleshed out how they were able to tap the platform to share their respective advocacies through bite-sized content.
Larga started out by creating content on his interests, although things did not initially work out for him so he went back to focus on being a pharmacist. It was during the onset of the pandemic, after noticing how people in his community started self-medicating and hoarding medicine, when he found an unmet niche: “I think I have the credibility to speak about these certain issues.”
He noted that part of why his videos are doing well is because of how he explains pharmaceutical and medical terms, which can be intimidating for the ordinary Filipinos.
![[DECODED] Why TikTok users prefer startups, influencers for eco-friendly products](http://www.rappler.com/tachyon/2024/09/decoded-tiktok-eco-friendly-09182024.jpg?fit=449%2C449)
Most creators thriving on the platform look like they just filmed their content on the fly, using their phone, and only did minimal edits on it, giving a more “authentic” feel. Nutritionist-dietitian Sebastian pointed out that this is Tiktok’s magic — the videos make you feel as if you’re “just talking to a friend.”
The platform’s algorithm, however, is unpredictable. Babiera said that it pays to be consistent so that audiences would eventually recognize what kind of content you make, while Larga reminds creators that it helps to create what is not only entertaining but also educational.
Creating content can be lucrative. However, since their content is tied to their personal advocacies, Maravilla shares that they “say no more times than [they] say yes” to partnerships.
Why? Their credibility and their work will be on the line.
Meanwhile, Ressa also discussed in a separate panel the poossible harm that tech brings with Signal Foundation president Meredith Whittaker.
The emergence of tech advances has also increased concerns on data privacy as well as the possibility of the loss of jobs, for instance, as AI does make certain tasks easier. (READ: Will IT-BPM workers and students survive without AI skills?)
However, Whittaker points out that even in existing companies that are using AI in their everyday systems have human beings operating these behind the scenes.
“Things like a self-driving car or what is advertised as AI actually is a worker somewhere in the world, behind the screen, steering that car, or the Tesla robot… actually had humans somewhere around the world, behind the screen, directing the robot how to act because these systems aren’t actually capable of doing that themselves,” Whittaker said.
Safeguarding the elections
This year’s Social Good Summit also came months before the 2025 midterm elections, which may still be at risk of online disinformation that plagued the last elections in 2022. With emerging technologies like generative AI, the chances are more daunting than ever.
The panel on protecting information integrity and truth tellers amid elections, moderated by Rappler managing editor Miriam Grace Go featured Commission on Elections chairperson George Garcia, Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy, Rico Domingo of the Movement Against Disinformation (MAD), and TV5 news anchor Ruth Cabal.
Cabal was victimized by a deepfake scam in December 2023, where her likeness was used to create a “report” on an investment platform announced by “Robin Padilla.” When she first watched it, she had honestly thought it was her voice, until the pronunciation of “pesos” convinced her it was fake.
After reporting it to Facebook, it took almost two weeks before it was taken down. “It’s just scary – what if a family invests their savings in it?” she said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Go noted how broadcasters were increasingly being used in deepfake videos. These may carry dire consequences if used for malicious political agenda.
Garcia noted how there is no social media regulation law in the Philippines which may protect against false election information online. The pushback has always been on the need to protect freedom of speech.
But even without a law, advocates like MAD continue to do whatever work is possible to protect targets of disinformation. Dy also said that when a government’s data is compromised, they must not stop communicating with the public. (READ: AI misuse feared to impact integrity of 2025 elections. Here’s what concerned groups can do.)
Garcia reminded the public that despite the challenges in disinformation and compromised information ecosystems, the public still had the power to practice critical thinking, help fellow voters who need guidance, and hold candidates accountable for their commitments.
“Eleksyon pa rin ang magandang simula ng lahat. Eleksyon din ang katapusan ng lahat (The election is still the fresh start of everything. The election, too, is what is at the end of everything),” he said.
Building climate-resilient, livable cities
As the public becomes more aware of how climate change can impact their day-to-day, there have also been more demands for public open spaces and infrastructure for active transportation.
The discussion on how the Philippines can create climate-resilient cities was moderated by Rappler environment reporter Iya Gozum, and had Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Daffy Alejandro, UP Resilience Institute and Project NOAH director Dr. Mahar Lagmay, Quezon City Assistant Administrator for Operations Alberto Kimpo, and Placemaking Pilipinas co-founder Elijah Go Tian.
Kimpo pointed out that among the challenges is that some local governments do not know what the national targets are to build climate-resilient cities, therefore the absence of a program or projects related to this. The OCD noted that they are “trying to come up with a better structure” in terms of coordination with local government units (LGUs) for disaster mitigation, planning, and response.
The problem, however, is that regions such as Metro Manila would need a “holistic” plan to address different problems of each city.
In a separate panel led by Pia Ranada, head of Community at Rappler, with Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon, and Isabela City Mayor Sitti Hataman, it was noted that the ensuring the consistency and streamlining of local projects — such as flood mitigation and creating transportation plans — can be done through agencies with cross-border authority such as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Lagmay emphasized that research done and intended for the local communities around the country is also key to making these plans happen. The UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) has worked with 30 to 40 cities and municipalities that plan for certain climate change scenarios.
“We cannot have knowledge coming from Israel or coming from Europe about corn that’s adaptive to climate change, we need to have research that is local that can be used by the local government for the community,” Lagmay said.
While the road to building climate-resilient and livable cities involves a whole-of society approach, all projects would still need the commitment of local leaders. But these faces change, however, every election cycle.
“We are asking LGUs to institutionalize their local disaster risk management office,” Alejandro said.
“We have long-term plans, we have a lot of plans that we need to implement but our challenge really is about continuity.” – Rappler.com