Mark Lorenz Lacap

The findings from the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which is run by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, go beyond an assessment of reading; they also measure our capacity to understand what we read. The news was very serious in effect. The Philippines attained one of the lowest rankings in terms of reading comprehension and understanding. This score served as a warning to our education system. On this basis, the Department of Education...

We live in a world that loves results—A perfect score, a viral post, a promise, a gold medal. If we see the finish line photo, we clap. But we rarely see the early mornings of practice, all the failed drafts, the late nights of self-doubt before it. People often celebrate the outcome, but they ignore the fact that there's an effort behind every win—for many, success feels like a shrouded journey that no one bothered to witness besides yourself. It is alarming, but the truth is much scarier;...

If humanity could create the means to cure diseases, expand human intelligence, and bring people together, they sure have learned to make a weapon of unparalleled power to spread lies and discord. One tool that has proven itself as such is deepfake creation—an example of which recently circulated on the social media feeds of Filipinos, threatening to poison public discourse and fray political and social ties. Deepfake news is a potent threat to democracy, especially when it concerns...