Even the lead counsel of Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio is not confident that they will win their election case against former provincial board member Lilia Pineda.
"Pare-pereho tayong nanghuhula, pero tingin ko talo kami (We are all guessing, but I think we will lose)," said lawyer Sixto Brillantes.
Pineda, a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, filed an electoral protest against Panlilio whom she accused of cheating in the 2007 elections.
Panlilio, a priest-turned-politician and a critic of the Arroyo government, won over Pineda by a slim margin of 1,147 votes.
The Commission on Elections' (Comelec) Second Division is set to announce its decision on the Panlilio-Pineda recount case on Thursday, January 7.
Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, who heads the Second Division, said the decision would be a "surprising" one.
Precedents
But Brillantes said the division is likely to rule against Panlilio, citing the cases of other Liberal Party governors Jonjon Mendoza (Bulacan) and Grace Padaca (Isabela) as precedents.
Panlilio is also a member of LP, which is fielding Sen. Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III as its standard bearer in the May elections.
The LP had earlier slammed the Arroyo administration for its alleged "vendetta politics" against the three governors. The poll body has denied the accusation.
“They are forgetting the fact that the resolution of the Second Division is not final. It’s appealable," he said.
Both Mendoza and Padaca had filed their respective motions for reconsideration, which are now pending with the Comelec en banc.
SOurce- KBK, GMANews.TV
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Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Panlilio camp pessimistic over recount case
Guidelines for 2010 automated polls now out
Just before the year 2009 ended, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) came out with the general instructions (GI) for the country’s very first automated national elections in May 2010.
What will happen on election day?
According to the GI, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) will meet at the polling place at six o’clock in the morning of May 10, 2010 to first ensure that all the election paraphernalia are ready.
They will then post a copy of the Posted Computerized Voters List (PCVL) at the door of the poll precinct. But before voting is conducted, the BEI chairman will show the public and the watchers present that the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine, package of official ballots, and book of voters are all duly sealed.
After showing the election materials, the BEIs will set up the PCOS machine. Upon installation, the poll machine will automatically print an initialization report showing that no votes have yet been cast nor counted.
What should a voter do?
Upon arriving at the precinct, a voter should look for his or her name at the PCVL near the door of the voting center to determine his or her precinct number and sequence number. The voter will be instructed to give these pieces of information to the BEIs together with other personal information.
After his or her identity is verified, the name of the voter will be read out loud to give chance for any contention. If uncontested, he or she will be given a ballot by the BEI chairman – only upon ensuring that the said voter has yet to cast his or her vote in another precinct.
The voter will be instructed to fill out his or her ballot using a secrecy folder and a marking pen provided by the Comelec. He or she must fill out the ballot by fully shading at least 50 percent of the oval beside the names of the candidates and party-list group of his or her choice.
He or she must then approach the PCOS, insert his or her ballot in the poll machine’s entry slot and wait until the ballot is dropped into the semi-transparent ballot box. If the ballot is rejected, the BEI will allow for another re-entry, but if rejected again, the voter will not be issued a replacement ballot.
After that, the voter is expected to return the secrecy folder and marking pen to the BEI chairman.
The BEI chairman will in turn apply indelible ink at the base and extend it to the cuticle of the right forefinger nail of the voter, who will then be instructed to affix his or her thumbmark in the space in the Election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVL).
What happens after voting?
The GI says that after the voting, the BEI chairman will record the quantity of unused ballots, which will be torn in half lengthwise. One half will be given to the election officer for safekeeping while the other half will be placed in a compartment of the ballot box.
The BEIs will then close the voting by entering several codes into the poll machine, which will make the PCOS unit print eight copies of the election returns for national positions and another eight for local positions.
The BEI chairman will publicly announce the total number of votes received by each candidate, which will also be posted on a wall within the polling place. After 48 hours, he or she will take the list and keep it in his or her custody.
On the other hand, the PCOS unit will transmit the election reports using a transmission cable and a modem. If successful, the reports will be transmitted to other precincts, the Comelec mainframe, its other offices, and other stakeholders.
After transmission, the poll machine will print 22 more copies of the election returns, a copy of the audit log report, and a copy of the statistical report.
Where do the votes go?
The Comelec said that the eight initial copies of election returns will be sealed, placed in an envelope and sealed again.
The poll body said that the election returns will be distributed to the city or municipal board of canvassers, Congress, Comelec, four accredited citizens’ arm, dominant majority and minority parties, ballot box, 10 accredited national parties aside from the first two, two accredited major local parties, four national broadcast or print media entities, two local media outfits, and one to be posted on a wall within the polling place.
Upon termination of the counting of votes at the precinct level, the BEI shall place inside the ballot box the sealed envelopes containing the election returns, minutes, and half-torn and rejected ballots.
The ballot box will be locked with four locks, one of which is self-locking and is serially numbered. The keys to the three other padlocks, on the other hand, will be placed in separate envelopes that are to be sealed and signed by the BEIs.
Meanwhile, the PCOS will be turned over to the support technician in the voting center.
Earlier, the Comelec said each clustered precinct will have at least three BEIs. It said that they plan to tap about 245,000 teachers to serve as BEIs in next year’s polls.
Poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM, on the other hand, said that they will be deploying about 48,000 technical support crew. It said that they will deploy one technician for every two precincts.
The poll body said that there will be about 37,062 voting centers and 74,427 clustered precincts. Each clustered precinct will have one PCOS machine, each of which can supposedly accommodate up to 1,000 voters.
Source - GMANews.TV
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Pacquiao party turns rivals Satur, Bongbong into buddies
One should give it to Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao for turning long-time political rivals, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, into buddies, even for only a night.
During the Nacionalista Party’s party to formally welcome Pacquiao into its fold Monday night, Marcos was seen extending his hand to greet Ocampo – a gesture that sent everybody at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City cheering.
In an interview with reporters, Marcos said the gesture should not be given any meaning, as Ocampo is a fellow member of the House of Representatives.
“Walang katuturan yun. Bumati lang yung magkakilala na kapwa congressman (That’s nothing. It’s just a greeting between two congressmen)," the only son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. said.
Both Marcos and Ocampo are in the NP senatorial lineup for next year’s elections.
To recall, Ocampo – along with Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza – had refused to be included in the same ticket as Marcos, noting his father’s human rights abuses during his term as president.
Maza and Ocampo, however, agreed to join NP after it severed its ties with the Marcos-led Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party.
Fight goes on
Ocampo, for his part, said his gesture toward Marcos did not mean that he has set aside his fight to recover the ill-gotten wealth from the latter’s family and compensation for the victims of human rights abuses during the martial law.
“Hindi ibig sabihin [ng pakikipagkamay] na binabalewala na ang laban (I shook his hand but that doesn’t mean our issues are over)," the left-leaning party-list lawmaker said.
He added that he accepted NP’s offer to be in its senatorial slate despite Marcos’ presence because he supports the tandem of Senators Manuel Villar and Loren Legarda.
“Hindi naman si Bongbong ang sinusuportahan ko. Ipu-pursue ko pa din ang kaso laban sa kanyang tatay. Ipu-pursue ang recovery ng ill-gotten wealth at compensation sa mga biktima ng human rights violations," he said.
(It is not Bongbong whom I’m supporting. I will still pursue the case against his father as well as the recovery of the ill-gotten wealth and compensation for human rights victims.)
He, however, said he would not raise these issues during the campaign in order for them to focus on their common platform, which is eradicating poverty.
Snubbing incident?
Earlier in the day, observers noticed that Maza and Marcos tried to avoid each other when they greeted Villar's wife, Las Piñas Rep Cynthia Villar, who was present in the event.
Maza denied that she ignored Marcos. "Nagbatian naman kami, baka hindi mo lang nakita (We greeted each other. Maybe you just didn’t see it)," Maza told GMANews.TV with a smile.
Source- KBK, GMANews.TV
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Villar, Pacquiao yet to discuss campaign strategy
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao may be with Nacionalista Party now, but he and the party's standard bearer, Sen. Manny Villar, are yet to discuss how they would help each other’s candidacy.
“Hindi ko alam ang plano namin. Basta sa akin wine-welcome ko muna siya at pag-uusapan namin sa mga darating na panahon yan," Villar told reporters Monday when asked how Pacquiao would help him in his campaign.
(I don't know yet. I just want to welcome him first in the party and then we'll discuss how we could help each other in the campaign.)
Villar said as the party's presidential bet, he is willing to help Pacquiao in his congressional bid in Sarangani province in next year's elections.
The NP hosted a dinner at the Villar-owned Laurel House in Mandaluyong City to formally welcome Pacquiao in its roster.
When Pacquiao was asked by reporters how he would help boost the survey ratings of Villar, the senator butted in and said that those things should not be discussed now. "Wag na muna yan (Let's not discuss that now)," he said.
But Pacquiao said he would give his all-out support to Villar. “Basta susuporta ako sa kanya. Nakikita ko na malaki ang magagawa ni Manny kung mauupo siya [bilang presidente]," he said.
(I'll support Villar because I believe he can do a lot of things when he becomes president.)
The boxing hero, however, refused to say if he would appear in Villar’s infomercials or sorties.
On Monday evening, the NP and Pacquiao’s People’s Champ Movement signed a coalition agreement.
Pacquiao was accompanied in the dinner by his wife Jinkee and local candidates who would be running under his party.
Source - Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV
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Miriam: Cabinet exec behind death threat, petition for disqualification
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is claiming that a member of the Arroyo Cabinet was behind the death threat that she received and the filing of a petition to disqualify her in the 2010 elections.
The senator said on Tuesday that once the Senate session resumes, she would use her “parliamentary immunity," to reveal the identity of the “notorious" Cabinet official who allegedly hired a public relations firm to malign and threaten the lawmaker.
Santiago told media that while she was at her residence in Quezon City on Monday, she received a telephone call from a man who had threatened to harm her if she would continue speaking during political rallies for the 2010 elections.
The senator said that during the recent political rally of the Nacionalista Party in Tondo, Manila, she divulged before the public various corruption scandals in the government such as the airing of the government-paid infomercials of public officials eyeing elective posts; the controversy involving the so-called “Euro-generals," and the alleged malversation of funds from the road users’ tax.
She said the threat would not stop her from holding public speaking engagements. The senator challenged the Cabinet official to hire an assassin and kill her while she speaks on the stage instead of just issuing threats against her.
Unsound mind?
Santiago said she was confident that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would dismiss the petition for disqualification filed against her by lawyer Nombraan Pangcoga who claimed that the senator should be barred from seeking another term because of her “unsound mind."
Santiago said her camp would file a disbarment complaint before the Supreme Court against the petitioner and his counsel, Bonifacio Alentajan, for "deceit, malpractice, violation of the lawyer’s oath, and other unethical conduct."
Pangcoga claimed that in the Senate, Santiago had always exhibited “unparliamentary" behavior. “She repeatedly abused her position and power as senator to defame and slander people."
He likewise alleged that Santiago was guilty of graft and corruption for having stolen a Toyota Supra sports car from the custody of the Bureau of Customs in 1990, and benefiting from the then Bureau Immigration and Deportation (BID)’s alien legalization program.
The lawyer also accused Santiago of committing “apprehension" and “prosecution of a criminal offense" when her son, Alexander Robert, supposedly committed suicide at their La Vista house in 2003.
Dirty low blow
According to Santiago, the petition was “no ordinary smear campaign," as it was part of a plot hatched by the Cabinet official who delivered a “a dirty low blow."
"It is political sadism, intended to make me rewind my maternal anguish," the senator said.
Santiago said the allegations in the petition were a mere rehash of all smear campaigns against her since 1992 when she ran for president.
She said that under the Comelec Rules of Procedure, any petition to deny due course or to cancel a certificate of candidacy must be based on the exclusive ground that any material representation in the certificate of candidacy is false.
“The petition did not even include any ground for alleged material representation as required by law. Instead, the petition is a collection of the classic lies of character assassination. Thus, it is clear that the petitioner and counsel do not even know their law," the senator said.
Source - GMANews.TV
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Monday, December 21, 2009
Over 49 million voters in 2010 polls, says Comelec
More than 49 million have become eligible for voting in the 2010 elections so far, more than four million higher than in the polls two years ago, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday.
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters that as of the last count, registered voters had reached 49,271,492. In the 2007 elections, there were 45,029,443 registered voters.
The number is still expected to rise since there are 22 more municipalities that have yet to submit their reports to the poll body
Larrazabal said the municipalities had failed to submit their reports mostly due to the failure of the Election Registration Board, which decides which voters are qualified, to meet on time.
Meanwhile, Larrazabal said there are currently 37,062 voting centers and 74,427 clustered precincts.
Each clustered precinct will have one precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine, which can accommodate up to 1,000 voters. Each clustered precinct will also have at least three Board of Election Inspectors.
The Comelec said it would tap about 245,000 teachers to serve as election inspectors in next year’s polls.
Source — Kim Tan/RSJ, GMANews.TV
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Gibo hits ‘indirect supervision’
Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. blamed Saturday the “indirect supervision” by Malacañang over local government units (LGUs) that allegedly bred corruption in the local level by giving the governors and mayors an opportunity to abuse their powers.
The 45-year-old Teodoro also stressed the need for the national government to closely monitor the local government units in exercising their powers in bid to eliminate abuses and involvement in anomalous activities by some local government executives.
Teodoro issued the statement in response to queries from students of the Saint Paul’s University in Manila on how to prevent similar abuses committed by a powerful political clan in Maguindanao that resulted to the killing of at least 57 persons, including 30 media personalities.
The former defense secretary was the only presidential candidate who personally showed up in Maguindanao to accompany Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Buluan town in filing his certificate of candidacy before a local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office amid the brewing tension in the area brought about by the massacre incident.
According to Teodoro, the national government must initiate a system of rewards for local government units (LGUs) excelling in programs that improve people’s lives while it must keep a close watch on local governance to eliminate basic corruption in government.
“We have to monitor the LGUs more closely and be more vigilant in monitoring the performance of local government officials," Teodoro added.
Clad in green shirt and denim pants, Gibo received a warm welcome from some 2,000 students upon their arrival at the school grounds.
According to Teodoro, the existing set up of grievance system in the national level to curb corruption in the local level has failed due to continued abuses by governors and mayors.
“We have to find another way, build up the area. We can pilot the worst (performing local governments) and reward those which excel for good performance,” he emphasized.
Source - mb.com.ph
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Additional voters for 2010 to be like 'chance passengers'
Like chance passengers in a fully booked flight, additional registrants for the 2010 polls could only vote if there would be extra ballots. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will no longer print additional ballots for voters who will register starting December 21.
“We won’t be printing any additional ballots. They will be like chance passengers," Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said on Saturday, reiterating an earlier statement made by Jose Melo, the chief of the poll body.
Aside from the ballots that are scheduled to be printed on January 28 based on the number of voters that had registered prior to the ruling of the Supreme Court, the poll body would no longer produce extra ballots, according to Jimenez.
There are over 49 million registered voters as of December 10. The ratio of ballot to voter was supposed to be one is to one.
“We can’t print anymore (ballots), we cannot delay it (poll preparations) anymore," Jimenez told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.
He said additional voters could still vote if there would be “spare" ballots on election day. Jimenez said that “usually there’s low voter turnout" during the polls, thus there could still be extra ballots for additional registrants.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
Last December 15, the Supreme Court extended the voter registration for the 2010 elections to January 9 after it nullified a Comelec resolution that limited the said registration to October 31, 2009.
In its nine-page decision, the high tribunal directed the Comelec to immediately reopen the registration as a reply to the petition of Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, who questioned the shortened period for registration.
Last week, in an interview with Mike Enriquez, Melo also said that additional registrants would be like “chance passengers."
“Halimbawa, ang registered sa inyong presinto, 200, eh magpi-print po kami ng 200 ballots for that number. Ngayon, hindi naman siguro pwedeng 100 percent ang turnout, baka magboto riyan mga 110 to 150, whatever. So, limit na number of ballots, yung mga nagpa-register ngayon, makahabol din. Dun sa number of ballots we will print, di na ho sila kasali do’n...," said Melo.
(For instance, if the number of registered voters in your precinct is 200, we will print 200. But the voter-turnout can’t be always 100 percent, it could be 110 to 150, whatever. So those who will register could still have the chance to vote. But they will no longer be included in the number of ballots that we will print.)
Asked by Enriquez if the situation could be compared to that of people taking chances to ride on an already passenger-loaded bus or board an already fully booked plane, Melo agreed, saying they could be compared to “chance passengers."
Asked if the poll body would be prepared for criticisms on its decision not to print additional ballots for new voters, Jimenez said that the Comelec could no longer do anything about it because “this is what was already decided."
The tentative schedule for the continuation of registration has been set on December 21 to 23 and on 28 to 29. Meanwhile, January 2 to 9 will be allotted for “administrative matters."
Comelec Law Department head Ferdinand Rafanan said the poll body would post the list of the new applicants on January 4, giving the registrants until January 6 to file an opposition to any of the other registrations.
By January 9, the Election Registration Board is expected to begin its hearings to weed out ineligible registrants, according to Rafanan.
Source- GMANews.TV
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Noynoy, Mar lead MBC's survey on 2010 polls
The Liberal Party tandem of Sens. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and Manuel "Mar" Roxas II has topped a recent survey conducted by a group of more than 800 businessmen on the presidential and vice presidential preference.
The December 8 to 18 survey by the Makati Business Club (MBC), the results of which were reported Sunday on GMA News' "Weekend Report," showed Aquino with 67 percent - a whopping 47 percent lead over Lakas-Kampi-CMD's Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who got 14 percent.
Placing third and fourth were Sens. Manuel Villar with seven percent, and Richard Gordon with three percent, respectively. Former President Joseph Estrada, whose candidacy is still up for legal debates, ranked fifth with one percent.
The report said 14 percent did not answer the survey or were undecided.
For the vice presidential race, Roxas got the largest slice of the pie with 71 percent, followed by former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando with 10 percent, Sen. Loren Legarda with three percent, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and actor Edu Manzano with one percent each.
Seven percent gave no answer for the vice presidential preference survey, according to the report.
The survey also showed that the three prime issues that businessmen want the next administration to address are corruption, which got 79 percent, peace and order with 35 percent, and infrastructure with 24 percent.
The report said only 13 percent of the entire MBC membership answered the survey, which was sent through mail.
Source - KBK, GMANews.TV
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Eruption within days (non election related)
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised Sunday afternoon the alert status on Mayon Volcano to Alert Level 4 out of a maximum of five alert levels—meaning that a major eruption is possible within days.
“This means that a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within days. Thus, areas expected to be affected by such eruption will be accordingly extended,” Phivolcs said in its Bulletin no. 7 of Mt. Mayon issued at 2:30 p.m.
Phivolcs said that to ensure the safety of the public, it is recommending an Extended Danger Zone from the summit of eight kilometers at the southern sector and seven kilometers at the northern sector of the restive volcano in Albay province.
“Areas just outside of this Extended Danger Zone should prepare for evacuation in the event explosive eruptions intensify,” Phivolcs warned.
Alert level 4 means a volcano is exhibiting low-frequency quakes, intense crater glow and lava fragments in the summit.
Earlier Sunday, meteorologists said a potential storm is threatening to hit the southern part of the country and bring heavy rains to Albay.
The state-run Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said heavy rain in the area could trigger dangerous ‘lahar’ flow from the slopes of Mayon Volcano.
PAGASA Director Prisco Nilo said they are monitoring the development of the low-pressure area —a rain-inducing weather system—located some 3,000 kilometers east of northern Mindanao Sunday.
Nilo said the LPA, in case it develops into a storm, could threaten the Visayas and northern Mindanao and could help intensify the northeast monsoon locally known as “amihan” and bring rains to Albay.
“Lalakas ang ulan sa Albay kung tatama ng Visayas ang bagyo,” Nilo told the Manila Bulletin when asked whether Albay would be affected by the potential storm.
PAGASA weather forecaster Connie Rose Dadivas said the LPA might enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility after Christmas Day.
Records show that storms in December could be deadly, particularly for the Bicol region.
In December 2006, heavy rains from typhoon “Reming” (international name: Durian) caused landslides and floods at the base of Mayon Volcano, resulting in the deaths of 1,266 people.
Mt. Mayon erupted in August of the same year, resulting to the evacuation of 48,000 people, and depositing huge pyroclastic materials in its slopes that cascaded as lahar when Reming struck.
However, Robert Sawi, chief of PAGASA's weather forecasting section, said the LPA might have a slim chance of hitting the Philippines which was already visited by 22 typhoons in 2009, including “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” which submerged large areas in Luzon during the last quarter.
“May nakikita tayo sa Pacific na possible formation pero malabo pang pumasok dahil may kalamigan na ang panahon at kung mag-develop man ito (into a storm) ay baka matunaw din,” Sawi told the Bulletin.
Dadivas said that hopefully, a frontal system near the LPA would affect its direction and pull it away from the Philippines. Phivolcs said Mt. Mayon continued to exhibit a high level of activity.
“A total of 222 volcanic quakes and tremors were recorded by the seismic network. One of these events was an explosion-type earthquake that produced a dirty white to grayish ash column that reached a maximum height of about 500 meters above the summit before drifting southwest,” according to a Phivolcs 24-hour observation report for Dec. 19 that ended at 7 a.m. Sunday.Harmonic tremors were continuously recorded by the seismic instruments, Phivolcs said.
“During a cloud break this morning, steaming activity ranged from dirty white to light brown in color. Night observation still showed intensified crater glow and continuous rolling down of incandescent materials from the crater,” the report added.
On the other hand, advancing lava flow from Mayon has now reached approximately 4.5 kilometers downslope from the crater along the Bonga-Buyuan Gully. Sulfur dioxide emission also increased from 2,034 tons per day to 7,024 tons per day.
Source - MB.com.ph
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