Month: October 2012

Scary decisions by the National Printing Office re 2013 elections ballots

Published by Ellen on October 28, 2012

NPO employees shading sample ballots2 — NPO employees shading sample ballots ahead of the 1 p.m schedule in violation of rules that it should be done in the presence of BAC members.

NPO employees shading sample ballots prior to scheduled testing 1 pm of Oct 11, 2012. A violation of the rules because it should be only done in the presence of BAC members.[/caption]Strange things are going on at the National Printing Office which has been given the job to bid out P780 million contract to supply and print 55 million ballots for the May 2013 elections.

This will be the Philippines’ second national automated elections.

The 2010 election was not perfect but for a first-time experience, it was a huge success. In less than 24 hours, the nation knew the results of the presidential and vice-presidential race with almost 70 percent of the votes counted. A Social Weather Stations survey showed overwhelming satisfaction (three out of four Filipinos) over the results of the first automated nationwide elections in the country.

It is disturbing that instead of learning from good practices of the 2010 election and leveling up the preparations for the 2013 elections, some of those involved in the 2013 elections preparations are sliding back which could erase whatever gains that the country has gained in holding credible elections.

In the 2010 elections, the Commission on Elections used precinct count optical scan machines supplied by Smartmatic. The same 82,000 PCOS machines will be used in the 2013 elections. The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the P1.8 billion contract Comelec has entered with Smartmatic.

Lakas ng loob manlait ni PNoy, popular kasi siya

Published by Ellen on October 27, 2012

Binatikos si Pangulong Aquino sa kanyang mga pinagsasabi nang siya ay nasa New Zealand.

Una ay ang kanyang patutsada kay Gloria Arroyo at ang pangalawa ay ang panlalait niya kay Rep. Teddy Casiño ng Bayan Muna.

Gloria Arroyo in a wheelchair November 2011

Sa miting sa Filipino community sa Auckland, sabi ni Aquino:”Share ko ho lang sa inyo isang tawang-tawa ako sa narinig kong joke. Yung mga kababayan raw ho nating corrupt sa Pilipinas, kagagara ng kotse, kamamahal, katutulin. Pero pagka ginustong tumakas, ang ginagamit wheelchair .”

Palakpakan.

Maala-ala natin, noong isang taon, bago siya nasampahan ng kaso at naaresto, tinangka ni Arroyo na mangibang bansa. Galing sa ospital, naka-wheelchair siya ng dumating sa airport.

Edith Burgos on Aquino’s ‘leftist propaganda’ remark

Published by Ellen on October 25, 2012

Edith Burgos, wife of press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr. and mother of Jonas Burgos, who was never seen since he was abducted by persons suspected to be members of the military on April 28, 2007, issued a statement yesterday in reaction to President Aquino’s remark dismissing criticisms about the dismal human rights records of his administration as leftist propaganda.

Burgos statement:

“My son, Jonas, is still missing as so many others are. He was forcibly abducted during the Gloria Arroyo administration, and until now we have yet to get a categorical statement from authorities on the fate of my son. And my family had admittedly become vocal in our plea that military produce my Jonas.

“To call this propaganda and to label it leftist is the height of insensitivity to a mother who continues to search for his missing son. I stand before the Lord, who is truth Himself, in witness of this truth.

“Now, when you are looking for a missing loved one, is it justified to label you as leftist? Unless the definition has been changed, I would not subscribe to what has been officially said by Malacanang. To seek justice and to right a wrong done to families who have been victims of enforced disappearances, will that be considered a leftist act?

Padaca will not be tie-breaker in Akbayan case

Published by Ellen on October 23, 2012

Newly-appointed Comelec Commissioner Grace Padaca wrote to correct what I said in my column in Abante last Sunday that she would be the tie-breaker in the case of Akbayan as partylist.

I wrote: “Hati raw ang Comelec sa isyu ng Akbayan at ang boto ni Grace Padaca, ang bagong Comelec commissioner, ang magdedesisyon kung lusot o tanggal ang Akbayan. Naloko na. (It has been reported that Comelec is deadlocked on the issue of Akbayan and the vote of Grace Padaca, the new commissioner, will decide whether Akbayan would be disqualified or not. Oh my God.)”

I made the comment based on at least three news reports quoting Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. : “Pinass on ko na lahat ng cases kay Padaca… We’re sending her the folders to break the tie.”

The enviable Akbayan

Published by Ellen on October 22, 2012

Gutierrez vs Crisostomo — Gutierrez and Crisostomo on GMA News

In his verbal sparring with Anakbayan’s Vencer Crisostomo at ANC last week, Barry Gutierrez, undersecretary for political affairs in the Office of the President, exuded the smugness of people who are well-entrenched in the center of power. Nakasandal sa pader.

He said there are many Akbayan members who are holding high positions in the Aquino government because they supported Benigno Aquino III in the 2010 elections. Sorry na lang with Bayan Muna and its affiliate organizations like Anakbayan because they supported Manny Villar.

Yes, to the victors belong the spoils.

Hindi yata tama gawing legal ang pagpuputa

Published by Ellen on October 21, 2012

From dipity.com. Scene from the red light district of Amsterdam

Inirekomenda ng United Nations Development Program (UNDP) na gawing legal ang prostitution o pagpu-puta para daw maproteksyunan ang mga kawawang puta.

Hindi yata tama.

Naawa ako sa mga puta dahil hindi talaga kanais-nais na trabaho ang kanilang ginagawa at marami sa kanila ay napipilitan lang para mabuhay ngunit mali yata ang solusyun na paggawa nito na legal. Para naman kinukunsinti ang ganung gawain.

Sinabi sa report na huwag daw gawing krimen ang pagpuputa para kapag legal ang kanilang trabaho, makakuha sila ng benepisyo katulad ng pagpapaeksamin sa doktor, insurance at pension.

‘A Framework with missing Agreements’

Published by Ellen on October 20, 2012

By Raul C. Pangalangan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

One more not rise to a standing ovation for a trailer even before the movie is made, lest unrealistic expectations spoil the actual viewing. Similarly, the Framework Agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a milestone for sure, but unrestrained hype may well derail peace in the end. The Framework says little but the public has been conditioned to believe it says everything. What will happen when our people check under the hood and discover what’s not there?

Most importantly, the key Framework provisions each refer to an “Annex” that does not exist. This is not about missing footnotes but goes to the heart of a peace pact: What will be in the “Annex on Power Sharing,” “Annex on Wealth Sharing,” and “Annex on Transitional Arrangements”? How exactly will power and wealth be shared in the future? There can be no “just and lasting peace” unless we agree on these.

When the Framework was first published online, I thought the missing annexes would soon follow. After all, the Supreme Court struck down the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain in 2008 because, among other grounds, it lacked transparency. But the Framework signing has come and gone, and it is clear that those annexes still do not exist.

Making sure we got the President correctly on internet libel

Published by Ellen on October 18, 2012

Aquino before FOCAP Oct 17, 2012 — Aquino with foreign correspondents

This is what President Aquino said at the forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association in the Philippines Wednesday on internet libel in the Cybercrime Law which he signed last Sept. 12:

Question: My question is in regards to Cybercrime Law. Just in regards to your mantra under your term to improve human rights in the Philippines. How does opening the past and allowing people to be jailed for posting defamatory comments online improve human rights situation in the Philippines?

Aquino: Well, can I just state for the record: as the Chief Executive of this land when the proposed measure was brought before me, I had basically two options. Under the Constitution, if I agree with the same I sign it into law. If I disagree with the same, I veto everything. I cannot… I only have a line veto on the budget measure. I don’t have a line veto on other measures.

Ways and Means committee:pitfall for two Batangueño legislators

Published by Ellen on October 16, 2012

In a period of one year, the Ways and Means committees of both legislative chambers claimed two Batangueños.

Last Monday, Sen. Ralph Recto resigned as chair of the Senate Ways and Means committee after he found himself a target of criticisms for his committee report and his own version of the Sin Tax bill which groups pushing for higher taxes say is Philip Morris-friendly.

December last year, Batangas Rep. (2nd district) Hermilando Mandanas, a member of the Liberal party just like Recto, was removed as chairman of the ways and means committee. He was replaced by another LP member, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab.

The Ways and Means committees are most coveted and are given to senior legislators. The committees have jurisdiction on all matters relating to revenue which include taxes and fees, tariffs, loans and other
sources and forms of revenue.

I know of a legislator who had held that position for many years he became so rich that last election, money flowed like water in his province. He won, of course, together with his son who also ran for another elective post.

Recto’s equilibrium and erectile dysfunction

Published by Ellen on October 15, 2012

Update: Recto quits as ways and means chair: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/15/12/recto-quits-ways-and-means-chair

Studies have shown that the ill-effects of smoking coupled with poor diet and lack of exercise are not limited to cardiovascular, respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer, which are afflicting Filipinos at their most productive age, 40’s and early 50’s.

In one of the lectures,Dr. Anthony Leachon, cardiologist and consultant on non-communicable diseases of the Department of Health, said recent studies have shown that smoking causes erectile dysfunction.

Privilege Speech delivered by Sen Recto Oct 15,2012

“You may not die of erectile dysfunction but some men die for it,” quipped Leachon, who is leading the campaign for the passage of the Sin Tax, not the Recto-fied version but the one that the authored by Sen. Miriam Santiago. He also supports the version passed by the House of Representatives authored by then Cavite Representative (now Secretary of Transportation and Communication) Joseph Abaya.