Courtesy of Probe Profiles The Philippines’ richest senator, billionaire Manuel “ Manny” Villar, is giving his all to capture the presidency in 2010. His infomercials…
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Tag: 2010 elections
by Nita Bautista VERA Files DASMARINAS, Cavite.—Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar has found a tireless and winning campaigner in Willie Revillame, the popular television host of…
Last Friday, I got this strange letter from a certain Samira Saba of Smartmatic, the Dutch-Barbados-Venezuelan firm that partnered with the local Total Information Management and won the P7.2 billion contract for the nationwide automation of the 2010 elections.Here’s the letter:
Dear Mrs. Ellen,
My name is Samira Saba and I work at Smartmatic as the Marketing and Communications Manager (www.smartmatic.com).
I have checked your blog and I find it quite interesting. I can see the articles published are responsible, and show that you as a rule strive to inform and educate your readers. For instance, the article “Rock the vote!”
I would like to know if you have the time and the interest of writing some articles regarding the following subjects:
1) Election automation worldwide, and positive experiences in various countries.
2) Election automation in the Philippines, past and present.
3) Different technologies to automate an election. Perspectives and comparisons: shortcomings, advantages, political implications.
4) Smartmatic technology in particular (in this case, we would of course furnish appropriate materials to the required depth).
If you are interested in adding our organization as a regular client for your freelance writer services, we can define the extent and number of articles you could write monthly. I will be glad to give you more details and answer the questions you may have.
If your answer to the above is positive, then I would appreciate a quotation for your services, with a target of two articles published per month to begin with.
I look forward to hearing from you the soonest.
It was signed by Ms Saba.
I find the letter insulting. It smacks of bribery. I had to take several deep breaths and reminded myself that I should not write anything when I’m angry.
Reminder to first-time voters and those who will be transferring voting places: please don’t wait until Oct. 31, last day of registration.
The Commission on Elections said they will not be extending the deadline because they have to finalize the voters’ list. Remember that the 2010 elections will be the first supposedly nationwide automated elections.
The Smartmatic/TIM computers that Comelec will be using (Precinct Count Optical Scan or PCOS) are precinct-specific so it’s important that the voters list is finalized early.
After you have voted, pray that the PCOS that contains your name does not get misdelivered to a wrong precinct, just like what happened to many bunches of ballots and ballot boxes in the past elections.
The Samahang Magdalo, Taguig chapter, will stage “Rock the Vote” tomorrow Saturday, with a core message of encouraging first-time voters to register. “If we desire genuine changes and reforms from crooked governance, we must begin these steps at making sure we are legitimate voters before the Comelec,” said Lt. (s.g.) James Layug, head of the Samahang Magdalo in the city that organized the concert.
by Lito Banayo
Malaya
A highly reliable source informed this writer that over the weekend, Manuel Villar, presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party, was able to seal a deal with incumbent vice-president, Noli de Castro, to seek re-election for another term, this time as the former’s running-mate.
For a while, Villar was having a difficult time getting a vice-presidential partner. He had banked on being able to convince his fellow senator, Francis Escudero, to agree to run with him as his vice-presidential candidate. But sometime in late August, Escudero gave short shrift to the possibility. He said that he could not “in conscience” join up with someone who, on the basis of what had been uncovered in the C-5 investigation in the Senate, does not represent “good governance.”
Villar then tried to get Sen. Pia Cayetano to agree to be his team-mate, but she thought better than to eschew sure re-election as senator (based on surveys) and risk the same for a one-on-one contest. Then, Cebuanos thought that their governor, Gwen Garcia, could be persuaded by Villar to run as his vice-president. There were talks about a Villar-Binay ticket, but the latter decided to cast his lot with Joseph Estrada. On Wednesday next week, unless another feng shui expert re-schedules it, the political marriage of Jojo of Makati and Erap of San Juan will be announced, to be rent asunder only by a Supreme Court decision, after Erap files his certificate of candidacy on or around November 30, and not before.
Ayun sa kolum ni Lito Banayo ngayon sa Malaya, pumayag na raw si Bise- Presidente Noli de Castro para magiging bise ni Sen. Manny Villar para sa 2010 eleksyun.
Maganda yun. Gumaganda na ang tambalan.
Sa administrasyon, Gilbert Teodoro-Ronnie Puno; sa mga hindi administrasyon (ayaw ko sabihing oposisyon dahil ang iba, hindi naman talaga laban kay Gloria Arroyo) nandiyan na ang Noynoy Aquino-Mar Roxas ng Liberal Party.
Si Chiz Escudero ng Nationalist People’s Coalition ay magiging 40 taong gulang na sa Sabado, Oct. 10. Ang plano, sa Lunes nya ipahayag ang kanyang kandidatura sa pagka-presidente. Hindi pa yata sigurado kung sino ang kanyang magiging bise presidente.
I’m glad that Comelec Chairman Jose Melo accepts the possibility that automated elections may not take place in many parts of the country on election day.
Last Wednesday, a week after the Supreme Court upheld Comelec’s claim that they are fully capable of a nationwide automated elections despite questions raised by the Concerned Citizens Movement on the legality their having skipped the required testing of the contracted system, Melo said, “Aside from preparations for poll automation, Comelec is also preparing for manual elections sa mga liblib na lugar (in remote areas), provinces with no electricity, and would have issues in electronic transmission. We are ready for manual polls in at least 30 percent or 50 percent of the country as a last contingency measure in case the contingency plans for automation are difficult to implement.”
I don’t know if Melo’s admission of lack of electricity in many areas of the country has something to do with the warning of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes of a power shortage next year, during election period.
It’s heartening to know interest among young people to participate in the 2010 elections is growing.
Political consultant Malou Tiquia, in her presentation on “Developments in the 2010 election campaign” in a recent forum sponsored by the Ateneo School of Government, said of the 45,029,443 registered voters as of March 2009, nine million belong to age 18-35 years old. Election observers expect 22 per cent of voters would come from the youth sector.
If these young people would identify with someone in their age range, they would have three to choose from: Chiz Escudero of the National People’s Coalition, who will be turning 40 (the minimum age requirement to be president) on October 10; Gilbert Teodoro of the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD; and the Liberal Party’s Noynoy Aquino.
Opisyal na: si Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro ang kandidato ng Lakas-Kampi-CMD, ang partido ng administrasyon ni Gloria Arroyo.
Iisa lang ang nagpresinta na gustong magkandidato na bise president- si Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno. Kaya Teodoro-Puno ang magiging tiket ng administrasyon.
Sa paghirang ng kandidatura ni Teodoro para president sa 2010 na eleksyon, malabo na si Bise Presidente Noli de Castro na tatakbo. Baka bumalik na lang siguro siya sa pagka-brodkaster.
Ngayong palapit na 2010 eleksyun, dumadami ang mga panggulong mga balita.
Kawawa nga itong si Senator Chiz Escudero. Itong mga nakaraang araw, siya ang pinagdidiskitahan ng ilang grupo na mag-withdraw sa 2010 presidential contest.
Noong Linggo, maaga kong kinalampag ang kanyang political consultant na si Malou Tiquia dahil sa text na nakuha ko tungkol sa SWS survey na run-away si Sen. Noynoy Aquino sa survey sa Luzon.
Malaki ang nakain ni Noynoy sa rating ng ibang mga kandidato katulad nina Sen.Manny Villar, Estrada at Escudero. Pati narin nga yung kay Noli de Castro.