2010 elections – Page 8 – ellen tordesillas

Legalizing the illegal

Published by Ellen on March 18, 2010

This is what is disturbing about the Supreme Court decision allowing Gloria Arroyo to make a midnight appointment to succeed Chief Justice Reynato Puno: Arroyo can do anything illegal to stay in power beyond June 2010 and the Supreme Court will give it a mantle of legality.

Photo by Mario Ignacio for VERA Files

This is the scenario that we are looking: There will be partial failure of election. Only in the national level. That means no president, vice president and senators would be proclaimed by June 30, 2010.

Since the term of incumbent Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will end on June 30, there will be no Senate President, who is third in the Constitutional order of succession. (There have been calls for Enrile to do the patriotic act of resigning as senate president so that someone whose term will end in 2013 could be elected senate president but he has refused.)
Meanwhile, there would be proclamation of winners in the local posts including members of the House of Representatives.

There have been reports of Gloria Arroyo subsidizing the campaign of a huge number of congressmen to make sure that she gets elected as speaker.

The speaker of the House is fourth in the line of succession.

Jamby to migrate if Villar wins

Published by Ellen on March 17, 2010

Independent presidential candidate Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal said Tuesday she will leave the country if Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manuel “Manny” Villar wins. “If…

Ang drama ni Kris Aquino

Published by Ellen on March 15, 2010

Masyado namang OA si Kris Aquino noong linggo sa kanilang show ni Boy Abunda na “The Buzz”.

Anong problema niya? Na binabatikos siya?

Hindi naman siya bata na hindi niya alam kung gaano ka-brutal ang pulitika. Hindi naman siya pinilit para sumali sa kampanya ng kapatid niya. Kagustuhan niya yun.

At bakit siya mag-iiyak sa batikos ng ibang tao. Siya mismo sinasabi niya na maraming nagmamahal sa kanya. Sabi niya ‘yan ang sigaw ng mga tao sa Iloilo at sa Zamboanga kung saan sumama siya sa kampanya ng kanyang kapatid. Kasama rin yata ang kanyang asawang basketbolista na si James Yap at ang kanyang anak, si Baby James.

Smartmatic ‘bond’ slashed

Published by Ellen on March 15, 2010

From Malaya:

$4.3M of $25.3M left to answer for poll automation failure

The Commission on Elections has allowed Smartmatic, the holder of the P11.3 billion election automation contract, to reduce its bank credit line from $25.3 million to $21 million, leaving only $4.3 million to answer for any failure of the contractor to successfully carry out the project.

Comelec’s accommodation was among recent developments that have raised fears that automated elections would end up a failure.

First, Smartmatic has lost its original partner, the local company Total Information Management Corp., in the consortium. Second, it has lost the Aboitiz-owned logistics company 2Go as distributor of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to 70,000 precincts nationwide.

The decision to “remove, cancel or extinguish the credit line” given by the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. Manila was reached by Comelec in a meeting on January 20.

Not just to watch passively but active as citizens journalists

Published by Ellen on March 14, 2010

Comelec, a no show in Pampanga citizens journalism training.

Citizens as journalists in 2010 elections

Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David underscored the importance of being armed with correct information as the nation goes to the polls on May 10 to select their next set of national and local leaders in a seminar-workshop on citizen journalism held at the Holy Angel University in Angeles City.

Bishop Ambo said, “Truth will set us free but first, truth will make us miserable.” .

One of those “miserable” truths is that patronage politics still dominates in elections. Inquirer correspondent Tonette Orejas’ presentation of the personalities that dominate Pampanga said it best: the unelected president Gloria Arroyo, Sen. Lito Lapid, Lilia Pineda, who was recently declared by the Comelec as winner of the 2007 gubernatorial race nullifying the “miracle” victory of Fr. Ed Panlilio.

Panlilio has brought the issue to the Supreme Court.

Marami pa ring duda

Published by Ellen on March 13, 2010

Gusto ko narin sana maniwala na siguradong magiging maayos ang eleksyon sa Mayo. Ngunit hindi ko maa-aring lokohin ang sarili ko kasi marami pa rin talagang mga isyu na hindi nasasagot at meron pa mga bago ngayon na sumusulpot.

Sinabi niya sa Cebu noong Biyernes na gusto raw niya mangyari na ang isang “free and fair” na eleksyun sa mayo ang kanyang magiging pamana sa taumbayan.

“Free and fair”. Malaya at balansyado para sa lahat. Mabuti lang hindi siya gumamit ng salitang “honest.” Baka tamaan siya ng kidlat.

Ang pinakamalaking kasalanan ni Arroyo sa mamamayang Pilipino ay ang pagsira ng mga institusyon pangdemokratiko katulad ng Commission on Election. Marami pa siyang sinira katulad ng Kongreso, military, Department of Foreign Affairs, burukrasya, korte. Lahat na yata, sinira na niya.

Know James Layug

Published by Ellen on March 12, 2010

Former Lt(sg) James Layug is running for representative of the second district of Taguig. Get to know him.

Pagpili ng senador

Published by Ellen on March 10, 2010

Nang umuwi ako sa aming baryo sa Antique noong isang buwan, humingi ang aming mga kapitbahay ng listahan ng mga kandidato para senador na kanilang bobotohin sa darating na eleksyun sa Mayo.

Sabi nila, lahat-lahat na mga nagkakandidato ngayon hindi naman nila personal na kilala. Kaya kung may mare-rekomenda akong magaling at makakatulong sa bayan katulad ng ginawa kung pagrekomenda kay Antonio Trillanes IV noong 2007 na eleksyun, yun ang kanilang bobotohin.

Kung wala naman daw, yung mga kilala nilang pangalan ang kanilang bobotohin. Ang mangyayari niyan yung nakikita nilang mga pangalan sa TV at sa pelikula ang kanilang isulat.

Horoscope for vice presidential candidates

Published by Ellen on March 9, 2010

Last Monday, we ran Professional Heckler’s hilarious horoscope for presidential candidates. Here’s his equally hilarious horoscope for vice presidential candidates.

He said the hot, summer weather is affecting even the stars.” Ngunit bunsod ng patuloy na pag-init ng panahon, mainit din ang ulo ng mga bituin. Prangka sila ngayon.”

Enjoy and visit his site:www.professionalheckler.wordpress.com.

Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Born: November 11, 1941, Scorpio.

Latest in the battle of surveys: Noynoy’s lead reduced, statistically tied with Villar-SWS

Published by Ellen on March 9, 2010

A very tight race

The race to Malacañang has become very tight with the top two “presidentiables” locked in a statistical tie, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by BusinessWorld showed.

The poll, the third conducted by the survey research institution for this newspaper, found the front-runners — senators Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III and Manuel “Manny” B. Villar, Jr. — both losing ground among voters with little over two months to go before the May 10 national elections.

The cost, however, was more substantial for the Liberal Party’s Mr. Aquino, who saw his overall score cut by a substantial six points to 36%, compared to just a one percentage-point drop to 34% for the Nacionalista Party’s Mr. Villar.

Tag: 2010 elections