Kawawa naman itong sina Melchor Magdamo at Arwin Serrano.
Naglakas ng loob isiwalat ang bulok sa Commission on Election. Sa halip na purihin at binigyan ng medalya, minura at dinuro pa sila ni Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer.
Nangyari itong insidente isang linggo sa miting tungkol sa anomaly ng P700 milyon na kontrata tungkol sa plastic folders na pantakip para daw magiging sekreto ang pagboboto.
Huwag tayong masyadong maiinip sa pag-iimbestiga ng mga reklamo tungkol sa mga palpak sa nakaraang eleksyon. Mabuti na hindi lang basta-basta isinasantabi ang mga lumalabas na reklamo tungkol sa mga palpak sa nakaraang automated elections.
Hindi katulad nang nangyari noong 2004 na ibinasura lang ni Sen. Francis Pangilinan at Rep. Raul Gonzales sa basurahang “Noted” ang mga reklamo kasama ang mga ebidensya ng dayaan.
Ngayon, kahit papaano pinapakinggan at hinihingan ng paliwanag ang Comelec at Smartmatic.
Ngayong araw magsisimula ang official canvassing ng mga boto para sa mga kandidato para presidente at bise-presidente. Sinabi ni Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile at iba pang mambabatas na malamang sa Hunyo 15, o bago pa lumampas sa petsa na yun, made-deklara na ang nanalo at magiging susunod na presidente.
Sana naman hindi madaling araw nila gawin yun katulad ng ginawa ni Gloria Arroyo noong 2004 na parang inisahan ang taumbayan.
The Commission on Elections on Tuesday decided to stop releasing updates of last Monday’s elections on the request of lawyers of some presidential and vice…
(Note: VERA Files website is down.While it is being restored, the stories will be posted here.)
By MARK JOSEPH UBALDE
VERA Files
In a press conference held at Club Filipino Sunday, leaders of concerned groups that include the Makati Business Club and Philippine Bar Association read their open letter to the Comelec, saying the decision on their proposal cannot be delayed beyond April 29 or else the parallel manual count won’t be doable.
“If the Comelec decides after April 29, then we are afraid and gravely concerned that the May 10 elections would remain extremely vulnerable to manipulation and fraud,” they said in the letter that will be given to Comelec on Monday when the poll commissioners meet en banc.
Augusto Lagman, an IT specialist and convenor of TransparentElections.Org, said,“It would only take two to four days to ready the system. The Comelec should ensure accuracy than speed of the results.”
Comelec, a no show in Pampanga citizens journalism training.
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.
The Concerned Citizens movement today filed a Supplemental Motion for reconsideration from a decision of the Supreme Court upholding the legality of the COMELEC- Smartmatic Automated Election Systems.
In a 25 page motion, CCM singled out two new grounds both of which arose from “supervening events” since the High Court dismissed the CCM Petition against the COMELEC. The grounds alleged by CCM are as follows:
I. Comelec/Smatmatic will not be able to comply with the July 10, 2009 because of their failure to provide telecommunication facilities –both satellite and land-based- that will assure one hundred per cent communications coverage at all times during the conduct of the 2010 general elections as stated in the contract.
2. Smartmatic resorted to subcontracting to manufacture the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines in question, first to JARL-Tech, and now, to a Chinese company known as Quisdi, violates not only the Comelec’s own bidding rules but also Republic Act 9184, the government’s New Procurement Act.
by Luz Rimban VERA Files The Commission on Elections has ruled out the possibility of a failure of elections if the still untested automated system…
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 full steam ahead to automate next year’s elections.
Voting 11-3-1, the Supreme Court junked the petition filed by University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque to declare as invalid the P7.2 billion automation contract between the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and winning consortium Smartmatic and Total Information Management (TIM).
The ruling, penned by Justice Presbitero Velasco, is expected to be promulgated this week. Justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales, and Arturo Brion dissented. Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, who is on leave, took no part.
by VERA Files Presidential son Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo has failed to declare to the Commission on Elections contributions that he said he received when…