January 27th, 2010 by Malayang Halalan
Only a meteor slamming into the Philippines can cause a massive breakdown of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines resulting in a failure of automated elections, a congressman said Wednesday.
“I always believe that if a meteor hits the Philippines and knocks out all the machines, then we can go to manual and we will use the ballots and we will count them one by one,” Locsin told Mornings@ANC.
Locsin, chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage, also believes that the Comelec’s automation calendar is still on time despite the delays in the delivery of the PCOS machines.
“Actually we are not late. Overall, the delivery of all the machines is still on time… So far, they are still on time. As I’ve said, we are going ahead,” the congressman said ahead of the scheduled joint congressional hearing on the poll automation at the Senate.
Continue reading ‘Only a meteor hitting the Philippines could stop poll automation’
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January 26th, 2010 by Malayang Halalan
Senator Manny Villar refuses to face his Senate peers as it deliberates over possible censure arising from the C-5 ethics complaint.
Cornered on charges of ethical violations as well as allegations of political corruption, Senator Manny Villar refused to face his peers at the Senate as the august legislation body poised to censure him.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile insinuated that Villar’s refusal to face his peers at the senate was an indication of guilt. But Villar’s allies repeated pointed out that any decision made by the Senate, with the May 2010 elections being so near, would be colored by the politics of the time. A fair and impartial decision would not be possible, they said, as senators who were either running for President or Vice President would be voting along party lines and political interests — not in the interest of rendering justice.
In this official Press Statement, Manny Villar explains why he refuses to face his peers over the C-5 ethics complaint.
VILLAR SHUNS ONE-SIDED FLOOR DELIBERATIONS
The floor deliberations on the C-5 road extension project at the Senate will have to continue without him, Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manny Villar declared yesterday.
Villar said his Senate foes have tried hard but failed to drag him into the fray by recycling accusations that he benefited from the C-5 road extension project. He said his foes have become so desperate that they now resort to name-calling.
“I was called a coward and a copycat by some of my colleagues. But the truth is I have never evaded the issue. I have answered the issues they threw at me. I stood on the floor of the Senate two years ago to rebut their charges,” Villar said.
“I have always faced the music. But I did not dance to their music and never will. I addressed the Filipino people directly about the C-5 issue. I am available to media to answer questions. My opponents want to make me a whipping boy to boost their political plans. Why should I give them the satisfaction?” the NP presidential candidate added.
Villar said he would also stay away from a looming vote on the Senate floor on the motion by his foes to censure him in connection with the C-5 issue.
He reiterated that the charges against him are all politically motivated. He said it was no coincidence that the C-5 controversy was revived at a time when his ratings were closing in on that of his closest rival, Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III.
“Look at the cast of characters on the other side, they are candidates for president or their respective allies,” he said.
Sen. Manuel Roxas III is Aquino’s running mate while another accuser, Sen. Ma. Ana Consuelo Madrigal, is also running for the presidency.
“The Liberal Party panicked when they saw the surveys. They were the ones who leaked the committee report. It’s obvious,” Villar disclosed.
Villar had slashed Aquino’s lead in the surveys by as much as 30 percentage points in less than three months. And in a one-on-one scenario, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) put Aquino’s lead over Villar by a slim eight points in a survey conducted in December last year.
Villar also defended the C-5 project. “I am happy with the C-5 road project because it is now being used by six million of our countrymen from Cavite, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Taguig, and Makati. I had wanted to ease the traffic in our area and I was able to do that. And for that I am proud,” he said.
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December 2nd, 2009 by Malayang Halalan
Reposted from Anti-Pinoy. A great read for all those who are running in 2010.
Roadmapping 101 for Presidential Candidates
How hard could it be, considering that one would at the very least expect a bit of executive management chops in the various characters who are vying for the highest executive position in the land? If we are to expect Filipinos to courageously rally around a serious effort to become a better country in the foreseeable future, it would help to see a leader who has it clear in his or her mind how to get us from A to B.
Fortunately the answer to the above question is a resounding NO. It is not hard.
Continue reading ‘A guide for Philippine 2010 candidates’
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November 29th, 2009 by Malayang Halalan
Getting the right ballots to the right polling precinct
Philippine poll automation has been severely challenged and beset with questions that indicate doubt rather than interest.
While it has already gotten past the first Supreme Court petition questioning the legality of Smartmatic-TIM’s bid to supply the Comelec with an automated election system, the questions now revolve around not only whether it will indeed deliver the 82,000 machines to every polling precinct — but more importantly, will the right ballots be delivered to the right precinct.
Continue reading ‘Challenges to poll automation: Matching ballots and precincts’
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November 26th, 2009 by Malayang Halalan
The Maguindanao massacre has definitely shaken people’s confidence in government once more. Right now, people are asking, can poll automation push through in Maguindanao and the rest of ARMM?
Continue reading ‘Maguindanao massacre won’t stop poll automation 2010′
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