We are sorry, the requested page does not exist
Comelec pushes Internet voting
Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia on Tuesday reiterated the needed push for Internet voting as a means to ramp up the turnout in overseas voting during a forum titled “Beyond Suffrage: A Forum on Women and Overseas Voting” led by the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of the Overseas Voting Secretariat. In his speech, Garcia urged implementing agencies, including the DFA which primarily handles OAV activities to promote newer technologies as it is already allowed by law and that It could bring significant results to the country’s overseas voting records. “It is our conclusion that we should no longer wait for a law to be enacted before Comelec would be able to venture into Internet voting or electronic voting,” Garcia said. “We should get outside of the box or even remove the box so to speak to proceed with Internet voting despite the absence of the law because it is provided by the law itself,” he added. Comelec last week approved the adoption of internet voting for the conduct of OAV, but they are yet to define the technologies that will be used for the measure which they are aiming to implement on the 2025 midterm elections. This year also marks the 20th year since the passage of Republic Act 9189 or “The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003,” which laid the guidelines for the conduct of primarily mail-in voting in the Philippines, but allowed Comelec to study modern technologies, as stated in Section 16 of the legislation. This law was eventually amended in Republic Act 10590 in 2013. According to DFA Overseas Voting Secretariat Zoilo Velasco, OAV turnout have increased through the years, with last year’s polls having a high voter turnout of 40.59 percent, translating to 688,961 voters who casted their ballots. However, as Garcia previously argued, the said number is still far from the 1.7 million registered Filipinos overseas. He also reported a significant decrease in overseas voter registration for the 2019 and the upcoming 2025 elections, having more than 174,000 and nearly 26,000 registrants respectively. Velasco said that the turnout in voting and voter registration should be a step for policymakers to consider policies that would aid in improving the system of overseas voting. “We will continue to do our best and register as many people as we can. We are requesting for more funding so that we could be able to register more. We will do everything we can. If there’s a decline in overseas registration, it is for some external reasons. This is also an important input for policymakers because they should be able to come up with out of the box solutions such as online registration,” Velasco said. In terms of election security, COMELEC Office for Overseas Voting Director Sonia Bea Wee-Lozada also argued that modern technologies such as internet voting has protective mechanisms that could prevent discrepancies and threats to the conduct of the polls. “We have evidence to show that there are existing technologies and platforms out there that allow us to exercise our right to vote in a secure and auditable way, with the transparency that our laws demand. There are technologies that would be able to fit our requirements,” Wee-Lozada explained. The DFA-OVS forum also provided a platform for representatives from Mexico, Hongkong, South Korea and Ontario, Canada to discuss their practices in overseas voting and womens’ participation in the polls and in public governance. The post Comelec pushes Internet voting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec says systems can thwart foreign interference
The Commission on Elections is preparing to defend its servers from attempts to hack it in the 2025 midterm polls, its chairperson announced on Wednesday......»»
Cha-cha plebiscite and midterm polls in one event: A test of Comelec s independence
BOTH LEGISLATIVE chambers are now leading charter change discussions. Legislators have repeatedly said that amendments will be limited to economic measures in the 1987 Constitution.Meanwhile, the conduct of the plebiscite had Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia describe the logistical preparations required for it. He argued that it should be held as a separate event from the 2025 midterm electi.....»»
Cha-cha plebiscite during mid-year elections: No media question on Comelec s apparent uncertainty
BOTH LEGISLATIVE chambers are on the forefront of ongoing charter change discussions. Legislators have repeatedly said that amendments will be limited to economic measures in the 1987 Constitution.Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Com.....»»
BSKE: Selected voters from Pitogo, Pari-an to cast ballots in malls
CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least two barangays in Cebu have been chosen as part of the Commission on Election – Central Visayas’ (Comelec-7) pilot program to conduct actual voting inside malls. Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, director of Comelec-7, confirmed on Wednesday, October 18, that the voting centers for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), for selected precincts in Barangays Pitogo in Consolacion and Pari-an in Cebu City, will be in malls. READ: Mall voting simulation set for August 19 – Comelec official BSKE: Designated malls for voting centers These will be at SM Consolacion and Robinsons Galleria in the North Reclamation Area (NRA), Cebu City. There will be five clustered precincts from Pitogo and five clustered precincts from Pari-an that will have the mall voting, Castillano said. “Only five precincts from each barangay considering the space constraint,” he added. READ: Comelec-7 to launch mall voting on Brgy and SK Elections 2023 Two simulations Comelec-7 has also conducted two simulations of the ‘mall voting’ during the first week of October to assess the feasibility of having malls as voting centers for the BSKE. According to Castillano, the Comelec decided to implement a pilot test on having malls as part of their goals to enhance voting experience. The Comelec-7 official cited the high turnout they observed when voter registrations were conducted in malls as the basis behind the decision. The Barangay and SK polls will be held this October 30. ALSO READ: Guarding the vote: Over 180,000 cops to be deployed for BSKE /dbs.....»»
Comelec finishes printing of manual ballots
The Commission on Elections on Thursday said it has finished printing the official manual ballots and other forms that would be used in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, or BSKE, on 30 October. Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said around 92 million ballots were printed, 480,000 of which had been delivered to the Comelec office. Laudiangco added the ballots are being prepared for distribution nationwide starting in October. The Comelec will prioritize the delivery of the official BSKE ballots to the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, he explained. The earlier batch of ballots that had been printed will also be deployed in Batanes while those for the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and CALABARZON would be scheduled for delivery last, he added. The Comelec said about 68,197,135 ballots had been earmarked for the barangay elections, and 23,857,839 ballots for the Sangguniang Kabataan polls. Also, around 6,000 test ballots were printed for the pilot automated BSKE in select areas in Dasmariñas City, Cavite and Quezon City. Laudiangco said that automated election ballots are set to be printed in the coming days, and are expected to be completed within a week. The Comelec previously announced the conduct of automated BSKE polls in Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City’s 6th District, which has about 60,766 voters, along with Barangay Paliparan III and Barangay Zone II in Dasmariñas City, with 51,435 and 1,475 registered voters, respectively. It targets to print a total of 86,165 official ballots for the barangay elections and 27,511 ballots for the SK elections for these three villages. The post Comelec finishes printing of manual ballots appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Addressing vote-buying
It seems that the present Commission on Elections is not running out of ideas on how to effect reforms. It is not “sleeping on their post” as sentinels used to say. It continues to pursue changes in the electoral landscape unmindful of negative social and political headwinds. I just wrote about its speedy action of placing Malabang, Lanao del Sur under Comelec control because of the indiscriminate firing of guns on the first day of filing of certificates of candidacy. Now, it’s tackling the mother of election irregularities — vote buying and vote selling. This illegal practice is anti-democratic. It continues to be the bane of elections. It restricts one’s freedom to choose one’s leaders. That it thrives as endemic in a political milieu like the Philippines is a testament to how difficult life is for the common people. Financial need, especially for those on the margins of society, is so chronic that people are willing to sacrifice their basic freedoms to make ends meet. This is a problem almost beyond solution because of the difficulty of punishing the wrongdoers, both the buyer and seller. We have laws punishing it but prosecutors can only build a case against a suspect with the participation of at least one of the accomplices to the crime. And who would want to testify against oneself unless immunity is assured? And so, we see a mockery of the law. No one gets jailed for violating it. The proactive Comelec comes now with a bagful of measures to combat the anomaly. It has created a special group, the Committee on Kontra Bigay, to address the problem and it is helmed by a no-nonsense reformist, Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr., the namesake of a great and astute statesman who served the country in various capacities for decades. I say he is the right choice, not only because of the reputation he has built, but more so because of the weight of the name he carries which he would not want to taint with a whiff of wrongdoing. The Commission has listed a litany of prohibitive acts associated with vote-buying. It’s too long to list in this limited space. But on top of these are acts and activities “presumed” to be illegal because they lead to the commission of the crime. These include “possessing or delivery of... monies or anything of value together with sample ballots or other campaign materials... queues of registered voters for the distribution of money... and such other goods... employing the hakot system or the gathering of two or more registered voters in a specific place before election day and on election day ...prohibiting the possession... carrying of cash exceeding P500,000 along with campaign paraphernalia two days before an election and on election day... an ‘ayuda’ ban except that which is normally given to qualified individuals...” It also created the Kontra Bigay Complaint Center which will receive complaints of vote-buying. For human rights guardians, consider this: the Comelec allows “warrantless arrest wherein any law enforcement officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person when in his or her presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is committing, or is attempting to commit the election offense of vote-buying.” Wow! A case arising out of these acts is fertile ground for legal hermeneutics. Any two-bit lawyer can find a “palusot” in this scenario. It may be extremely difficult to prove all these by evidence but it’s surely a theoretical force to deter the commission of the crime. And let it not be said that the present Commission did not lift a finger to combat this perennial problem which everyone talks about but was never addressed by past commissions. For this reason, the present Commission deserves our appreciation for a bold ambitious move. amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com The post Addressing vote-buying appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Veteran journalist, book author Rene Acosta is new NPO chief
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed veteran journalist and book author Renato “Rene” Acosta as the new head of the National Printing Office, an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Office, Malacañang announced Saturday. Press Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said that Acosta will replace Carlos Bathan as the director of the government’s official printing arm. Acosta was a fellow of the East-West Center in Washington DC and an alumnus of the US State Department’s premier professional exchange program International Visitor Leadership Program. The Philippine-based journalist has contributed stories and analyses on domestic and regional issues for renowned international think tanks, such as the Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and Oxford Analytica in the United Kingdom. Acosta had also written and edited stories for the online portal of the US Pacific Command’s Asia Pacific Defense Forum, now known as Indo-Pacific Forum. He also worked for the United States Naval Research Institute News. His book, titled “The War on Terror: How the Philippine Military and the US Broke the Axis of Terror in the Philippines,” was published and launched in Singapore by Penguin Random House. Acosta was also the “featured author” in 2019 by the Singapore Writers Festival—considered one of Asia’s premier literary events. The journalist and book author delivered lectures on the three themes during the 10-day literary feast sponsored by the Singapore Arts Council. Until his appointment, Acosta was a reporter for BusinessMirror, which he joined in its founding in 2005, and where he had been covering defense and national security issues during the past years. Acosta was a former president of the Defense Press Corps of the Philippines. He began his journalism career at the state-owned Philippine News Agency in 1989 while still a journalism student and later rose from the ranks. Acosta wrote and edited stories for wire agencies during his junior years as a reporter. He was also based and worked for a newspaper in Western Pacific. Before joining BusinessMirror from the defunct Today newspaper, Acosta briefly worked for the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines as a communication consultant, where he helped work for the removal of the country from the Priority Watch List on piracy by the US Trade Representative’s office. Acosta also founded and edited the defunct Intellectual Property Rights Review—the first newspaper in the world of intellectual property rights that was hailed by worldwide IPR advocates. The NPO, the agency that Acosta now headed, is tasked to continue to provide printing services to government agencies and instrumentalities as mandated by law. It also provides printing of official ballots and election paraphernalia which could be shared with Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, upon the discretion of the Commission on Election consistent with the provision of the Election Code of 1987. The post Veteran journalist, book author Rene Acosta is new NPO chief appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Canada PM Trudeau and wife announce separation
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that he and his wife of 18 years, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, are separating. In a post on Instagram, the prime minister said "that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate." A statement from his office added that the couple have signed "a legal separation agreement." It said the public can expect to continue seeing them and their three children together as "they remain a close family" and both parents will be a "constant presence in their children's lives." They asked for privacy ahead of a family vacation scheduled for next week. Trudeau and his wife, a former entertainment reporter, were childhood friends and reconnected in 2003 while co-hosting a charity ball. They soon started dating and married in 2005 in Montreal. They have three children together: Xavier, 15, Ella Grace, 14, and nine-year-old Hadrien. The separation is the first for a Canadian prime minister since Trudeau's late father Pierre Trudeau, who split from Margaret Trudeau in the late 1970s and eventually divorced in 1984 during his final months in office. Sunny days, heavy storms In his 2014 memoir "Common Ground," the younger Trudeau recalled that the "dark drama" at home and his parents' eventual divorce had been hard on him. His own breakup comes as Trudeau's ruling Liberals are struggling in the polls against the opposition Conservatives ahead of elections expected before the end of 2025. Trudeau announced last week a major shakeup in his cabinet with the stated goal of strengthening his economic team ahead of that looming campaign. This involved changing more than two-thirds of his political inner circle, with seven new recruits joining the cabinet and around 20 ministers reassigned to new roles. Sophie Gregoire, 48, had been a constant presence at her 51-year-old husband's side at political events over the past decade, as he took the party from third place to form a government in 2015, and through two more winning ballots in 2019 and 2021. But she has appeared in public less in recent years, at times lamenting the struggles of marriage, saying last year in a social media post that they had "navigated through sunny days, heavy storms and everything in between." Trudeau himself has also hinted at difficulties, writing in his memoir: "Our marriage isn't perfect, and we have had difficult ups and downs, yet Sophie remains my best friend, my partner, my love. We are honest with each other, even when it hurts." On their latest anniversary in May, Trudeau posted a photo online of the pair holding hands as they drove along a remote Canadian highway in a motor home, with the caption "Every mile of this journey together is an adventure. I love you Soph." The post Canada PM Trudeau and wife announce separation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Teves,12 others tagged terrorists
The Anti-Terrorism Council or ATC has designated Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. as a terrorist for allegedly masterminding the assassination of Gov. Roel Degamo last 4 March, which also resulted in the deaths of nine others. The ATC named the congressman, who had gone into hiding, as the leader of the Teves Terrorist Group, which allegedly included as members his younger brother, Pryde Henry Teves, and purported bagman Marvin Miranda. Pryde was unseated by the Commission on Elections after a recount of the votes cast in the 2022 Negros Oriental gubernatorial election showed that Degamo had won. Degamo was killed in a commando-style attack at his residential compound in Pamplona town. The slain governor’s wife, Janice, is the mayor of Pamplona. The assault happened just weeks after the Supreme Court upheld the Comelec’s proclamation of Degamo as governor. Also tagged as terrorists were Nigel Electona, Tomasino Aledro, Rogelio Antipolo, Hannah Mae Oray, Rommel Pattaguan, Winrich Isturis, John Louie Gonyon, Dahniel Lora, Eulogio Gonyon Jr. and Jomarie Catubay. In a three-page resolution dated 26 July and signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin that was released yesterday, the ATC said Pryde and Electona “provided material support” to Teves in furtherance of his alleged terrorist activities. “Investigation also revealed that Hannah Mae Sumero Oray handled the operational funds for the killings while Marvin H. Miranda acted as organizer and recruiter of personnel for specific terrorist attacks,” the ATC said. In April, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla revealed the government’s intention to designate Teves as a terrorist, saying that his group’s alleged “activities that led to the killings are all covered by the Anti-Terror Law, [including] the recruitment, financing, purchase of firearms, and their distribution.” In hiding Teves has refused to come home after being located last in Timor-Leste, claiming his life was in danger. There was talk he was already in the Philippines under the protection of a former high government official. The House of Representatives had twice suspended Teves for refusing to heed Speaker Martin Romualdez’s plea to come home to face the charges against him. The Philippine National Police had filed a separate complaint against Teves before the Department of Justice last March over the alleged political killing of three other persons in Negros Oriental in 2019. A Degamo lawyer said the Teveses could be linked to as many as 60 killings in Negros Oriental. In reaction, Pryde said in a radio interview that his lawyers would appeal the ATC resolution. He expressed dismay that his right to travel and earn a livelihood would be affected by the order. Saying he would not leave Negros Oriental despite the tagging, the younger Teves said he would be the last to resort to terrorism because he had been a victim of violence. Meanwhile, Ferdinand Topacio, a lawyer of Congressman Teves, lambasted the ATC whose order, he said, demonstrated the government’s prejudgment of the case and “desperation” to take his client into custody. “Since day one of the Degamo killing, the government has mobilized all the resources at its disposal, starting with immediately tagging Teves as the mastermind thereof without investigation, conducting illegal searches on his properties, laying siege to his powers and prerogatives as a member of the House, embarking on a massive media campaign to discredit him and prejudice the minds of the public against him, among other things, all in an obsessive attempt to blame him for a crime at the expense of his constitutional rights,” Topacio said. Topacio questioned why the government had to use the ATC against Teves, in a case for which the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020 was not “designed.” “The agencies of government, having eggs on their faces due to the recantation of all the key witnesses, the lack of evidence against Representative Teves, the public backlash against his obvious persecution, and the embarrassing failure of the authorities to bully him into returning to the country in spite of grave and serious threats to his life has expectedly weaponized the Anti-Terror Act by using it for the purpose for which it was not designed,” he said. When it was first floated that Teves would be tagged as a terrorist, he posted a video of himself wearing Muslim garb and laughing. The post Teves,12 others tagged terrorists appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec debunks ‘rigged’ 2022 polls claim
Commission on Elections chairperson George Garcia branded as lies the claims that the 2022 election was rigged. He said the allegations made by former Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. that the voting was rigged had no basis. “In all of this, the strong basis for the accuracy, integrity, and legitimacy of the elections is the ballot. Let us set aside the printed copies and electronically transmitted election returns. We can go back to the ballots which are in the custody of the city and municipal treasurers nationwide and the secured scanned images which are at the Comelec,” Garcia said. He added that the random manual audit of votes counted by the machines against the Comelec’s random manual audit posted a 99.9493-percent overall accuracy rate, meaning that nearly all of the votes were read and tallied correctly. Rio, in particular, had raised concerns about the transmission of results from “private and similar IP addresses” in Metro Manila, Cavite, and Batangas following last year’s polls. “There’s no requirement in the law stating that all modems should have different or similar IP addresses,” Garcia said. The poll chief explained that there were around 20,300 modems with the same IP address last year. The 4G network modems, he said, were purchased for the Comelec-leased vote counting machines as well as to cover the 5,000 damaged modems from VCMs purchased in 2016 that were refurbished for last year’s polls. All the modems, he said, underwent the necessary tests but noted that it would have taken the Comelec many more months if it opted to change all the IP addresses of the 20,300 modems. “There’s no effect or difference in accuracy, legitimacy, and functionality of transmission, whether the modems have similar or different IP addresses,” Garcia said. He also refuted allegations of a “man-in-the-middle” in the transmission of national and local election results and said that if this was the case, there should have been inconsistencies in the results. He said there was no intermediary or man-in-the-middle in the transmission of NLE 2022 results because the results from the polling precincts were accurate and tallied with the results transmitted to the Comelec servers. The post Comelec debunks ‘rigged’ 2022 polls claim appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Poll chief Garcia debunks ‘rigged’ 2022 polls claim
Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia debunked the claims made questioning the results of the 2022 elections are all lies. Garcia said allegations made by former Department of Information and Communications Technology Usec. Eliseo Rio Jr. about the rigging of votes has no basis. “In all of these, the strong basis is the accuracy, integrity, and legitimacy of the elections is the ballot. Let us set aside the printed copies and electronically-transmitted Election Returns, we can go back to the ballots which were in the custody of the city and municipal treasurers office nationwide and the secured scanned images which are at the Comelec,” said Garcia. He also pointed out that the random manual audit of votes counted by the machines against the Comelec’s random manual audit posted a 99.9493% overall accuracy rate, meaning nearly all of the votes were read and tallied correctly. Rio in particular raised concerns about the transmission of results from a "private and similar IP address" in areas of Metro Manila, Cavite, and Batangas in last year's polls. "There's no requirement in the law stating that all modems should be different or similar IP addresses," Garcia said. The poll chief explained that there were around 20,300 modems which have the same IP address last year. These 4G network modems, he said, were purchased for the Comelec-leased vote counting machines as well as to cover the 5,000 damaged modems from VCMs purchased in 2016 and were later refurbished for last year's polls. Garcia assured that all these modems underwent necessary tests but noted that it would take the Comelec more months if it opted to change all IP addresses of the 20,300 modems. "There's no effect or difference in accuracy, legitimacy, and functionality of transmission, whether the modems have similar or different IP addresses," Garcia said. Garcia also refuted allegations of a "man-in-the-middle" in the transmission of NLE results and said if this was the case, there should have been inconsistencies in the result. He said the is no intermediary or man-in-the-middle in the transmission of NLE 2022 results because the results from the polling precincts are accurate with the results transmitted to Comelec servers. The post Poll chief Garcia debunks ‘rigged’ 2022 polls claim appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Largesse
It is a French word for extreme generosity. Generosity is a Christian virtue of being liberal in giving. It is a virtue from within a person that leads him to GIVE to another person SOMETHING HE HAS OR OWNS as an act of free will, without obligation, duress, or imposition from without. But Senate Bill 2002 raising wages across the board in all regions for all workers is perceived by a great number of citizens as a contrived largesse or false generosity by legislators who will be GIVING SOMETHING NOT THEIR OWN. This prevailing sentiment may be unfair but difficult to deny due to the author’s dogmatic defense of SB 2002. Employers tirelessly tried to reach out to the author and his partisans to warn them that this kind of “gift” will trigger widespread business closures and disincentivize new investments resulting in massive job losses and economic decline. Such a legislated wage adjustment undermines established processes and standards in determining the equitable determination of wage levels for each region, a tripartism function of the regional wage boards as created by law. Another persistent perception is that these legislators are misinformed, misguided, or simply don’t care a fig. Repeatedly, the employers who directly contribute to the attainment of that elusive dream of growth and total development have been trying with might and main — and a whole lot of good intentions — to convince legislators of the need to look at the bigger picture, the greater common good, and not to miss the forest for a few trees. Probably, the Comelec’s strict rule on election overspending and the difficulty of raising political contributions may have driven the reelection or promotion-seeking legislators to resort to electoral clientelism and patronage politics by filing populist bills that cost them nothing with the hope that the voters will be impressed and remember to shade their names on the ballots during election day. Unfortunately, there is unintended damage to millions of workers, namely, workers in the informal sector, fisherfolk, farmers, street vendors, market vendors, public transport drivers, and countless nameless part-time workers, who never benefit from any mandated wage increase. They will fall victim to the ensuing inflation caused by the wage adjustment. Interestingly, they far exceed the number of beneficiaries of the legislated minimum wage by a ratio of 10 to 1. All of these victims are franchised voters. The ruinous impact of this wage bill will make economic recovery a hopelessly futile exercise. The sad part is that despite the frantic effort of economic managers and businesses to compete globally after the pandemic, a legislated wage hike across the board nationwide is like hanging a dead albatross around our necks. And sadder still is the fact that even if we hope to survive the folly of this self-destructive wage adjustment, it will merely bring the country back to the bottom rank of the world economy as all of our global competitors are unhampered by a similar investment-killing legislative audacity. The ruinous impact of this wage bill will make economic recovery a hopelessly futile exercise. Maybe our honorable lawmakers could be persuaded to recognize the crippling impact of this wage bill that will irreparably harm the present and future generations of employed and new entrants to the labor market. Hopefully, employers, labor and legislators could agree to see the bigger picture, gloss over each one’s selfish and vested self-interest, and champion the common good that serves the best interests of all in the long run, especially for the country’s financial health and economic development. The voluntary withdrawal of SB 2002 by its author will be a real largesse and a most generous gift to the nation and all its workers, and we can move forward towards inclusive economic prosperity where everyone will be lifted out of poverty. The post Largesse appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Why Marcos joined Partido Federal
Partido Federal ng Pilipinas secretary general, retired General Thompson Lantion, said because of the effective core principles that the party promotes and embodies, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. embraced it as his official party when he joined it and won the presidential race in the May 2022 elections. Lantion, during his recent interview on Daily Tribune’s digital show “Straight Talk,” said the reason Marcos joined the party was that he believed in its core principles. “Our number one principle is the belief in God, number 2 is humanism, which is human dignity for every individual. Number three is participatory federalism or to defend the core principles of Federalism, and then enlightened socialism with a focus on job generation and uplifting the lives of the Filipino people. And then the last one is direct democracy as we call it. This is the power of the people. The principle most loved by the President is the power to the people and democracy,” he said. Lantion, who served on the staff of the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., said the young Marcos Jr. took his oath as a party member on 5 October 2018, the same day it was accredited by the Comelec. “I was in his campaign from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi. It was very difficult back then. We were sure he would win because of the acceptance of the people, just like our first sortie in Batangas. The highways were filled with people who wanted to see him, maybe because of the charm and the vision of the old Marcos Sr. remains in Bongbong. Marcos Sr. was really for the country’s development and progress, which stuck in Filipinos’ minds. And the junior can do better,” he said. True gentleman He said he never heard the young Marcos Jr. curse or make derogatory comments about his opponents during the 2022 campaign. “What Bongbong said is that even “if our family has been scrutinized and hit for more than 30 years now, those will eventually retire. Let’s stand down.” He is like his father, who just said “lintik naman” (damn it) even though he was already very mad. The old Marcos was soft-hearted but very strict,” Lantion said. He said he is currently revitalizing the party and declined the offer of the President of a post in his Cabinet. “I’m strengthening the party and that was the reason I gave the President. I had to forgo the assignment that was offered by the President. Right now, almost 21 governors of the Philippines have joined the Partido Federal, and maybe in the next months, another three or more governors will join. A total of 31 have taken their oath in Malacañang,” he said. Four years after its accreditation, the PFP has become the ruling party and leader of the administrative coalition after it nominated party chairman Marcos Jr. as its presidential candidate. Marcos eventually emerged as the winner by a landslide of 31 million votes versus his staunch opponent, former Vice President Leni Robredo. On its website, the PFP said the party is the “common man’s party” that represents workers, students, farmers, and fisherfolk. It was established to help rebuild the nation decisively by creating a society that is free of illegal drugs, corruption, crime, insurgency, and poverty. The party’s strength comes from a total of 1.5 million members, growing nationwide, from which the following organizations were formed, apart from solid youth groups collaborating on the party’s platform and 350 candidates in the 2019 elections. The post Why Marcos joined Partido Federal appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Canadian official probing election meddling by China resigns
An elder statesman tapped by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to look into allegations that China meddled in Canada's last two elections resigned on Friday following opposition party backlash over his appointment. Former governor general David Johnston had just released an interim report in which he concluded Beijing sought to interfere in Canada's 2019 and 2021 ballots, but failed to change the outcome of the votes. He was to begin hearings next month with testimony from targeted diaspora communities as well as national security and international relations experts, before submitting a final report in October. But opposition parties accused him of being too close to Trudeau and demanded an independent public inquiry instead. "When I undertook the task of independent special rapporteur on foreign interference, my objective was to help build trust in our democratic institutions," Johnston said in his resignation letter. "I have concluded that given the highly partisan atmosphere around my appointment and work, my leadership has had the opposite effect." Trudeau's minority liberal government has faced pressure to explain how it responded to the claims -- first reported by local media, citing leaked intelligence documents and unnamed sources -- that Beijing sought to influence or subvert Canada's democratic process. The reported accusations included secret campaign donations and Chinese operatives working for Canadian candidates or lawmakers in an attempt to influence policy. More recently, it emerged that Beijing sought to intimidate an opposition Canadian lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong over his criticisms of China. Last month, Ottawa expelled a Chinese diplomat implicated in the scheme. Beijing, which has called the accusations "groundless," reacted by sending home a Canadian diplomat while warning that aligning with Washington's policy on China risked sabotaging Canada's relations with its second-largest trading partner. In his preliminary findings, Johnston noted common foreign interference techniques included cyberattacks, online influence campaigns, disinformation and "the exploitation of human relationships." He also identified shortcomings in how intelligence is shared within government. But he rejected calls for a public inquiry -- advice Trudeau accepted -- citing "the sensitivity of the intelligence" at play. Johnston said his resignation would be effective no later than the end of June. The post Canadian official probing election meddling by China resigns appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
An Waray seeks reversal of Comelec decision on partylist cancellation
Regional partylist group An Waray filed a motion for reconsideration challenging the Commission on Elections Second Division’s cancellation of their partylist registration over a questioned assumption of a seat by one of their former nominee way back in 2013. Filed on Monday but was only revealed to the media by Comelec the following day, An Waray is seeking a reversal of the poll body’s decision last Friday, arguing that the partylist gained two seats during the 2013 midterm elections. This, according to An Waray, made the assumption of then-nominee Atty. Victoria Isabel Noel as one of their representatives in Congress legal. To recall, Noel was the then-third nominee during the 2013 midterm elections when An Waray won with 541,205 votes and garnered two seats. However, the resignation of then-second nominee Jude Acidre elevated Noel as the new second nominee, behind then-first nominee Neil Benedict Montejo. However, a recomputation by the National Board of Canvassers, the cancellation of registration of 11 partylists, and the proclamation of Abang Lingkod Partylist as a winner in that year’s polls after a Supreme Court battle led to An-Waray garnering only one seat in Congress, effectively allowing only Montejo and excluding Noel. The partylist also cited the recent decisions on Erwin Tulfo’s assumption of House seat as representative of Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support, arguing that the proclamation was made for the partylist and not for individual nominees like Noel. An-Waray also said that the two seats were granted in accordance with NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13, which canceled the registration of 11 partylists after the 2013 midterm elections. “The respondents disagree and submit that a separate proclamation of a specific nominee is not material nor required for the said nominee to take an oath and assume the office of Member of the House of Representatives,” the motion reads. Arguing that Noel’s assumption of the House seat is legal, An-Waray said that the jurisdiction on such matters should go to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal or HRET. The petition against Noel’s assumption of the House seat was filed in 2019 by Acidre and Danilo Pornias. Acidre currently represents Tingog Sinirangan Partylist, a Waray-based partylist similar to An Waray, in the House of Representatives. An Waray also has a representative in the Lower House through Congressman Florencio “Bem” Noel. Comelec previously said that the HRET shall have the decision on the issue, using the poll body’s decision as the basis for their actions. The post An Waray seeks reversal of Comelec decision on partylist cancellation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
An Waray to counter Comelec decision
The An Waray Partylist will counter the decision of the Commission on Elections to revoke its registration for violating the rules and regulations of the poll body by allowing the group’s then-second nominee to sit as a member of the House of Representatives despite having only one seat in the 16th Congress. An Waray Rep. Florencio Noel told the Daily Tribune that they would exhaust all legal measures and including filing a Motion for Reconsideration within the five-day reglementary period given by the Comelec, which began on Friday, to stave off the ruling from becoming final and executory. The plea was triggered by the Comelec’s cancellation of the group’s registration after it found that the An Waray former representative, lawyer Isabel Noel, sister of the incumbent solon of the partylist, committed an offense when she assumed the post of a lawmaker in the 16th Congress, “knowing ‘full well’ that the Comelec has not issued a certificate of proclamation entitling her to do so,” said the poll body on Friday. “Without a Certificate of Proclamation for its second nominee, An Waray was entitled to one seat only in relation to the 2013 National and Local Elections, thus Atty. Noel’s assumption to office as Representative of An Waray had no legal basis,” the Comelec added. The poll body’s declaration followed a 15-page resolution that granted Jude Acidre and Danilo Pornias’ plea filed in 2019 to void An Waray’s accreditation as a partylist, barring it from further participation in the House. To recall, An Waray, in the 2013 polls, was initially entitled to two seats in the lower chamber after being proclaimed as one of the winners of the partylist race but was subsequently recomputed to be one seat only pursuant to National Board of Canvassers Resolution No. 13-030(PL)/004-14 issued on 20 August 2014. “The recomputation of seats was made following the Supreme Court’s order, in Abang Lingkod Party List vs. Comelec, to proclaim Abang Lingkod party-list as one of the winning party-list groups in the 2013 National and Local Elections with the number of seats it may be entitled to, and in view of the then-pendency of the case of Senior Citizens party-list before the Supreme Court,” it said. Further, the polling organization noted that the 28 May 2013, NBC Resolution 0008-13, which An Waray solely relied on, expressly stated that the initial allocation of seats initially allocated is “without prejudice to the proclamation of other parties, organizations, or coalitions which may later on be established to be entitled to one guaranteed seat and/or additional seat.” Thus, Comelec explained that An Waray “clearly” violated Republic Act 7941 or the Party-List System Act, “by arrogating upon itself the authority” to have the lawyer sit in the 16th Congress without legal basis. Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco on Friday noted that the lower chamber has the jurisdiction to expel any member who fails to continually possess all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications. The post An Waray to counter Comelec decision appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec revokes An-Waray partylist registration
The Commission on Elections Second Division on Friday cancelled the party-list registration of regional party-list group An Waray over a violation of Section 6 (5) of Republic Act Number 7941 or the "Partylist System Act." The cancellation stemmed from the assumption of another seat in the House of Representatives in 2013 by Attorney Victoria Isabel Noel, despite the partylist having been allowed only one seat, which was challenged in 2019 by two petitioners including Jude Acidre, former nominee of An Waray. Noel was the then-third nominee during the 2013 midterm elections when An Waray won with 541,205 votes and garnered two seats. At the time, the first and second nominees were Neil Benedict Montejo and Acidre, respectively. But the latter resigned from the party, effectively elevating Noel as second nominee. However, a recomputation by the National Board of Canvassers, the cancellation of registration of 11 partylists and the proclamation of Abang Lingkod Partylist as a winner in that year’s polls after a Supreme Court battle led to An-Waray garnering only one seat in Congress, effectively allowing only Montejo and excluding Noel. The petitioners said that Noel, citing NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13 which cancelled the registration of 11 partylists, took her oath on July 2013 and that she held that position without any intervention. The COMELEC said that NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13 was superseded by NBOC Resolution No. 13-030(PL)/0004-14, the resolution that prompted the recomputation of An Waray’s seats in the Lower House from two to one. “Pursuant to the foregoing, the Commission En Banc sitting as the NBOC did not issue a Certificate of Proclamation to An Waray, entitling its second nominee, Atty. Victoria Isabel Noel, to sit as representative in the House of Representatives in relation to the 13 May 2013 National and Local Elections,” the decision read. In a message to reporters, COMELEC spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that the decision is yet to become final and executory. However, upon reaching finality, the poll body will then notify the House of Representatives and their electoral tribunal for their decision, particularly as the 19th Congress currently has a member of An Waray through Representative Florencio Gabriel Noel. “Both the House and the HRET may use as basis the COMELEC's resolution and factual findings on the matter,” Laudiangco said. “We have to remember that An Waray's nominee is a sitting member of the HOR, and we have to clearly define the bounds of jurisdictions between the COMELEC, the HOR and the HRET,” he added. The post Comelec revokes An-Waray partylist registration appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Internet voting’ could reduce spending – Comelec
The Commission on Elections on Thursday said that they are eyeing reduced spending on logistical costs of overseas voting with the recent approval of overseas Internet voting for the upcoming midterm elections in 2025. In a radio interview, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the internet voting scheme for overseas Filipino voters could allow a higher voter turnout while reducing the costs of conducting such elections overseas. Referencing last year’s polls, Laudiangco said that 39 percent of the 1.7 million registered overseas voters cast their votes, despite spending P411 million to ensure that all voters could have one ballot to fill up. Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia, in a Viber message to reporters, called the said 39-percent turnout ‘dismal’ that needed another mode. “We think that — and because all our ballots are intended for one voter — the problem is that some of them may be far from their post offices or that they may be too lazy to return it. We saw this as a more convenient option as OFWs tend to connect to the internet to call to their families,” Laudiangco said. The Commission En Banc approved the proposal on Wednesday, citing Republic Act Number 9189 or The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003, amended in Republic Act Number 10590, which allows the poll body to explore other means to conduct voting procedures overseas. Comelec has already been pushing for a newer automated election system through Fully Automated System with Transparency Audit and Count or FASTrAC which, among other things, is eyeing a multiple voter transmission to city and municipal canvassers, central servers, majority and minority party servers, media servers and citizens’ arm servers. However, unlike the local AES which proposes newer ‘automated counting machines’ or ACMs, internet voting could require the use of a software where registered voters could log in using their accounts. “Our voters will be using their cellphones or any other gadgets and will be given a separate account that cannot be imitated. You will be given a distinct and independent log-in quote and you’ll set your password. Registered voters will be given that account. Of course, they should have access to the internet,” Laudiangco said. Laudiangco added that they are working on proposing the needed budget for such measures before the Congress, including protective measures such as a strong firewall, secured anti-hacking mechanisms and protected encryption. “COMELEC should have a strong firewall. Seven million overseas Filipino voters can make or break an election, can sway the votes so there should be a strong firewall, as well as anti-hacking and high-level encryption,” he said. The post ‘Internet voting’ could reduce spending – Comelec appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec: 98,000 voting machines ‘unserviceable’
The Commission on Elections has declared the vote counting machines or VCM used in the 2016, 2019 and 2022 elections as “unserviceable.”.....»»