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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......»»
Comelec: 3 million overseas voters eyed in 2025 polls
With internet voting, the Commission on Elections is looking to have up to three million Filipinos abroad participate in the May 2025 midterm elections......»»
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.....»»
Comelec: Signature drive can continue
The gathering of signatures as part of the push for a people’s initiative goes on even with the Commission on Elections suspension of all its proceedings related to the latest Charter change move......»»
Why mounting a 2024 plebiscite on charter change will be a daunting task for Comelec
Charter change advocates are eyeing a plebiscite this year to ratify their proposed amendment to the 1987 Constitution, but the Comelec says it doesn't have enough time, manpower, and resources to mount a nationwide vote, as the 2025 elections inch closer.....»»
Lagman says public funds being used for Cha-cha drive
MANILA, Philippines — Albay 2nd District Representative Edcel Lagman alleges that funds from the public coffers are being utilized to advocate for charter change (Cha-cha). However, Ako Bicol party-list Representative Elizaldy Co maintains that Lagman is specifically referring to a budget allocated for the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In a statement on Tuesday, Lagman again.....»»
Probe into AI-enhanced posters ads urged
Election candidates trying to impress voters by using artificial intelligence could be a form of dishonest campaigning, Senator Francis Tolentino stressed on Saturday. “The issue of using artificial intelligence in the election campaign and propaganda materials and requested further study for future policy formulation as apps that change facial impressions of individuals proliferate that may violate the principle of truthfulness,” the senator lamented. Tolentino believes that using AI in campaign paraphernalia should be covered by the Commission on Elections. He said he looks forward to Comelec policy “regarding the use of AI in producing campaign and software materials for the elections, especially on the question of what picture must be allowed: The candidate’s looks at present or the looks the voters wanted to see.” The senator then cited the Department of National Defense memorandum, which was made public on Friday, prohibiting its employees and military personnel from using AI image generator applications. In his order, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned that AI-powered applications seemed “harmless and amusing” but could be “maliciously used” to create fake profiles that can lead to identity theft, social media engineering, phishing attacks, and other erring activities which compromise someone’s personal data. The post Probe into AI-enhanced posters ads urged appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Solon wants Comelec to look into AI-enhanced campaign materials
Election candidates trying to impress voters by using artificial intelligence could be a form of dishonest campaigning, Senator Francis Tolentino stressed on Saturday. The senator lamented, “The issue of using artificial intelligence in the election campaign and propaganda materials and requested further study for future policy formulation as apps that change facial impressions of individuals proliferate that may violate the principle of truthfulness.” Tolentino believes that using AI in campaign paraphernalia should be covered by the Commission on Elections. He said he looks forward to Comelec policy "regarding the use of AI in producing campaign and software materials for the elections, especially on the question of what picture must be allowed: the candidate looks at present or the looks the voters wanted to see.” The senator then cited the Department of National Defense memorandum, which was made public on Friday, prohibiting its employees and military personnel from using AI image generator applications. In his order, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned that AI-powered applications seemed “harmless and amusing” but could be “maliciously used” to create fake profiles that can lead to identity theft, social media engineering, phishing attacks, and other erring activities which compromise someone’s personal data. Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay backed Tolentino’s suggestion, but he noted that the green light to impose the AI restrictions in the coverage of campaign materials will still be up to the consensus of the poll body’s chairperson and other commissioners. Bulay added that those guidelines and policies on the use of AI in producing election materials, whether printed or digital in form, could be put in place for the 2025 mid-term elections. He emphasized that AI usage might fall under the election guidelines on "misrepresentation" but also stressed that he doesn't "want to preempt my chairman and fellow commissioners.” “Pero napakaganda po ng iyong sinabi Pwede pong humabol yon sa 2025 (It can be timed in 2025),” Bulay told Tolentino. “The concept of misrepresentation is also included in the principle of truth in advertising…something along this line,” he added. The post Solon wants Comelec to look into AI-enhanced campaign materials appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BSKE 2023 still a go, says PNP
The Philippine National Police on Monday stressed that it is not seeing any postponement of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections scheduled on 30 October amid the reported 2,594 areas of concern. PNP chief Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr. said that the PNP has recorded 246 “areas of grave concern” or under the red category while 1,248 villages are under the orange category and 1,100 are under the yellow category. “So far, we are not seeing any areas that may postpone the polls. All areas will be simultaneously doing or conducting the BSKE as scheduled. There are some areas that we think that needs additional troops like the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” Acorda said. “We have to send additional forces there and our deputy chief for operations are also preparing in coordination with the other agencies. If some areas will be challenging, we will render the appropriate measures,” he added. Areas listed under the red category would be under the Commission on Elections’ control and the poll body has the authority to augment security forces in the said areas. “With regards to the preparations for the barangay elections to our assessment and after the presentation of all the regional directors and after their meeting with the different Regional Joint Security Control Center, provincial JSCCs and of course on the national level, it’s a go for all of us,” said Acorda. The PNP chief revealed that the 246 “areas of grave concern” for the BSKE are mostly from Bicol, Eastern visayas and BARMM. “In BARMM alone we have 151, in Region 8 we have 60 and in Region 5 we have 21 this list is fluid, it may change anytime depending on the political climate in the area and these are being constantly monitored through our coordination with the Comelec, Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said Acorda. He also said that the PNP keeping a close watch on 38 potential PAGs and four active PAGs ahead of the BSKE this year. The election period for the BSKE started on 28 August and will end on 29 November 2023. During this period, the Comelec mandates the suspension of activities involving the carrying of firearms or other deadly weapons and the employment of security personnel or bodyguards by incumbent public officials, whether elected or appointed, as well as private individuals. The post BSKE 2023 still a go, says PNP appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Slain teen’s father nabbed for carrying gun
Operatives of the Manila Police District in hot pursuit of a father who beat to death his daughter finally arrested the suspect for violation of the Comelec gun ban. Police identified the suspect as Carlo Danny Llorentaga of 140 Sto. Nino, Tondo who caught carrying a gun tucked in his waistline by a patrolling cop. The suspect is the subject of a manhunt for the death of his 7-year-old daughter, Catherine Joy, whom he beat on 18 August after the girl failed to return the change for an item she bought at the store. It was learned that the girl suffered severe injuries due to the hard beating at the hands of the suspect. Before the victim died, she made a disclosure that his father did a severe blow by means of a hard fist by punching the victim in different parts of her tender body. The suspect, after learning from her mother the news that her daughter died fled in hiding and left a letter saying that he did not kill the victim. It was learned that the incident happened when the mother of the victim was not in the house. Charges of parricide will be slapped against the suspect at the Manila city prosecutor’s office. The post Slain teen’s father nabbed for carrying gun appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ressa says Philippine press freedom improving, but still ‘work to do’
Buoyed by her latest acquittal, Philippine journalist Maria Ressa told AFP Tuesday that media freedom in the country has improved since former president Rodrigo Duterte left office, but there was still a "lot of work to do". Ressa, who was a vocal critic of Duterte and his deadly drug war, said the fear fostered by him had "largely lifted" since his successor Ferdinand Marcos took power in June 2022. "There's been a lot of problems in the Philippines because fear spreads. But it has improved," Ressa, 59, told AFP in an interview after she and Rappler, the online news outfit she co-founded in 2012, were cleared of tax evasion. "Is it perfect? Far from it. We still have a lot of work to do." Ressa and Rappler have been battling multiple court cases filed during Duterte's rule, which she and press freedom advocates have long maintained were politically motivated. This year, Ressa and Rappler have been acquitted of five tax evasion charges, including the one on Tuesday. They are still fighting two cases, including a cyber libel conviction that could put Ressa behind bars for nearly seven years, and another that could shut down Rappler. "We're not out of the woods yet," Ressa admitted, likening the years-long legal battle to a "war of attrition". - 'Absolutely exhausting' - Shortly after Tuesday's verdict was read out in court, a beaming Ressa returned to Rappler's newsroom where she was greeted by clapping and cheering colleagues. Ressa told AFP the latest acquittal was confirmation that "we weren't foolish to trust the justice system at a time when it was being used against us because we're journalists." While the legal process had taken nearly five years and been "absolutely exhausting", Ressa said she hoped this latest victory would remind the public that journalists were needed "to keep power accountable, and to help power make the right decisions." "Doing the right thing is the right thing," said Ressa, who is also a US citizen. "It's up to us to ... hold the line." Many Filipino journalists had feared for press freedom under Marcos, who largely shunned mainstream media on the 2022 campaign trail. His own dictator father had shut down independent media outlets during his brutal rule that ended in a bloodless revolution in 1986. Since taking office, however, Marcos has been more open to answering questions from reporters, though one-on-one interviews are still rare, and has publicly vowed to protect the rights of journalists. His words have not been enough to prevent the killings of three journalists since he took power. Ressa said the "fear that engulfed us" during Duterte's rule had largely gone since Marcos took power. She attributed that to his desire to "change that history" of his family and vindicate their "tarnished" name. The ordeal of the past few years "forced us to be our best selves" and she remained hopeful for the future. "The cases very slowly are going away as they should have from the very beginning," she said. pam/amj/ssy © Agence France-Presse The post Ressa says Philippine press freedom improving, but still ‘work to do’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hollywood strikes sap glamour of Venice Film Festival
Historic Hollywood strikes have robbed the Venice Film Festival of some of its usual glitz as it launched its 80th edition Wednesday, but a raft of big-name -- and controversial -- directors are keeping the film world buzzing. The world's longest-running film festival was due to start with "Challengers", a tennis romance with one of the biggest stars of her generation, Zendaya. But it was replaced at the last minute by an Italian war drama, "Comandante", due to the ongoing strikes by Hollywood actors and writers -- primarily over pay and the threat of AI -- that has barred them from publicity work. The rest of the line-up was largely unaffected: the festival will see Emma Stone as a Frankenstein-like creature in "Poor Things" and Bradley Cooper as legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro", among several Oscar contenders. But the strikes mean those stars will not be lighting up the red carpet. Adam Driver has been given an exemption to show up for "Ferrari" on Thursday because the biopic by Michael Mann ("Heat") was made outside the studio system. Jessica Chastain is also expected for the premiere of "Memory" at the end of the festival, according to Variety. It is her first outing since her Oscar-winning turn in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye". 'Apocalyptic ideas' All are competing for the top prize Golden Lion, to be awarded on 9 September by a jury led by Damien Chazelle, director of "La La Land". He told AFP he understood the anxiety around AI -- which many fear could lead to computer-generated actors and scripts replacing humans -- but said some of the fears may be overblown. "People have some apocalyptic ideas about it," said Chazelle a few hours before the festival opening. "I agree it's a major technological change like the internet or radio, and it will overturn a lot of things, but the art will survive." Other attention-grabbing entries include Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla", about Elvis Presley's wife, and "The Killer" by David Fincher, who returns to the Lido two decades after "Fight Club" was famously booed at the festival only to become a cult hit later. 'Absolutely incomprehensible' But with less star gossip, a lot of attention risks being absorbed by the inclusion of Woody Allen with "Coup de Chance" (his 50th film and first in French) and Roman Polanski with "The Palace", both in the out-of-competition section. Allen, 87, was investigated for an alleged assault on his adopted daughter in the 1990s. Though cleared by police, he has been effectively blackballed by Hollywood. Festival director Alberto Barbera defended Allen's inclusion, telling AFP: "He has been completely absolved. Twenty-five years have passed and, for me, the hostility towards him, especially in the United States, is absolutely incomprehensible." Polanski, 90, remains a fugitive from the United States over a conviction for raping a minor in the 1970s. The victim has long since forgiven him, but he faces other assault allegations. The festival says he is not attending. Barbera acknowledged it was more complex with Polanski but said: "The history of art is full of artists who were criminals, and we nonetheless continue to admire their work." There are also out-of-competition premieres for a 40-minute Wes Anderson film, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar", based on a Roald Dahl tale, and a new feature from indie favorite Richard Linklater, "Hit Man". "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial", the final film from William Friedkin ("The Exorcist"), who died this month at 87, is also playing out of competition. The post Hollywood strikes sap glamour of Venice Film Festival appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Driverless taxis gain ground in San Francisco
California authorities took a major step forward Thursday in expanding driverless taxi services in San Francisco, giving the green light for operators Waymo and Cruise to compete with ride-share services and cabs. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) heard six hours of public comment before voting three-to-one to let Waymo, a unit of Google-parent Alphabet, and General Motors-owned Cruise essentially run 24-hour robotaxi services in San Francisco. "Today is the first of many steps in bringing AV (autonomous vehicle) transportation services to Californians and setting a successful and transparent model for other states to follow," said CPUC commissioner John Reynolds, who voted in favor of approval. Waymo cars were cleared to travel at speeds as fast as 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour) without human drivers at the wheel, even in some inclement weather. It also won permission to offer driverless car rides to paying passengers in its home city of Mountain View, in Silicon Valley. Cruise was approved to run fared passenger service in San Francisco at no faster than 35 miles per hour and not through dense fog or heavy smoke. Previously, Cruise could charge customers only during certain hours of the day. Waymo had not been allowed to charge for rides without a human driver on board. Driverless cars were first introduced in San Francisco in 2014 with a mandatory human "safety driver" on board. Four years later, California scrapped its requirement for a human driver to be in the car. The CPUC session drew commenters from all sides of the issue, with some calling robotaxis unsafe menaces while others lauded them as solutions to everything from climate change to road rage. Driverless cars have gotten stuck in the middle of roads, blocked bus lanes or even interfered in police or firefighter operations. But others at the hearing praised the vehicles for giving independence to people with disabilities, making roads safer and helping eliminate discrimination. Others opposed cars of any kind, saying the future lies in clean, convenient and affordable public transit. "The future of cities is not cars, no matter what kind," one speaker contended. The post Driverless taxis gain ground in San Francisco appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Conflict evolves
A new form of the Cold War that started in the 1950s is playing out in the West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea that the mainland has claimed as historically part of its territory. A 2016 award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, or PCA, invalidated the historic claim. China, however, said it does not recognize the ruling and it will only accede to bilateral discussions on the maritime conflict. United States security officials have laid out a scenario of heightened posturing in the WPS that is being referred to as the gray zone conflict in which China’s aggressiveness is expected to heighten short of an actual armed conflict. Geopolitical experts said the evolving military relations of the United States and the Philippines are geared toward the WPS developments. In May 2023, new bilateral defense guidelines were issued to clarify the conditions under which American forces would come to the aid of their Philippine counterparts under the terms of the Mutual Defense Treaty. The guidelines marked a change in American policy in the South China Sea from “scrupulous noninvolvement” to one that seems focused on deterring provocative Chinese actions in “gray zone” scenarios, according to Felix Chang, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the chief operating officer of DecisionQ, an artificial intelligence engineering company. He said the Philippines had long sought a clarification of America’s obligations but Washington was reluctant to give it. The US government’s previous concern was that Manila might use the mutual defense treaty as leverage to advance its maritime and territorial claims against its neighbors in the South China Sea, potentially drawing the United States into confrontations with them, most notably China. The recent American policy shift in the South China Sea, however, follows others that have occurred over the last decade. The major factors that paved the way for the new bilateral defense guidelines have been Manila’s continued commitment to rebuilding its external defense capabilities and Washington’s growing perception of China as a strategic adversary. In the event of an attack, given that the Philippines and the United States share a long-standing mutual defense treaty, American forces would be obliged to come to the country’s aid if the attack occurred in recognized Philippine territorial waters. “But until Manila and Washington issued new bilateral defense guidelines in May 2023, it was unclear what America’s obligations would be if the attack occurred in disputed waters or against non-military Philippine government vessels, like those of its coast guard. Such circumstances were considered ‘gray-zone’ scenarios,” Chang indicated. The newly issued bilateral defense guidelines that were hammered out during the recent state visit of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. cleared up the ambiguity. They also marked a change in American policy in the WPS from “scrupulous noninvolvement” to one that seems focused on deterrence. Chang indicated that for the Philippines, the change could not have come soon enough with China’s increasingly aggressive efforts to assert its sovereignty over the waters within its “nine-dash line.” Barack Obama’s administration was the first to take a slightly firmer stance on the WPS. Then, Chang said, American policy took on a more defiant tone under President Donald Trump, who formally rejected China’s “nine-dash line” claim. And with relations between China and the United States deteriorating further during the early years of the Biden White House, not to mention continued Chinese assertiveness in Southeast Asia, Washington had become open to clarifying the terms of its MDT with Manila. President Marcos visited Washington in May 2023, he was able to secure what his predecessors had not: a clarification of America’s obligations in “gray-zone” scenarios. Chang added the main reason for Washington’s opaque posture had been Manila’s longtime neglect of its external defense capabilities. The Philippines, which at one time fielded one of Asia’s largest and most modern armed forces, had allowed its navy to dwindle to four offshore patrol boats and its air force to mothball its last jet aircraft in 2005, he said. President Marcos’ recent talks with President Joe Biden was all about restoring equilibrium in the disputed seas. The post Conflict evolves appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Raging storm batters northern China
Heavy rains battered northern China on Monday, washing away cars and inundating subway stations, with millions of people in Beijing and its surrounding areas warned by authorities to stay at home. Deadly storm Doksuri has swept northwards over the country since Friday, when it hit southern Fujian province after scything through the Philippines as a typhoon. Hundreds of bus services in the capital were suspended, according to state news agency Xinhua, while the city government issued the highest flood warning for the suburban Dashihe River. Chen Hong, a resident of the southern Fengtai district, shared footage with AFP that showed a parked van half-submerged in fast-flowing brown water on Monday morning as the rain continued to fall. Residents in Chen's neighborhood cleared mud outside their homes with shovels during a brief respite from the near-continuous downpour. "Once it starts raining the road turns into a drain, and there's water on the first floor inside houses," said Chen, 52. "The houses here are all old houses, so there are definitely concerns about safety," she added. A section of road surface in the outer Fangshan district caved in under rising water, local media reported. Social media users uploaded footage of vehicles swept away by muddy torrents and thoroughfares turned into rapids on the outskirts of the city. In one clip posted on Monday on the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu platform and geolocated by AFP, murky water can be seen swamping a large intersection in the outer Mentougou district next to high-rise apartment blocks. And rainwater appeared to leak onto a subway platform in western Beijing's university district in another Xiaohongshu video from Sunday that was geolocated by AFP. Extreme weather The streets of central Beijing were quieter than usual on Monday morning as residents heeded official recommendations to work from home, with only a handful of delivery drivers braving pools of water seen in usually packed bike lanes. The governments of Beijing and neighboring Hebei province renewed red alerts for rainstorms on Monday. China has been experiencing extreme weather conditions and posting record temperatures this summer, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change. Experts have warned that the ongoing downpour could prompt even worse flooding than in July 2012, when 79 people died and tens of thousands were evacuated, according to local media. An average of 170.9 millimeters of rain inundated Beijing in 40 hours between Saturday night and noon on Monday, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said. That is nearly equivalent to the average rainfall for the entire month of July, according to official records. The post Raging storm batters northern China 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......»»
SC: Efficiency not penalized
The Supreme Court absolved officials of the Social Security System clearing them of administrative liability in the approval of the purchase of 25 million Philippine Commercial International Bank shares worth P7.5 billion in 1999. The high bench explained there was no undue haste in the purchase since they were able to justify the transactions. Edgar Solilapsi, who was then senior vice president for Investment; Horacio Templo, then chief actuary of the SSS Executive Management Committee; and Lilia Marquez, then head of the Institutional Loans Department were the ones cleared of the charges in the multi-billion purchase of PCIB shares. The court said they should be paid salaries and other emoluments that they did not receive during a six-month suspension of the purchase. The SC First Division in its 29 March 2023 decision, said the officials’ expeditious actions in relation to the transaction are not evidence of wrongdoing. Incentivize, instead “On the contrary, efficiency is a virtue that all branches of government should nurture and incentivize. Paralyzing indecision should be suppressed. Once all legal requirements are complied with, government personnel should be confident to act as required by the exigencies of the service,” it said. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by SSS officers and members who alleged that the purchase of PCIB shares was overpriced by P1.165 billion which was based on the supposed P245 market price of PCIB shares, and the purchase price of P290.075 per share. SSS officials named in the complaint said the alleged overprice was a premium which is normal in negotiated purchases of blocks of shares. The SC said the expeditious purchase of the shares was due to a change in how the SSS’ Securities Trading and Management Department worked. The court noted that in an earlier meeting, Solilapsi was directed to fast track share purchase recommendations because the SSS had missed out on an earlier opportunity to buy Metro Pacific Corporation shares at a lower price. Preparations could not keep up with market changes, it said. The post SC: Efficiency not penalized appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris
India announced a new multi-billion-dollar deal for French fighter jets on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris for a two-day trip that will see him feted as the guest of honor during France's national day celebrations. India's defense ministry said that the country intended to order 26 more Rafale jets as well as another three Scorpene-class submarines, with the price and other terms still being worked out. India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and Modi announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a 2015 trip to Paris that was worth around 4.0 billion euros at the time. Some of those Indian-piloted Rafales will take part in a flypast on Friday during France's Bastille Day military parade where Modi will sit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron as guest of honour. "This closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is in fact a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France," Modi told an enthusiastic crowd of Indians living in France on Thursday evening. Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a counterweight to China in Asia. Macron's red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honor of a White House state dinner in Washington -- a city he was once banned from visiting. "India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy," an aide to Macron told reporters this week on condition of anonymity. Human rights But amid the pomp and diplomatic courting in France, a resolution from the European Parliament on Thursday served as a reminder of Modi's controversial leadership style and Hindu nationalist agenda that has critics at home and abroad. Sitting in Strasbourg in eastern France, EU parliamentarians approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country's restive northeastern Manipur state and to protect minorities there. Clashes between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe have left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced and over 1,700 houses destroyed, the parliament said. It criticized the "nationalistic rhetoric" of the local state government, run by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi's role during Bastille Day in France was "an affront not only to India's minority communities, journalists and human rights defenders but also to India as a democracy," the text's chief negotiator, Pierre Larrouturou, said. A protest called against Modi drew only a few dozen people in central Paris on Thursday. Strategic partnership Modi has visited France four times since Macron came to power in 2017, while Macron was honored with a state visit to New Delhi in 2018. Aides on both sides have talked up the personal chemistry between the two leaders and pointed to cooperation on climate change, space technology, and nuclear power as part of a 25-year-old "strategic partnership" between France and India. Modi told the French newspaper Les Echos that bilateral trade had doubled in the last nine years and Macron's "thinking really matches ours". India and France "are naturally compatible" and "we see France as one of our foremost global partners," Modi added. Few observers expect Macron to raise rights concerns with Modi publicly. "The fact that explains France's relative success in this relationship is that unlike the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and a few other European countries, you've hardly seen France commenting on the internal affairs of India," Constantino Xavier from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, a New Delhi-based think tank, said this week. "That has been appreciated on the Indian side." Modi has been dogged by allegations he was complicit in religious violence during his tenure as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots. The Indian government and judicial probes have cleared him of culpability. Since his first crushing electoral victory in 2014, he has also been denounced by rights groups for increased discrimination and violence towards the country's Muslims, as well as stifling independent media. "Diversity is the biggest strength of our democracy," he told the meeting on Thursday evening that also lauded the country's economic growth. Many European and American businesses, including US tech giant Apple, are ramping up production there to mitigate the threat of supply chain disruptions from China. The war in Ukraine has heightened concerns in the West about the risk of conflicts disrupting the flow of key raw materials and technology from China, but it has also exposed a rift with India. New Delhi, which has long sought to balance its ties with Moscow and the West, has declined to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top buyer of discounted Russian oil during the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The post India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Comelec to hold Procurement Summit
Amid its proposal to change the voting system in the next general election, the Commission on Elections aims to gather potential bidders and suppliers for a conference that would tackle procurement policies in the poll body......»»