Elections

THE Supreme Court on Monday reversed its controversial Dec. 1, 2009 ruling that allowed government executives to run for office without resigning, and instead ruled that they were considered resigned after they had filed their certificates of candidacy.

With only four months to go before the automated polls—a first in Philippine election history—about seven out of 10, or 71 percent of Filipinos do not know the new polling system or know little of it.

MANILA, Philippines – Barely three months before the May elections, about one out of every two Filipinos thinks the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is prepared to effectively implement the automated election system (AES) despite setbacks, a recent Pulse Asia survey revealed.

MANILA, Philippines – Donors of print and broadcast campaign materials must make themselves known to the public, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

SURVEYS are like photographs; they capture only moments in time. But then pictures can express a thousand things, and when placed one after another, they can tell stories.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) yesterday said it is willing to work with fellow poll watchdog, National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) for the May 10 elections on the condition that they will agree to the former’s set “terms.”

I am seriously concerned for Noynoy Aquino more than for his Presidential bid. I am worried that he may soon find himself in a pit of regrets the way things are going.

Trust the machine, Chairman Jose Melo of the Commission on Elections told me last year. Yesterday I looked at a Precinct Count Optical Scan or PCOS machine, now attached to a model of the new-generation ballot box, as it was used in a simulated voting exercise to kick off the voter education campaign of the…

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Wednesday admitted that signal jammer devices could derail the transmission of election results on May 10 and there is no way to prevent that from happening. “It [jammer] has the capacity to prevent the transmission of the signal that will be used by Comelec [Commission on Election] to implement…

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has denied a petition of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) to be accredited as a citizens’ arm, citing the group’s partiality to certain political sectors. In a nine-page resolution promulgated on January 29, the commission en banc junked Namfrel’s petition, saying that it failed to qualify because of…

MANILA, Philippines – With the presidential elections three months away, Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. are now “statistically tied” in a survey released by Pulse Asia yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Re-electionist Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. has topped the latest survey on senatorial bets of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), taking the lead from Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday expressed concern over the reported arrival in the country of some 5,000 jammers of mobile phone signals.

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR: The Commission on Elections must not take lightly the glitches experienced in the second field test of its precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines the other day.

MANILA, Philippines—education Nation, a coalition of captains of industry and other concerned citizens, Wednesday launched a blueprint for reform to save the Philippine education system from collapse.

MANILA, Philippines— An official from the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) technology partner Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) announced Wednesday the successful field testing of the automation system to be used for the May elections in selected sites nationwide.

The Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) is urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to strictly enforce campaign finance laws by creating an office or unit within the Comelec whose sole job would be to strictly monitor the campaign spending being done by candidates and to make sure they are following restrictions on campaign materials.

MANILA, Philippines – Public school teachers serving in the May 2010 presidential elections will start training on the automated poll system this March in accordance with the timetable of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Department of Education said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The simmering “silent conflict” between two erstwhile allied poll watchdogs has spilled into the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has asked the Comelec to junk the petition for accreditation filed by the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) as a citizen’s arm in the…

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured the public yesterday that cheaters would have a hard time manipulating the 2010 elections because the voters are keenly watching the process.

Public confidence in the first automated national election is ebbing less than four months before the May 10 polls.

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Contrary to the news circulating around the Internet, the Commission on Elections still has not acted on the petition of several Filipino-American groups to extend the registration for overseas absentee voting (OAV).

An information technology (IT) expert has urged the public to pressure the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to abort automation and revert to manual elections, saying the probability of failure is “extremely high.”

MANILA, Philippines – THE risks reporters in the Philippines face made world headlines in November 2009 when a warlord family in Mindanao allegedly organized a massacre in which 31 journalists were among 57 people killed.

During last April’s bidding for the election automation, Smartmatic admitted it was going to use voting machines of Dominion Co. of Canada. Rival bidders questioned this. Comelec rules specifically stated that the automation contractor must not be a mere sales agent, and may not sub-contract the manufacturing. But the complaints of Election Systems & Services…

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines  – Communist rebels in Bicol collect between P20,000 and P500,000 from politicians to allow them to campaign in areas under their control, the military said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly five out of 10 Filipino adults believe there will be another show of people power if there is a failure of elections in May, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed its ruling last year that reversed an earlier decision disqualifying a town mayor for premature campaigning.

THE government has identified 558 election hotspots and at least 170 private armed groups across the country, members of the National Security Council-Cabinet cluster said Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to release today the official list of candidates for president, vice president and senators in the May elections.