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Comelec chief Brillantes: Getting source code still slim

 News
Feb 272013
 
Comelec chief Brillantes: Getting source code still slim

Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Wednesday said the poll body is in the last part of its negotiations with Dominion Voting Systems, but he admitted that the chance of getting the source code remains slim. “I’m still waiting. I’m still in negotiation with Dominion. Hopefully, something happens before the first week of March,” Brillantes told reporters.   “We are already on the last part of negotiations. (I am) not very much (optimistic). I would say at this point, it’s about 50-50,” he added. The source code is still with the SLI Global Solutions, which tested it and certified it as ‘functionally capable.’ SLI, however, cannot release it without a go-signal from Dominion which is in a legal battle with Smartmatic. “The only pending lang is whether we can ask SLI to bring the source code here so that it can be reviewed by parties and interested groups. Right now, we already announced that we are having difficulty because Dominion does not want to give the go signal for SLI to bring it here,” he said. Dominion wants Smartmatic to pay $10 million for using the former’s technology during the 2010 polls. Brillantes earlier offered to put the money in escrow.   But Brillantes reiterated that with or without the source code review by political parties, “we will proceed with the automated elections.” “Whether we get it or not, we already have the binary code. This is regardless of the presence of the source code. Meron namang source code, hindi Read More …

Comelec to ask Maceda to explain 'raffle' during Kabaka meeting

 News
Feb 272013
 
Comelec to ask Maceda to explain 'raffle' during Kabaka meeting

Another senatorial candidate, this time from the United Nationalist Alliance, could get into trouble with the Commission on Elections for allegedly holding a raffle and offering P500 as a prize. Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Wednesday said the poll body will be sending a letter to senatorial candidate Ernesto Maceda asking him to explain the raffle he held during the Kabalikat ng Bayan sa Kaunlaran (Kabaka) meeting in Manila last Tuesday. A video taken by GMA News showed Maceda, together with re-electionist Rep. Amado Bagatsing and candidate for councilor Ali Atienza, announcing a raffle to the members of Kabaka with a pile of P500 bills on the table. Maceda called out names but did not give the cash. He also announced his number on the May election ballot. The video was shown to Brillantes and lawyer Esmeralda Ladra, Comelec law department head. “Merong statement na parang may nagra-raffle at may perang involved, therefore we don’t really know kung ano ang circumstances, we have to investigate him, just to check kung anong nangyari. So to be fair to the candidate, we have to write him a letter so he can explain,” said Brillantes. He said he will make a conclusion and determine what course of action to be taken once he gets Maceda’s explanation. “Initially, there appears to be something wrong, it is a ground for us to investigate further the details. We always [give] a chance to the candidate because the penalty is serious, he could get disqualified as Read More …

Rights, recognition key to solving Sabah standoff — Sultan's wife

 News
Feb 262013
 
Rights, recognition key to solving Sabah standoff — Sultan's wife

Sulu sultan scoffs at PNoy’s warning, remains defiant. Sitti Krishna Idjirami (left) sister of Jamalul Kiram III (center), the 74-year-old Sultan of Sulu, and Crown Prince Bantillan Kiram (right) speak at a press conference in Manila on Tuesday. President Benigno Aquino III has warned Jamalul Kiram III that he would face the ‘full force of the law’ if he did not withdraw his gunmen from Sabah, Malaysia, but the elderly ruler remained defiant. AFP/Ted Aljibe Proper recognition as rightful owners of Sabah and a stop to human rights abuses allegedly committed on some of the Sultan’s followers are among the factors that could lead to the resolution of the ongoing standoff there, according to the wife of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. “The Sultanate of Sulu wanted only the recognition that the property belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu, number one,” said Princess Fatima Kiram, who is also the Sultan’s spokesperson, in an interview on GMA News TV’s “News to Go” on Wednesday. Hundreds of Kiram’s followers, some of them reportedly armed, remained holed up in Sabah even after the Tuesday midnight deadline set by Malaysia lapsed and despite an appeal from President Benigno Aquino III for them to leave the place. During the interview, Fatima expressed the desire of their followers to be treated “like other Muslim brothers” and to benefit from the “fruits” of the land. “For how many years, centuries na nga yata, na pinakikinabangan nila itong lupain na ito, at ang fruit ng aming lupain ay Read More …

Group taps new kind of 'people power' to end political dynasties

 News
Feb 262013
 
Group taps new kind of 'people power' to end political dynasties

Convinced that Filipino legislators have “neglected” the 1987 Constitution’s mandate to pass a law defining political dynasties, a multisectoral group has launched a campaign to tap a new kind of “people power” to end the rule of a few families in the Philippines. The group Movement against Dynasties (MAD) has set out to gather over 5 million signatures as part of the process to push for a law banning political dynasties through a people’s initiative. “If we will succeed in doing this, we will experience real change. We will accomplish something good for our country,” MAD chairman Quintin San Diego said at a forum at the University of the Philippines-Diliman on Tuesday afternoon. The group described itself as “an association composed of civic-minded individuals and professionals” that believes “in a government of laws rather than of men.” San Diego added that aside from soliciting signatures, his group wants to make ordinary Filipinos aware of the bad effects political dynasties have on the country. “They [political dynasties] have control of politics and the economy… Kung magkakamag-anak na ang nasa kapangyarihan, ano pa ang pagkakataon ng karaniwang tao na mahalal?” he said. A study by the Asian Institute of Management revealed that 68 percent of the Philippines’ current lawmakers are members of political dynasties. The same study showed political dynasties are located in poor regions of the country. For the May 2013 midterm polls, 12 out of the 21 senatorial bets from the two biggest coalitions come from known political families. Some Read More …

Comelec may exempt CCT program from fund release ban

 News
Feb 262013
 
Comelec may exempt CCT program from fund release ban

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) might exempt the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program from the election-related ban on the release of public funds. Poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Tuesday they will be hearing the request to allow the release of funds for CCT even during the campaign period. “Kung makita namin na pwede ituloy then we will give them exemption, depende sa lalabas sa hearing,” he told reporters. There is no definite date yet for the hearing. The ban on the release of public funds will start on March 29. Section 1 (2) of Comelec Resolution 9585 states that the DSWD and any other office in other departments of the government performing similar functions are prohibited to release, disburse or spend public funds except for salaries of personnel. Other routine and normal expenses may be authorized by the Comelec but only after due notice and hearing. “Should a calamity or disaster occur, all releases normally or usually coursed through the said departments and offices of other departments shall be turned over to, and administered and disbursed by, the Philippine National Red Cross, subject to the supervision of the Commission on Audit (COA) or its representatives, and no candidate or his or her spouse or member of his family within the second civil degree of affinity or consanguinity shall participate, directly or indirectly, in the distribution of any relief or other goods to the victims of the calamity or disaster,” the resolution further states. Read More …

PHL protests China's fishery patrols in West PHL Sea

 News
Feb 262013
 
PHL protests China's fishery patrols in West PHL Sea

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday protested China’s routine fishery patrols in the disputed South China Sea as part of it would include areas within the Philippines’ territorial waters. “The Philippines strongly objects to the Chinese patrol of Philippine maritime domain in the West Philippine Sea. Such activities would not validate the nine-dash line and are contrary to China’s obligation under international law including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Hernandez said at a press briefing. China’s nine-dash line is a U-shaped map that covers nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea. “We again call in China to respect our territorial sovereignty and exclusive economic zone,” Hernandez said. China’s Fishery Bureau last week announced that patrols in the resource-rich waters, where Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims, will be a “top priority” in 2013 and 2014. The patrols, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency, aim to safeguard the “legitimate interests of Chinese fishermen.” China’s announcement came on the same week it rejected Manila’s initiative to let a United Nations arbitration body hear the Philippines’ complaint over what it calls Beijing’s “excessive” claim to waters where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas. China said Manila’s case was legally infirm and carried unacceptable allegations. Regarding the fishery patrols, Hernandez said the Philippines “exercises sovereignty and sovereign rights over the waters and features in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea.” “Therefore, we continue to call Read More …

Comelec teams up with NGOs, universities 'to make elections work' in Abra

 News
Feb 262013
 
Comelec teams up with NGOs, universities 'to make elections work' in Abra

Abra province, a perennial hotbed of election-related violence, will be the target of a Commission on Elections (Comelec) project that will “aim to restore the full functioning of the electoral exercise” there. Abra is “really an area of concern for so many years,” noted Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Tuesday. “This is where I grew up.” In order “to make elections work” in Abra, the Comelec has partnered with nongovernment organizations and academic institutions. The project proponents have chosen Peñarrubia town for the endeavor. Those who signed the memorandum of agreement with the Comelec were the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG), Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN), De La Salle University—Jesse M. Robredo Institute  of Governance, and University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance. Vicious cycle The project proponents cited a study conducted by Ateneo School of Government in 2009 describing the situation in Abra as “a vicious cycle of violence, disempowerment and abuse of authority where politicians, due to failures of institutions, are able to use violence to stay in power and enrich themselves at the expense of the people who are kept poor and disempowered, unable to change their fate and the situation of their province.” The same study also stated that “national and local connections allow the same political families to have a long hold on power and the local elites are one way or another connected to who’s who in politics at the national level.” Under the MOA, the Comelec Read More …

DOJ urged to upgrade raps vs suspects in Dutch NGO leader's slay

 News
Feb 262013
 
DOJ urged to upgrade raps vs suspects in Dutch NGO leader's slay

The fiancée of slain Dutch development worker Wilhelm Geertman on Tuesday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to upgrade the criminal charges filed against the suspects in the killing from the current robbery with homicide to murder and robbery.  In a petition for review filed with the DOJ, Maria Aurora Agustin Santiago contested the prosecutor’s recommendation that the lesser complex crime of robbery with homicide should be slapped against the suspects in the July 2012 killing. The suspects in the case are Harold Dela Cruz, Marvin Marsan and several Jane and John Does.  “This is not merely about an investigating prosecutor’s error in the appreciation of the facts and the pieces of evidence before him,” said Santiago’s legal counsel, Edre Olalia. “The bigger picture is, as in this case, the propensity to ignore and cover-up state responsibility in extrajudicial killings contributes to the impunity and obscures the political nature of the attack.” The camp of Geertman insisted that his death was a case of extra-judicial killing because the suspects “went into the trouble of making him ignominiously kneel down thereby costing them several minutes before they were able to carry out their alleged plan.” Geertman was shot at close range at the Alay Bayan-Luson Inc. (ABI) headquarters in San Fernando, Pampanga, by two unidentified gunmen who fled in a motorcycle. He was the executive director of ABI, a non-government organization (NGO) that is active in land issues and disaster response. “Geertman, who is known for his commitment to work for Read More …

77 pass Master Plumber Licensure Exam — PRC

 News
Feb 222013
 
77 pass Master Plumber Licensure Exam — PRC

A total of 77 out of 267 passed the Master Plumber Licensure Examination given by the Board for Master Plumbers in Manila earlier this month, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Friday. [Click here for complete list.] The results were released in one working day after the last day of examination. Registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will be on March 5, 2013, the PRC said. — KBK, GMA News

Films, music, tweets to take centerstage in 1986 EDSA revolt anniversary

 News
Feb 222013
 
Films, music, tweets to take centerstage in 1986 EDSA revolt anniversary

This year, Malacañang is taking the commemoration of the first EDSA Revolution into the digital age. Using the hashtag #EDSA27, the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) will be tweeting the events of the four-day protest to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos as if it were happening today. “The PCDSPO will be tweeting the events of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution as they happened, based on the compiled timeline of Angela Stuart Santiago,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement Friday. The peaceful revolt installed to power President Benigno Aquino III’s mother, the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, and ended the decades-long Marcos dictatorship. This year’s celebration aims to highlight the role of “other EDSA’s” or the main roads of Baguio, Iloilo, and Davao “which contributed in their own way to overthrow an oppressive regime and restore democracy,” said Valte. Valte said they plan to do this by showcasing online Kidlat Tahimik’s semi-autobiographical film “Why is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow?” Tahimik, also known as Eric de Guia, is a multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker who received the 2012 Fukuoka Prize for arts and culture. “We are making available online a portion of his film featuring the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, and simultaneous uprisings in key landmarks of Baguio City,” she said. Additional celebrations to commemorate the People Power Revolution include the superimposition of the iconic map used by Marcos and General Fabian Ver to plan out their attack on Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo onto a Read More …

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