MANILA, June 3 (Mabuhay) — President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law a Bill amending an earlier Republic Act regulating the cutting of coconut trees, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte announced on Sunday. Speaking at a press briefing aired over government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Valte said President Aquino signed last May […]
MANILA, May 27 (Mabuhay) — President Benigno Aquino III has signed a law declaring the birthday of his martyred father, the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., as a regular working holiday each year to be known as “Araw ng Pagbasa.” Republic Act 10556, signed by the President last May 15, directs the Department of […]
Poll chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Wednesday said “variances” is a better term for the disparities spotted in the random manual count of votes instead of “discrepancies.” In a newspaper report, Brillantes was quoted as saying there were “discrepancies” between the random manual count and the machine-generated election results. The poll body has reportedly received 167 of the 234 randomly chosen precincts for the manual audit. “The correct term should have been, there were variances, which would actually be a toning down of a discrepancy,” Brillantes corrected himself at a press briefing on Wednesday. He added that his earlier statements were based on initial reports. Brillantes noted, too, that a random manual count is not expected to perfectly match the machine-generated results. He said the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine still reads the ballots even when the shading only covers 20 percent of the oval. Meanwhile, the auditors have their own “discretion” whether or not to audit the partially shaded ballots, Brillantes added. In the 2010 elections, the PCOS was programmed to read ovals shaded only 50 percent. “It could not be a perfect thing between the manual count and the machine count… Ang tao hindi na-poprogram ang mata niyan, may kanya kanyang discretion, iba-iba ang assessment,” he said. “Pero talaga namang alam nila na hindi magta-tally ang machine count sa human visual count, may thresholding ‘yan eh,” Brillantes added, referring to the incomplete shading of the ballot. Still, Brillantes maintained the result of the manual audit so far Read More …
Shoulder the cost. This was Elections chair Sixto Brillantes Jr.’s comments to defeated senatorial candidate Richard Gordon’s request that seek to prevent the Comelec from removing the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines used in the May 13 polls from precincts, schoolhouses or present whereabouts. “Hindi na namin masosoli yung PCOS, wala na sa presinto yung PCOS. Kung gusto niya isoli niya ulit, pero gastusan niya. Nasa hubs na yung mga PCOS namin, pabalik na dito yung iba,” Brillantes told reporters Monday. Gordon filed last Wednesday an urgent petition for mandamus asking the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the Comelec from removing PCOS machines from precincts, schoolhouses or the machines’ present whereabouts. This was “to prevent anybody from tampering with the components, contents and software encoded into the said machine,” a press statement from Gordon’s camp said Thursday. To which, Brillantes countered: “Basta ready siya to shoulder the cost we will open everything that he likes.” Gordon also asked the SC to compel Brillantes to comply with his commitment to give him and other petitioners the complete digital copy of the source code for the automated election system used in this year’s polls. A source code is the set of instructions to be followed by the computerized voting machine, and is written by computer programmers in a readable symbolic language. Gordon, who placed 13th based on the official Comelec tally, is also the author of Republic Act 9369 or the Automated Elections Systems Law. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, Read More …
ENTERPRISES operating in economic zones and freeports seeking to get incentives under the Republic Act 9400, which amended the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 (BCDA Law), must cancel their registrations under other preferential regimes, according to the Finance department.
Intellectual Property Code Philippines Logo(websafety.com.ph) MANILA, Feb 15 (Mabuhay) — The proposed amendments to the Intellectual Property Code are still under review by the Office of the President. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said position papers of various groups opposing the amendments have been submitted to the OP for consideration. Some sectors have expressed concerns over the proposed ban on jailbreaking, downloading and sharing music, and bringing home books and DVDs from other countries. “Those are three concerns raised by people who are against those particular amendments. Those three are precisely the ones that we have given to the Office of the President, to the team that is reviewing it to see kung ano po ba ang basehan ng mga objections na ito,” Valte said. The President received the amendments on January 29 and has 30 days to either veto the bill or sign it into law. Non-action from the President will make it “lapse into law.” “Hindi po ito revenue bill, hindi rin ito tariff bill. So hindi po ito pwedeng i-line item veto. So either the President vetoes it or he signs it or he lets it lapse into law,” Valte said. Internet rights activists are urging President Aquino to veto proposed amendments to Intellectual Property Code that they say will make jailbreaking an Apple device or importing books from abroad illegal. Officials of Democracy.Net.PH said the proposed amendments to Republic Act 8293 infringe on the right of the people to import books, media and music for their Read More …
Manual election is still an option in May, but only for the worst-case scenario, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Thursday. “Manual is the final contingency kung talagang may mangyaring grabe na talagang hindi na matutuloy [ang automation],” Brillantes told reporters. Although Brillantes said they are ready for such eventuality, he expressed confidence that the present situation does not call for the manual conduct of elections. “Hindi naman tayo pupunta sa manual. The law already requires automation,” he said. He also said they are not giving weight to proposals to revert to manual polls. “Meron din kaming contingency in the event na kailangang mag-manual, pero hindi namin masyadong pinapansin ‘yan dahil hindi naman kami naniniwalang kailangan naming mag-manual,” the Comelec chief said. Members of the minority bloc at the House of Representatives on Wednesday said they would be “more comfortable” with a manual election after some glitches were observed during the mock elections held over the weekend in preparation for the May automated polls. During the mock polls held in various areas last Saturday, some glitches were encountered in transmitting the results and feeding the ballots to the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS). Brillantes, who said the mock polls generally went “smoothly” despite the glitches, said those who want manual elections should repeal Republic Act 9369, which mandates the automated casting and counting of votes. Section 1 of the Poll Automation Law states that: “It is policy of the State to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, credible and informed elections… Read More …
The Senate has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to regulate the use of firearms and ammunition in the country. Senate Bill 3397 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammuition Regulation Act seeks to appeal sections of Presidential Decree 1866, a section of Republic Act 8294, and other laws, executive orders, letters of instruction, issuances, circulars, administrative orders, rules or regulations concerning firearms and ammunition. Under the measure, a person must be a Filipino citizen, at least 21 years old, has “gainful” work or business, and has filed an income tax return to qualify and acquire a license to own and possess firearms and ammunition. The applicant likewise must not be convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude and must have passed a drug test, psychiatric test, and a gun safety seminar. The bill says that permits to carry firearms outside of the residence shall be issued by the chief of the Philippine National Police or any duly authorized representative to “any qualified person whose life is under actual threat or their lives are in imminent danger due to the nature of their profession, occupation or business.” “It shall be the burden of the applicant to prove that his life is under actual threat by submitting a threat assessment certificate from the PNP,” it said. It said that the following professionals are considered to be in imminent danger due to the nature of their profession, occupation or business. members of the Philippine bar certified public accountants accredited media Read More …