by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Smartmatic-TIM has delivered all 82,200 counting machines to be used in the automated elections on May 10, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Sunday.
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the final shipment arrived Saturday, a day before the Feb. 28 deadline stipulated in the contract of Smartmatic-TIM with the poll agency.
Had Smartmatic-TIM, the consortium that won the P7.2-billion contract to automate the elections, failed to deliver the machines on time, it would have been fined more than P7 million for each day of delay.
The contractor earlier said it could deliver all the machines by Feb. 21, but did not meet its self-imposed deadline due to delays in shipping.
The firm had also missed earlier schedules in its delivery timetable, prompting lawmakers to demand that the Comelec impose fines. Comelec officials, however, said penalties should be based on failure to deliver on the entire package. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News
THE House energy committee approved on Monday a proposal calling for a special joint session of Congress for the sole purpose of granting President Arroyo additional powers exclusively to address the Mindanao power crisis.
The panel, headed by Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga, approved the proposal on the motion of opposition Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro and seconded by Nacionalista Party Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla of Cavite.
Mindanao congressman, led by House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Simeon Datumanong also supported the proposal.
But Rep. Arroyo is cold to the proposals to grant the President additional powers in addressing the Mindanao power crisis saying that not only are there still enough remedies to resolve the issue, but the situation itself is not grave enough to necessitate such actions.
In pushing for the granting of emergency powers to Arroyo, Rodriguez involved Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), which states that “upon the determination by the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve.” (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be sending out voters’ information sheets (VIS) to all of more than 50 million registered voters in April to prepare them for the country’s first-ever automated polls on May 10.
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the VISs, which will be in the form of an official ballot, will be sent to more than 50 million voters via mail. The VIS would contain the list of all the national and local candidates, the voter’s name, address, precinct number and polling place.
Larrazabal said they hope that through the sample ballots voters will not only be familiarized with the ballot but also in the new process of voting.
Since the VIS is in the form of a ballot and is specific to the voter’s city or municipality, it could be used for practice voting. Instructions in Tagalog are also printed on the sheet.
Although the sample ballot is somewhat similar to the actual ballot, the Comelec ruled out the possibility of it being used in electoral fraud due to its distinguishing marks.
Among the differences include the sample ballots being black and white since the official ballot is colored. The sample ballots will also not bear the precinct identifier, which is the one required by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in order to verify its veracity aside from the sample ballots having an overarching label of “SAMPLE BALLOTS” in its face. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 2, 2010 | Headlines, National News, Tsunami updates/advisories, World
Honolulu — The devastating tidal wave that the oceanographers predicted for Hawaii never materialized. And by Sunday, authorities have lifted the warning after waves half the predicted size tickled the shores of Hawaii and tourists once again jammed beaches and restaurants.
However, scientists who gave the warning believed they need not apologize for the inacurate information that caused great alarm.
Scientists acknowledge that they overstated the threat but defended their actions, saying they took the proper steps and learned the lessons of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami that killed thousands of people who didn’t get enough warning.
“It’s a key point to remember that we cannot end the warnings. Failure to warn is not an option for us,” said Dai Lin Wang, an oceanographer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
“We cannot have a situation that we thought was no problem and then it’s devastating. That just cannot happen,” Wang added.
Many residents and tourists in Hawaii though were not bothered by the warnings. They believed that the scientists “did the right thing”.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Mar 1, 2010 | Headlines, National News
A 20-man team from Malaysia who will oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will arrive in Cotabato City on Sunday.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said the Malaysian members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) will fly directly from Malaysia aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Maj. Gen. Datuk Baharom Bin Hamzah of the Malaysian Armed Forces is the incoming head of mission of the IMT.
The Malaysian-led IMT is composed of 60 personnel that will come from Brunei, Libya, and Japan. They will have a one-year renewable mandate.
The truce monitors left in 2007 after peace talks bogged down when both sides failed to sign an expanded Muslim homeland agreement that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Also invited to be part of the expanded IMT were the European Union, Qatar, Indonesia, and Norway. There is no formal response yet on whether or not they will join the monitoring team.
The government will host a welcome ceremony for the arriving Malaysian IMT at Estosan Hotel in Cotabato City. (PIA-Bohol)
