by magnolia_eic | May 27, 2010 | Announcements, Headlines, Weather Coverage
IF you can already feel the hot and sticky weather, state weather forecasters said this is the sign that the rainy season expected in June may be on.
According to the forecasters at the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) hot, sticky weather means humidity is high and that the atmosphere is already moisture-laden so the rainy season is near.
The news is now a welcome respite especially in Bohol where consumers who have seen frequent power outages fear that the drought may have already affected the country’s power generation.
The farmers in Bohol, especially those served by the huge irrigation systems in north eastern Bohol have also been praying for rain in as much as irrigation services have been rationed due to near critical levels of the dams, sources from the irrigation administration bared.
This week, people are also awaiting rains as an inter-tropical convergent zone is spotted near Mindanao and forecasters have predicted rains to affect Mindanao and the Visayas areas. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | May 26, 2010 | Announcements, Headlines, National News
Certified Public Accountant PRC Exam Results for May 2010
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 1,886 out of 4,772 passed the Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination given by the Board of Accountancy in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Legazpi this May 2010.
The names of the passers are already indexed in PRCPassers.com
The members of the Board of Accountancy are Eugene T. Mateo, Chairman; Ma. Elenita B. Cabrera, Vice Chairman; Luis A. Canete, Rufo R. Mendoza and Jose S. Tayag, Jr., Members.
Topnotchers are:
1 GECEL GABUCAN CODERA UNIVERSITY OF SAN JOSE-RECOLETOS 93.14
2 JAN MARCUS ANG TANG CHIANG KAI SHEK COLLEGE 92.86
3 NINO MARTIN ARCENAL JUNTONG UNIVERSITY OF SAN JOSE-RECOLETOS 92.71
4 ELLEN JOY APOSTOL GARCIA UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS 92.43
5 JOHN RAYMUND VINCENT ALIANGAN FULLECIDO DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA 92.29
6 RENE BOY MONSIDA LEBORES UNIVERSITY OF CEBU 92.00
6 FERNANDO MIANO MONTEROLA, JR KINGFISHER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE 92.00
6 REYNALDO MACALOYOS PRUDENCIADO, JR CHRIST THE KING OF CALBAYOG 92.00
6 JAMIL MONTANEZ SARIPADA DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA 92.00
6 MARK SOLATORIO UNIVERSITY OF SAN JOSE-RECOLETOS 92.00
7 MARK ANGELO CAANA ACOSTA DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA 91.86
7 MARK ALYSON BAGUITAN NGINA UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS (BAGUIO COLL. FNDTN.) 91.86
7 JENNY BELLE VILLALUZ RODIS DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA 91.86
8 JULIUS CALUNGSOD ONDOY NOTRE DAME OF MIDSAYAP COLLEGE 91.71
8 RANDY ESPIRITU VENTANILLA UNIVERSITY OF BAGUIO 91.71
9 CHESTER MIGUEL PACIO UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS (BAGUIO COLL. FNDTN.) 91.57
10 RITCHIE ZANORIA TEJANA UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS 91.14
Click here to search for other CPA passers!
by magnolia_eic | May 20, 2010 | Announcements, Headlines, National News
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has rejected an offer to be the candidate of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD for Speaker in the House of Representatives, according to Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Prospero Pichay Jr.
In a news briefing last Wednesday in Malacanang, Pichay said the President instead wants to play a role similar to that of Sonia Gandhi who heads a powerful congress party in India but not necessary holding a high position in government.
President Arroyo according to Pichay, would rather let the party choose from among the members of Lakas-Kampi-CMD their candidate for Speaker. Pichay said the President was cool to the party offer, despite the urging of many party members in the House of Representatives.
Arroyo, an incoming Pampanga congresswoman, heads Lakas-Kampi-CMD and has been considered top candidate for Speakership. The party has yet to agree however on who to field for the Speakership.
Pichay expressed confidence that a Lakas candidate would get the Speakership, saying they still have the number. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | May 20, 2010 | Announcements, Election 2010, Headlines, National News
Manila, Philippines — The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) ended its parallel counting yesterday and concluded that although there were some discrepancies in the election returns (ER’s) that the group tallied, no systematic fraud occurred.
According to PPCRV, only .07 percent of the 43,035 ER’s from clustered precincts showed signs of
irregularities.
PPCRV Chairperson and former ambassador to Rome Henriettta de Villa characterized the 2010 Automated Elections as “generally clean”.
PPCRV chair and former ambassador to Rome Henrietta de Villa characterized the automated 2010 polls as “generally clean.”
“In the midst of the state of speculations, all the accusations that are now being thrown against the first fully automated election that was carried out nationwide, we, together with the majority of Filipinos, still believe that the AES (Automated Election System) must be here to stay,” De Villa said.
De Villa also added that if there were indeed attempts, it was not successfully pulled off.
Click here for full article from Philstar.com
by magnolia_eic | May 19, 2010 | Announcements, Local News / Bohol Balita
BACLAYON’s rare sacred manuscripts for choral music formally called Kirial de esta Yglesia de Baclayon Año de 1826 is the subject of a heritage benchmark book launched recently by the Intramuros Administration.
Written by UST Professor and Musicologist Maria Alexandra Iñigo-Chua, the book discusses the Kirial, which contains mass cycle compositions used in the liturgical service of the Catholic Church in Baclayon during the late 18th to early 19th century.
The rare find, one that remained hidden in the musty cabinets of the 1595 church came out to the open after Inigo-Chua was introduced to it by now Boholano heritage scholar Fr. Milan Ted Torralba sometime in 1997.
Intriguingly enough, the music found in the Baclayon choir books was written in a now-obsolete mensural notation using neumes, characteristic of the Gregorian chanting.
As such, it had to be translated into contemporary notation, if it were to be rendered comprehensible to the modern musician, she admitted to reporters during the launch.
Unfortunately for Chua, she found no reference books to turn to for the task. She had to find her own way of translating the music into a readable score.
With persistence and insight, she eventually found a way to translate the pieces and indeed to perform them.
First heard again during the 400th jubilee of the church years ago, the Chua notations was sang by the famous Loboc Children’s Choir and was accompanied by a Benedictine priest who has to read the score from another songbook providentially uncovered in the archives of nearby Dimiao church.
“Anyone who has felt queasy about singing at Mass the pop version of the “Our Father” would probably wonder what church music used to be like.” Chua narrates.
“Today, a churchgoer is likely to walk into a liturgy where music is accompanied by Casio organs and minus one tapes, along with karaokes, guitars, microphones, and speakers. In the early 19th century, was church music as informal?” she asks.
The music scholar describes the 19th century Baclayon church music as “simple and conservative,” reflective of the kind of plainsong and chant favored in Spain at that time.
She notes, however, that while the melodies were simple and monophonic, like that of typical Philippine folksongs, the choir was accompanied by the majestic pipe organ.
It is a clear and unique evidence of the wealth of our Filipino-Spanish encounter and heritage, says culture worker and baclayon parishioner Lutgardo Labad, when he heard the music interpretation the choir.
In 1999, after probably more than a hundred years, the kirial’s Misa Baclayana was performed by the Loboc Children’s Choir under the baton of Alma Taldo and accompanied on the organ by Fr. Maramba.
With tears in their eyes, the audience sat rapt as the melodies unfolded from the choir, wafted, and soared through the entire church, resonating with a musical modality which is both Western and native, so spiritual, so original, and yet so deeply anchored in local soil, Labad recalls.
Meanwhile, Fr. Torralba said “it is important that an ordinary Boholano can read this book …because the Boholano must not only identify with this work, but must first claim Misa Baclayana and the entire cantorales as his or her own: that the Boholano must say that he or she belongs to these and these are resources that belong to Bohol’s cultural heritage treasury worth preserving, restoring, and perpetuating.”
Heritage, you see, although it speaks of the past, belongs to the future. We in this “now,” in this present, are the stewards of heritage,” Fr. Torralba said. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | May 8, 2010 | Announcements, Election 2010, Features, National News
The automation of counting of ballots at the precinct level on the May 10 national elections is hounded by a lot of controversy of malfunction and other issues. The latest and embarassing mistake made by COMELEC and Smartmatic involved a relatively simple program issue: single space vs. double space. It is something that is easily tested and fixed before they came out to the public. However, it is also possible to be an honest human error and nothing more. The machine just follows whatever instruction it is given and an erroneous instruction would lead to erroneous results. But this error is already fixed and should not be used a basis for calling the coming elections a failure.
In the last several weeks, so much misunderstanding, either due to lack of information or misinformation that has confused all of us and has created a cloud of doubt on the capability of COMELEC to succeed in the coming elections. Auza.Net has compiled 10 Myths About the May 10 Elections. This serves as a guide to all voters and hopefully everyone can vote according to their concience and free will rather than be influenced otherwise because of some of these myths.
1. We can’t verify the results of the counting and therefore it is easier to cheat in this election.
— Of course we can. The ballots will not be destroyed after counting. In the worst case scenario, we can always do a manual count. But let’s do an automated count first because the machines are definitely faster and more accurate and consistent than humans. And we can repeat the counting as many times as needed if we have to. We just need to be vigilant that the counts are real and this can be verified by the random manual count audit. COMELEC is going to be capable of publishing results much quicker than in previous elections so it is easier to verify results because we can immediately see the counts right after close of election time.
2. The candidates will know who voted or did not vote for them. — This is not possible unless you show your ballot to them or the COMELEC will give them copies of the ballots, the ballot number assigned to you and your name. So what if they know whom you voted for? It is your right to vote whoever is your choice.
3. If the PCOS machines fail, there will be failure of elections. — Not true. This is a doomsday scenario possible only if the Filipino people are not able to count. The ballots are still there. That’s what the election is all about. If the PCOS machines can’t count the results, the BEI can count them.
4. Transmission of the results to COMELEC central database is easily to disrupt. — Not true. With good signal from mobile service providers in most areas in the Philippines, there should be no issue in transmitting most of the results. In areas where mobile service is not available, COMELEC can use satellite service or they can bring the PCOS machines to areas with signal so it can transmit the data after the official tally has been printed and accepted by the BEI and other authorized parties. Also, the amount of data transmitted is very small so the opportunity to disrupt transmission is very short plus you can retransmit as many times as needed.
5. All processes of the election will be automated. Not true. Only the counting of the ballots at the precinct level is automated. The rest of the process of aggregating the results still goes through the manual process. Only this time, the manual process of aggregation is assisted by the availability of the results data in electronic form.
6. Current survey results must match the election results. Not true. The survey results reflect only the sentiment of the sample population at the time of the survey. And it is possible that the sample for the survey happens to be biased. Surveys have been proven wrong many times before. The real survey is the election itself.
7. On election day, it is easy to reprogram the PCOS machine to favor a local or national candidate. Not true. Once the machines are tested and sealed, it will be close to impossible to change the program. Even if the PCOS machines are programmed to cheat before sealing, this can be detected by the random manual audit. It is important for organizations like NAMFREL, PPCRV and others to make sure that the random selection of the precincts for manual audit is truly random and is selected only during election day. They also need to make sure that all precincts are eligible to be selected. COMELEC Resolution 8837 covers the selection process. If this is done as stated in the resolution, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to cover up any cheating.
8. The failure rate of the PCOS machines in Hongkong is 10%. PCOS machines will have problems dealing with humid conditions in the Philippines. Not true. The failure rate of the PCOS machine in Hongkong as reported by some groups is exaggerated. Their calculation was only based on the initial failure and not on the fact that the machine worked after it was allowed dry up because of moisture build up. That is also the reason why there are backup PCOS machines and technicians to ensure that any failing machine can be fixed or replaced. Any electronic equipment stored in an airconditioned room with low temperature and then brought out to a humid environment may have moisture build up as the water in the air condenses on the equipment. The user simply has to allow the moisture to evaporate again and the equipment to stabilize to room temperature. Once the equipment is turned on, the heat from the electronics will prevent any further moisture build up. We have been using computers in this country for decades without much problems due to moisture.
9. Manual count is better than machine count. Not true. Machines would have lesser error assuming it is not intentionally programmed to count otherwise. The PCOS machine would be faster, repeatable and cheaper in terms of labor cost. There is much lesser opportunity to implement dagdag-bawas. Let’s give COMELEC a chance to implement an election process with automation on the counting. Even with the glitch in the first attempt to test and seal the machines, there’s no reason to panic yet, especially now that the glitch was solved and replacement compact flash cards have been shipped and most should arrive before May 10.
10. If I don’t get elected , there will be people power. This is a myth. People power is not an automatic response by the Filipino people. It is only needed in extreme circumstances like that in 1986. Any candidate who says something like this are not fit to hold public office because it is the Filipino people who will elect a candidate and the candidates should bow to the will of the people. The Filipino people have the right to choose their leader and candidates should not threaten the voters with people power if they don’t get elected. Refer to #6.
