by magnolia_eic | Apr 21, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
Manila, Philippines — Representatives of the Globe, PLDT, Smart, Digitel and satellite transmission providers met with officials of the Commission on Elections and Smartmatic-TIM for the signing of the contract for their services in the May 10 elections on Wednesday.
Renato Garcia, the Comelec’s IT consultant said, the three networks have agreed to provide Smartmatic-TIM a private channel which they can use for the transmission of the results from the precincts all the way to the national canvassing centers.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Apr 21, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
ALL ballots to be used for the Philippines’ first nationwide automated polls will be printed within the week, days before its April 25 deadline, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
“Printing of ballots” will be finished “within the week,” Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said at a press briefing on Monday.
This was confirmed by Cesar Flores, president of the Asian office of Smartmatic, the company contracted by the Comelec to print ballots and supply poll machines.
Smartmatic will be able to finish ballot printing by April 23 or 24 because it was able to meet its target of printing a million ballots a day in the past few weeks.
As of Monday, 46.860 million of the more than 50 million ballots to be used in the May polls have already been printed, Larrazabal said.
Earlier, the Comelec brought a fifth Kodak printer to the National Printing Office in Quezon City — where the ballots are being printed — to speed up the process.
The Comelec plans to invite the media and the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Poll Automation on the day when the last ballot rolls out of the printer, Larrazabal added. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Apr 20, 2010 | Announcements, Election 2010, World
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urged Sunday Filipino migrants to vote early and not wait for the May 10 deadline for overseas absentee voting (OAV), citing about 30,000 Filipinos abroad who have already cast their votes for this year’s polls.
“We are encouraging registered overseas absentee voters to exercise their hard-earned right of suffrage, so they can be involved in deciding who will compose our next set of national leaders come July. We also urge them to vote now, in order to avoid last minute queues at the polling places,” DFA Undersecretary for Special Concerns and OAV-Secretariat (OAVS) chairman Rafael Seguis urged.
Seguis disclosed that there were almost 30,000 Filipinos who have exercised their right to vote in the first week of overseas absentee voting, which started on April 10 and will commence on May 10 in 93 Philippine Embassies and Consulates General around the world. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Apr 19, 2010 | Election 2010, Features, Local News / Bohol Balita
ONE congressional representative, three town mayors and two vice mayors are virtual winners before could be voted upon, and automation has nothing to do with it.
While some 1,234 other candidates in Bohol are burning rubber exhausting energies to persuade voters into rooting for them in the campaign trail, these six politicians might as well prepare for their separate victory parties.
The country’s former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap (Bohol’s third District) and incumbent mayors Dominisio Chatto of Balilihan town, Roberto Salinas of Catigbian and Thomas Louis Gonzaga of Danao all run unopposed and have the top seats handed to them in silver platter.
23 days into the country’s first automated national and elections, these candidates are now devoting their spare time campaigning for their slates to assure them of more allies as their new mandates start July 1.
Aside from Yap’s sure seat, eight other candidates vie for the two remaining congressional seats in Bohol in a political “Trip to Jerusalem” of sorts.
Some five candidates throw their hats for the single gubernatorial seat while four more are eyeing at being the chief presiding officer in the province’s highest legilslative body, data from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) show.
Another 28 candidates are vying for the 10 seats as district Board Members: 10 of them from District 1, eight from District 2 and another 10 from District 3.
Discounting the three sure winners for mayoralty seats, some 107 candidates would be politically slugging it out to sit in opened 45 mayoralty seats in 47 towns and a city.
Aside from Vice Mayor Jose Cepedoza of Danao who has sealed his seat when he ran unopposed, some 113 vice mayoralty candidates would be sweating wits to outsmart co-candidates into the voter preference count.
Meanwhile, some 964 candidates for councilors would be restless until the eve of the elections, wooing voters through intelligence, charm and talent to be elected.
Only 384 of them would be lucky enough to get into the 48 town and city councils.
At the prospect, election supervisor Labaria said it would be historic if in Bohol, we could do away with the sore loser and for those who lost to gracefully concede. (PIA-Bohol)
by admin | Apr 18, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
A SINISTER plot involving a top politician in the 2nd district of the province to ease out PNP provincial director Anthony Obenza so he could be replaced with a more “friendly” police provincial director was uncovered last week.
An unnumbered memorandum dated April 8, 2010 and signed by Police Director Abner Cabalquinto “terminated” the designation of PSSupt Anthony Lao Obenza as Acting Provincial Director of the Bohol Police Provincial Office.
Slated to replace Obenza was PSSupt Rodolfo Abejo Llorca effective April 15.
But unconfirmed reports say a Boholano politician has actively sought the intervention of DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno to cause the issuance of a relief order.
Sensing an evil scheme to derail the gains achieved by the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) to ensure clean, honest and orderly elections, Governor Erico Aumentado immediately filed an injunctive relief with the courts and sought for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO). Read the full story on Bohol Times Online.
by magnolia_eic | Apr 15, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
Party-list group Alyansa ng Media at Showbiz (AMS) asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to approve early voting of the members of the media Wednesday.
In a three-page petition, the party reasoned that media workers might not be able to vote on election day because they have to work to cover the polls.
“The worst thing that could happen to a Filipino citizen is to be deprived of his right to vote,” the group said.
The group asked the Comelec to allow members of the media to vote during their systems test, and use this opportunity to identify problems in the use of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.
The media, on the other hand, will be better informed about the voting process before the actual synchronized national elections.
The group also petitioned that the votes cast during the systems test period be counted as official. (PIA-Bohol)
