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 1, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have started finalizing preparations for some 589,830 overseas Filipino workers to cast their votes in this year’s automated elections, as absentee voting starts April 10.
In line with this, personnel from the DFA Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) and the Comelec Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting will hold a training at Heritage Hotel in Pasay City from Feb. 24 to 26, according to DFA.
DFA-OAVS Chairman and DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said the training is the first and the biggest to be conducted before the start of the OAV component of the May elections.
Expected to attend are over 100 representatives from the foreign service, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, which have recommended the adoption of personal voting.
Also attending are Philippine ambassadors-designate to six countries who will be assuming their posts soon, and two incoming heads of consular posts in the United States.
“They will serve as members of the Electoral Boards in the Foreign Service Posts they represent. These boards are the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG), the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEl), and the Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC),” the DFA said. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Feb 26, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
Five of the members of Pres. Arroyo’s Cabinet have resigned in order to prepare for the May 10 elections.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he filed his resignation on Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court ruled that appointed officials running for the elections were deemed resigned.
Joining him were Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Presidential Management Staff chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya and Ed Pamintuan, Malacanang’s point person in the urban Luzon beltway project.
Ermita said Augusto Syjuco of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) had informed him on Wednesday night that he, too, was stepping down.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Feb 23, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
Manila, Philippines– With a 10-5 vote, the Supreme Court has reversed its December 1, 2009 ruling on the status of those who filed their certificate of candidacy who are at the same time, appointed officials. The SC now rules that these individuals are deemed “resigned”.
Midas Marquez, Supreme Court spokesman said the ruling contained in the 44-page resolution is “effective immediately” since the prevailing law is that all appointive officials running in the May 10 elections are automatically considered resigned.
The decision, penned by Chief Justice Reynato Puno, will affect four Cabinet members who are seeking congressional posts: Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, and Presidential Management Staff chief Hermogenes Esperon.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Feb 22, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines
Manila, Philippines — Nearly two million ballots for voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have been printed without the security markings off the National Printing Office (NPO). An NPO source confirmed that the ARMM-bound ballots for the May 10 elections had no NPO security features.
The NPO employee said there was a plan to put NPO markings, but the machines encountered problems at the start of the printing for the ARMM batch. The NPO source also noted that the ones printed after the ARMM batch, the 8.5-inch by 25-inch ballots that will be used for the rest of the country, were given NPO marks.
However, NPO Director General Servando Hizon said he did not know of such reports. According to him, all questions about the printing should be directed to the COMELEC. “Everything about the printing, you should ask the COmelec. That’s the rules given to us.” Hizon said in a phone interview.
Smartmatic-TIM company could also not be interviewed as their officials’ phones could not be reached.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Feb 19, 2010 | Election 2010, National News
THE International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday said that it was preparing for an explosion in election-related violence in the Philippines as the country gears up for the 2010 national polls.
The ICRC is working to identify dozens of “hot spots” where violence is feared ahead of the May 10 elections for a new president and thousands of lower positions.
Of particular concern is the southern island of Mindanao, where 57 people were killed in November in the country’s worst election-related violence. Elsewhere, at least seven others have been killed in vote-related violence.
Jean-Daniel Tauxe, country head of the Geneva-based ICRC said the Red Cross ‘first responders’ as well as key emergency supplies, including blood, will be deployed in places where there the ‘presence of armed elements’ could trigger violence.
Police have also said they were racing against time to crack down on some 100 private armies known to be in control of politicians across the country and to account for over a million unlicensed firearms in circulation. (PIA-Bohol)
