Comelec’s vow to fix fiasco baseless By Marie A. Surbano 05/06/2010

Smartmatic, poll body say voting still on schedule Comelec’s vow to fix fiasco baseless By Marie A. Surbano 05/06/2010 Election officials insisted yesterday that next week’s polls would go ahead, amid frantic efforts to replace more than 70,000 faulty memory cards that were to be used in vote counting machines. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has come under enormous pressure since revealing the technical glitch. But poll commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said Monday’s election, when 50 million people are eligible to choose a new president and thousands of other government positions, would go ahead as planned, even as the Smartmatic consortium admitted that it will still be testing the machines with the newly reconfigured CFC cards on election day itself. “Going manual is not an option,” Larrazabal said during a news briefing after the memory cards for the more than 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines malfunctioned during the sealing and testing early this week. But most IT experts were wary over the poll body’s vow to go on with automated polls as scheduled, saying that the assurances given by Smartmatic officials that they can solve the fiasco in the failed final testing and sealing (FTS) of PCOS machines in Metro Manila and provinces are empty if not entirely baseless.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100506hed1.html

HEADLINES Comelec’s vow to fix fiasco baseless Duterte guilty, suspended by Ombudsman DoJ chief revives cases against 2 Ampatuans Erap wants Smartmatic, poll execs jailed for PCOS mess Erap, Villar still confident despite losing Iglesia endorsement

Erap wants Smartmatic, poll execs jailed for PCOS mess By Gerry Baldo 05/06/2010

Erap wants Smartmatic, poll execs jailed for PCOS mess

By Gerry Baldo 05/06/2010 Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard bearer, yesterday said that officials of Smartmatic Corp. and the Commission on Elections should be arrested and thrown in jail for the mess they created on the country’s first computerized elections less than a week from now after supplying defective precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines under an P7.2 billion contract. An irate Estrada said problems brought about by the lapses of both the supplier Smartmatic and the Comelec could ruin the automated elections. “It’s very frustrating. They (Smartmatic and Comelec) have been assuring us that everything would be okay, that everything will go on smoothly, but what’s happening now?” Estrada said in a telephone interview. “I suggest that the Comelec meet all the presidential candidates — Manny (Nacionalista Party bet Manuel Villar Jr.), Noynoy (Liberal Party’s Benigno Aquino III), Gibo (Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s Gilbert Teodoro), all of us — and tell us what it plans to do about this,” Estrada said.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100506hed4.html

HEADLINES Comelec’s vow to fix fiasco baseless Duterte guilty, suspended by Ombudsman DoJ chief revives cases against 2 Ampatuans Erap wants Smartmatic, poll execs jailed for PCOS mess Erap, Villar still confident despite losing Iglesia endorsement

Group warns of revolt; seeks SC nod for manual elections By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/06/2010

Group warns of revolt; seeks SC nod for manual elections

By Benjamin B. Pulta 05/06/2010 A citizens’ group has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from implementing the automated election system and to return to manual voting and counting of ballots. Lawyer Harry Roque, president of Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), cautioned the court of another people power if the election would not push through on May 10. Another option, according to Roque, is to ask the Senate to elect a Senate president, whose term ends in 2013, with a mandate beyond June 30, 2010 so that there will be no power vacuum in the presidency in the event that the elections are postponed.  “We will oppose all efforts to postpone the holding of the elections as this will inevitably lead to the transition junta that (Defense Secretary) Norberto Gonzales has been advocating,” Roque said.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100506nat1.html

NATION Group warns of revolt; seeks SC nod for manual elections Seguis: Pact with MILF merely a roadmap Bypassed PMA class member gets post as acting Navy chief CBCP hopes losers in May polls would accept defeat gracefully Engineered poll chaos to be exploited by GMA—Binay

Trash talk EDITORIAL 05/06/2010

Trash talk

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 05/06/2010 Smartmatic and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), in their attempt to make it appear that the May 10, 2010 polls are still a go, and that these “little” problems of machines glitches are easily resolved, despite the fact that there are only five more days to election day and 82,000 machines can’t possibly be tested the way they should be, are really feeding the Filipino people trash. How can these problems be resolved in some five days, when it took the programmers some four months to come up with the flash disks which even turned out to be a dud? But if the problem solely rests on the wrong imput in the flash disks for some 76,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, why then did some machines read the ovals right, but not the other machines that were tested? Even more scary is that, according to Smartmatic, these flash disks are to be configured in a five-day period, which means that all security measures are off, and whatever is imputted in the flash disks will be solely that which has been programmed by Smartmatic — and there goes the automated Garci fraud at play.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

No holdover presidency FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/06/2010

No holdover presidency

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/06/2010 Truth is, I really don’t buy the scenario of Gloria Arroyo becoming a holdover president, mainly because the time for a “holdover” presidency — if it does come about at all, will have to start after June 30, 2010. There also cannot be a holdover presidency because the succession mechanism should be at play — which would call for the Senate president to become the acting president. It is being argued by some senators that, with a failure of elections and with the prospect of a holdover presidency, plus the fact that there will be no Senate president as acting president, along with no Speaker of the House of Representatives either, there is an urgent need for the Senate to elect a Senate president, since the incumbent Senate chief, Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile, only has up till June 30 to his term. But he is running for reelection, and chances are very high that he will be reelected.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan focus 05/06/2010

Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan

focus 05/06/2010 WASHINGTON — The thwarted car bomb plot in New York could lead to a broader US view of Pakistani extremists, with fears growing that an array of overlapping groups are determined to attack the United States. Prosecutors said Tuesday that Pakistani-American attack suspect Faisal Shahzad admitted training in bomb-making in Waziristan, the mountainous region seen as a leading hotbed for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The attempt to wreak havoc in bustling Times Square came as Pakistani Taliban supremo Hakimullah Mehsud — who US officials earlier thought died in a missile strike — resurfaced in videos and vowed to attack US cities. US and Pakistani officials initially rejected out of hand a claim of responsibility for the New York plot posted by Mehsud’s group on YouTube. But investigators have grown more cautious as details emerged in Shahzad’s case. If confirmed to be the Taliban, it would mark a significant foray into international operations for a movement long seen as primarily a local force interested in imposing an austere brand of Islam. But experts said that the distinctions among militant groups in Pakistan are increasingly being blurred.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

The President and The Firm BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 05/06/2010

The President and The Firm

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 05/06/2010 The key to success and longevity of the famous, or infamous depends on how you look at it, law partnership known all over the country as The Firm or CVC is probably its uncanny ability to penetrate and thrive within the corridors of power. In the context of present-day events, this is why members of CVC have made it a point to get themselves entrenched in the camps of two of the three front-running presidential candidates, which in effect virtually assures them of a potent and moneyed client base that would more than tide them over till the next administration comes along and more importantly allow them to play god or kingmaker due to their influence with the man who would inherit the seat to be vacated by President Arroyo.  Founding partner Pancho Villaraza, who stood as wedding sponsor during the marriage of President Arroyo’s son, Rep. Dato Arroyo of Camarines Sur (while wife Sally was one of the ninangs of GMA’s eldest son, Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga), is reportedly allied with Sen. Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party. On the other hand, you have Avelino “Nonong” Cruz, GMA’s former legal adviser until he had a falling out with his boss over the “Hello Garci” scandal and the failure of Malacañang to convince the Supreme Court to back the campaign for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution, who is one of the more prominent advisers of Liberal Party presidential bet Noynoy Aquino. Cruz was brought into the LP fold by Sen. Mar Roxas who was at the time still entertaining thoughts of running for the presidency.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

Pitiful Comelec VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/06/2010

Pitiful Comelec

VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/06/2010 It is a matter of record that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was already a big mess in itself during the 2004 national elections — under the over-all “Hello Garci.” Not far from the 2010 national elections, Comelec seems to be again in one huge messy situation. The key individuals in the commission have been long singing the same tunes — to the effect that “everything is on time and in place.” “We are 100 percent ready.” “There can be no such thing as failure of elections.” And similar endearing songs. Needless to say, Malacañang is distinctly all calm on the matter and all quiet about a hundred and one serious reservations not only on the capacity but also about the dependability of the Comelec to conduct honest, orderly, peaceful and credible elections.  The public in general, however, whose distrust in Malacañang is as low as low can be, has been for some time now harboring serious doubts, if not real anger, having grave anxiety, if not downright fear about Comelec 2010 act and agenda. There are even some naughty individuals who say that a “Hello Melo?” can be in the offing.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE 05/06/2010

Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’

FEATURE 05/06/2010 CASTEL GANDOLFO — Jesuit priest Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican’s astronomic observatory, says star-gazing brings him closer to God. “I became an astronomer in order to get closer to God who created the universe,” said Funes at the observatory in the vast park surrounding the Pope’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. “We wonder the same things that our secular colleagues do — how does the universe work, how did it originate, are there planets similar to Earth?” said Funes, 47. Both Funes and his colleague Guy Consolmagno studied astronomy before joining the priesthood. “I’m primarily a scientist,” said Consolmagno, previously a university professor in the United States. “It’s my belief in God that gives me the courage to do science because I have to have a faith... that there are answers, that there are laws to be found, that the universe is worth studying, it’s not just chaos,” he said.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past FEATURE 05/06/2010

Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

FEATURE 05/06/2010 NEW DELHI — Her striking looks recall her famous aunt, slain Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto, but Fatima Bhutto, who has penned a memoir of her family’s blood-soaked history, says the resemblance ends there. Fatima is a fierce critic of her charismatic aunt, who twice served as prime minister, claiming she was power hungry and “morally responsible” for the murder of her own brother — the writer’s father — in 1996. The book, Sons of Blood and Sword, is an adulatory — critics say airbrushed — portrayal of Fatima’s father, Murtaza Bhutto, a rival to Benazir in Pakistan’s volatile, faction-ridden politics. “It’s a book I always knew I would write” as a “journey of remembrance of my father,” Fatima told AFP in New Delhi where she was promoting her book. Pakistan’s most famous political dynasty has been dogged by bloodshed since Fatima’s grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the nation’s first democratically elected leader, was hanged by the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq in 1979... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100506com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Trash talk FRONTLINE No holdover presidency focus Bomb plot may broaden US lens in Pakistan BLURBAL THRUSTS The President and The Firm VIEWPOINTS Pitiful Comelec FEATURE Star-gazing brings Vatican’s chief astronomer ‘closer to God’ FEATURE Bhutto niece tells Pakistan’s tale through own bloody past

Failed polls fears up as PCOS malfunction By Marie A. Surbano 05/05/2010

Smartmatic admits glitches, errors; Testing junked, 76,000 flash cards recalled Failed polls fears up as PCOS malfunction By Marie A. Surbano 05/05/2010 Six days before the precincts open for the electorate to cast their vote using the new system of automated polls, real fears of a total failure of elections and a no-election scenario surfaced yesterday as precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines tested virtually nationwide, all failed, with the machines giving out zero votes to some candidates, while some candidates had all the votes. Machine supplier Smartmatic and Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials also yesterday tried to allay the public’s fear, saying that these machine glitches that were experienced in areas where machines were tested, are easily fixed, adding that it was human error that led to the failure of the machines to correctly read votes for local positions. Smartmatic Southeast Asia president Cesar Flores admitted its mistake and said the company is taking full responsibility for it, as Smartmatic failed to properly configure compact flash disks of the PCOS machines to properly read the votes for the local races because of a difference in the layouts of the national and local ballots..... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune   URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100505hed1.html

HEADLINES Failed polls fears up as PCOS malfunction Race now between Erap, Noynoy—Enrile Speaker allays failure of polls; SC: No fears GMA lawyer calls for 15 day poll postponement Noynoy takes back Cabinet offer to Binay after Roxas rift Gloria can name CJ sans JBC list if post vacated — JPE

Race now between Erap, Noynoy—Enrile By Angie M. Rosales 05/05/2010

Race now between Erap, Noynoy—Enrile

By Angie M. Rosales 05/05/2010 The race to the presidency is now between former President Joseph Estrada of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.  This was declared by Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile yesterday. “From experience, there has been the shifting of voters in favor of one or the other candidates in this country as we near election day. And it is possible that given the trend of Erap (Estrada) going up, it’s possible that the survey that was presented a few days ago is no longer current at that time. It could be that it has changed in favor of Erap. So we do not know how much or what is the relationship (in terms of votes) between Noynoy and Erap,” Enrile told reporters during an interview yesterday. Enrile, who is seeking reelection under PMP, made the assessment in light of speculations that Aquino is reportedly set to be endorsed by the influential religious sect Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). “I don’t know how much of that (INC endorsement) will have an effect on Noynoy’s candidacy but that will not change the position of Erap in relation to (Sen. Manuel) Villar (Jr.). It is now between Noynoy and Erap. I do not know how much Erap had increased his votes at this point because everyday, it changes,” he pointed out. It will be recalled that the INC also endorsed President Arroyo in the 2004 presidential polls, but she still had to resort to padding her votes to win the presidency... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100505hed2.html

HEADLINES Failed polls fears up as PCOS malfunction Race now between Erap, Noynoy—Enrile Speaker allays failure of polls; SC: No fears GMA lawyer calls for 15 day poll postponement Noynoy takes back Cabinet offer to Binay after Roxas rift Gloria can name CJ sans JBC list if post vacated — JPE

Noynoy takes back Cabinet offer to Binay after Roxas rift By Charlie V. Manalo 05/05/2010

Noynoy takes back Cabinet offer to Binay after Roxas rift

By Charlie V. Manalo 05/05/2010 Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino withdrew yesterday his offer of a Cabinet post to vice presidential candidate Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay should he get elected president indicating a widening rift among his supporters, mainly the groups of Sen. Francis Escudero and Aquino’s running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II. Escudero is backing Noy-Bi, for Noynoy-Binay, tandem for the presidency and the vice presidency against the official LP presidential slate of Aquino and Roxas.  “While it is true that I did discuss with Mayor Binay the possibility of his getting the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) portfolio when we were engaged in talks to unify the opposition, subsequent events have caused me to revisit this position,” Aquino said in a statement. “I am no longer confident that the good mayor and I share a common vision and therefore the past offer then is no longer valid,” he added.... MORE  Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100505hed5.html

HEADLINES Failed polls fears up as PCOS malfunction Race now between Erap, Noynoy—Enrile Speaker allays failure of polls; SC: No fears GMA lawyer calls for 15 day poll postponement Noynoy takes back Cabinet offer to Binay after Roxas rift Gloria can name CJ sans JBC list if post vacated — JP

Nightmare at Comelec square EDITORIAL 05/05/2010

Nightmare at Comelec square

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 05/05/2010 It isn’t the supposed plot to disrupt the voting over which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should worry, but the much too many glitches being encountered in the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in various mock voting tests that should be a major worry for the poll body. Yet even as all the machine glitches show, there went the poll body, claiming that these glitches are being fixed and not to worry, as there are some 6,000 PCOS machines on standby as replacements. Considering the fact that there have been many PCOS experiencing various types of glitches, 6,000 spare machines (which are expected to also experience glitches) would hardly be enough, by way of spare machines on election day. But even if these 6,000 counting machines are to be utilized as replacements.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Nightmare at Comelec square FRONTLINE Yellows up to something again FEATURE Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away SILVER LINING Erap up, Villar down DIE HARD III Apologia focus Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on HE SAYS Of surveys and trending SHE SAID Surveys in, sour grapes out

Yellows up to something again FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/05/2010

Yellows up to something again

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/05/2010 From all indications, the yellows are really up to something that smells of protest actions a la elite Edsa as they believe they can’t get what they want legitimately. All too suddenly, Noynoy Aquino’s supporter and lawyer from the FIRM, Gloria Arroyo’s former Ombudsman, Simeon Marcelo, is questioning the appointment of Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff before the high court, saying that he took the reins of the AFP on the day the midnight appointments ban took effect. Incidentally, even as the Judicial Bar and Council (JBC) had already decided on submitting to Gloria the list of four candidates to the Supreme Court (SC) top position, as ordered by the high court, there was Marcelo, along with his organization of lawyers, telling the JBC not to submit the list to Gloria. Stated differently, that which Marcelo was telling the JBC is that the body should ignore the SC order, for which he really should be either suspended or disbarred as this call is in clear defiance of the high court order. Strangely enough, it is the same Marcelo, then Gloria’s Ombudsman, who sat on the case against... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Nightmare at Comelec square FRONTLINE Yellows up to something again FEATURE Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away SILVER LINING Erap up, Villar down DIE HARD III Apologia focus Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on HE SAYS Of surveys and trending SHE SAID Surveys in, sour grapes out

Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away FEATURE 05/05/2010

Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away

FEATURE 05/05/2010 ILE A VACHE — There are no blue-helmeted UN troops patrolling the streets of Ile a Vache, and schools on this picturesque island did not close after the massive earthquake that devastated much of the rest of the country. Even as the rest of Haiti struggled to clear away debris and dispose of their dead, life after the quake has gone on as much as it did before for the 15,000 inhabitants of this unspoiled paradise. The tiny island, off the southwest peninsula of Haiti a half-hour by boat from the town of Les Cayes, boasts among its many pleasures a vista of rolling hills and crystalline waters lapping its white-sand beaches. But despite being spared the physical ravages of the quake, the island and its growing tourist industry also have been hit hard by the disaster. “No tourists have come since the quake,” said Didier Boulard, a Frenchman who says that not one stone fell out of place as a result of the temblor that leveled entire city blocks in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Nightmare at Comelec square FRONTLINE Yellows up to something again FEATURE Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away SILVER LINING Erap up, Villar down DIE HARD III Apologia focus Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on HE SAYS Of surveys and trending SHE SAID Surveys in, sour grapes out!

Erap up, Villar down SILVER LINING Dean Ernest Maceda 05/05/2010

Erap up, Villar down

SILVER LINING Dean Ernest Maceda 05/05/2010 All surveys we have seen so far now show that President Erap is securely in second place and going up. On the other hand, Senator Villar is on a clear downtrend going below 20 percent. Our internal survey shows Erap getting 25 percent and closing in on Noynoy who has 35 percent. More importantly, Villar’s local candidates have accepted reality and have started to defect to the Estrada camp. Speaker Prospero “Boy” Nograles of Davao City is all set to junk Gibo Teodoro and talk has it that he will be supporting President Erap. And certainly, there is no love lost for Noynoy making Erap the only alternative. This is the major shift that will push Erap over Noynoy. The announcement of Brother Mike Velarde of El Shaddai that he is not endorsing any candidate is another bad piece of news for Manny Villar and assures that at least 70 percent of El Shaddai members will now be free to vote for Erap. Next to Iglesia ni Kristo, the El Shaddai is considered as the other big religious group. Something definitely wrong. The tests being conducted on PCOS machines all over the country have yielded bad results.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Nightmare at Comelec square FRONTLINE Yellows up to something again FEATURE Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away SILVER LINING Erap up, Villar down DIE HARD III Apologia focus Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on HE SAYS Of surveys and trending SHE SAID Surveys in, sour grapes out!

Apologia DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 05/05/2010

Apologia

DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 05/05/2010 The Daily Tribune, its editor-in-chief, and its columnist Herman Tiu-Laurel, wish to express their apology to the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), its then chairman, Oscar M. Lopez, and its then president and chief executive officer, Jose P. de Jesus, over two opinion column articles written by Tiu-Laurel in March 2005. These articles of Tiu-Laurel published in The Daily Tribune are: “The ‘Velociraptors’ of MNTC” published in the March 11, 2005 issue, and “Lopezes and MNTC: Lying Gangsters” published in the March 19, 2005 issue of the paper. The Daily Tribune and its editor-in-chief, Ninez Cacho-Olivares, while taking partial responsibility for the publication of Tiu-Laurel’s two opinion columns, believed at that time that Tiu-Laurel would not recklessly disregard the truth in the two articles. It is the paper and its editor-in-chief’s position that Tiu-Laurel exercised press freedom when he wrote those columns. However, Messrs. Lopez and De Jesus and MNTC are of the mind that we went beyond the law and constitution when we published the articles, which opinion we do not contest. We apologize to Messrs. Lopez and De Jesus as well as the MNTC for the pain suffered by them arising from these two column articles and for the mis-impressions the Tiu-Laurel columns have publicly generated. The Daily Tribune and its editor-in-chief note with approval the operational efficiency and the excellent service rendered by MNTC in the NLEX for the last five years, setting an unprecedented standard for all future Philippine toll roads. We admit that these manifestations of efficiency as to corporate responsibilities are additional basis to state that Tiu-Laurel must have erred in both columns with regard to Messrs. Lopez and De Jesus and the MNTC. This is therefore by way of apology for the mistaken opinions of Tiu-Laurel.....  (Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel) Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Nightmare at Comelec square FRONTLINE Yellows up to something again FEATURE Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away SILVER LINING Erap up, Villar down DIE HARD III Apologia focus Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on HE SAYS Of surveys and trending SHE SAID Surveys in, sour grapes out!

Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on focus 05/05/2010

Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on

focus 05/05/2010 THA KYAR HIN O — San Tin says she is haunted by memories of the deadly storm that devastated her Myanmar village two years ago, but fears that she may go thirsty unless more rain falls. Many survivors of Cyclone “Nargis,” which left 138,000 persons dead or missing and laid waste to swathes of military-ruled Myanmar, are still facing water and food shortages and struggling to rebuild their lives. “We don’t want any wind and rain as we are afraid,” said San Tin, a 62-year-old widow. “But on the other hand, we need rain because then we don’t have to worry about drinking water,” she told AFP. “I wish both my old mother and I would die if another cyclone comes. I don’t want to die alone because I have to worry about this old lady,” she added. Cyclone Nargis unleashed winds of 240 kilometers (150 miles) an hour and storm surges up to four meters (13 feet) high, sweeping away thousands of homes, flooding rice fields with salt water and ravaging schools and hospitals. .... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Nightmare at Comelec square FRONTLINE Yellows up to something again FEATURE Haiti island unscathed by quake, but tourists stay away SILVER LINING Erap up, Villar down DIE HARD III Apologia focus Myanmar cyclone victims struggle two years on HE SAYS Of surveys and trending SHE SAID Surveys in, sour grapes out!

Of surveys and trending HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/05/2010 Have you ever been surveyed?

Of surveys and trending

HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/05/2010 Have you ever been surveyed? I was, once. In 1998, I was asked for names I would prefer to vote for local positions. I found their questions leading, as the elections were still some good months away when the survey was made. The questionnaire bore names, some familiar and some I encountered for only the first time. I think the survey gave the more familiar names the edge, thus leading to trending as we are seeing now in the forthcoming polls in May 10. Surveys, I think, are more indicative of possible results when done on a smaller, very localized basis. The national surveys released recently by reputable firms can only serve as guides, but they would not indicate a general sentiment, especially when the surveys involve only small samplings. But they do contribute to trending, as I still believe majority of Filipinos vote based only on their perceptions, and not through a deeper look at the character and track record of the candidate they choose. Surveys could sway opinions, as we’ve seen lately in the campaign of Noynoy Aquino.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100505com7.html

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