Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/12/2010

Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/12/2010 What the Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioners are doing is all wrong, in the sense that they as a body, are not empowered by the Constitution to announce the results of the elections on the presidential and vice presidential level, since this rightly belongs to Congress, that is tasked to canvass the results of the top two political posts, automated or manual, taken from the provincial certificates of canvass. The task of the Comelec en banc, constituted as a national election canvasser, is to strictly announce and proclaim the senatorial winners.  While the commissioners may have received official partial results of the votes of all the candidates, since they all come in one ballot and one certificate of canvass, they have no mandate, and no right to come out with the partial results of the presidential and vice presidential elections. Yet that was what they had done, in the past 36 hours or so. As of writing time, what the Comelec commissioners have been putting out as partial official results of the 2010 polls for the president and vice president, along with the senators are merely transmitted results and these figures are not even taken from the official certificates of canvass, which have not as yet arrived.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL GMA wins FRONTLINE Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate focus Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures NO HOLDS BARRED Congratulations FEATURE China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle HE SAYS Sacrifices and expectations SHE SAYS Voting days

Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures focus 05/12/2010

Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures

focus 05/12/2010 NEW DELHI — The death from radiation poisoning of a scrapyard worker in New Delhi has highlighted the lax enforcement of waste disposal laws in India, leading to calls for urgent action. In early April, a machine from Delhi University containing cobalt-60, a radioactive metal used for radiotherapy in hospitals, ended up in a scrapyard in the city. Rajendra Yadav, a 35-year-old worker in the congested yard in Mayapuri, western New Delhi, died due to multiple organ failure on April 26. Seven others were hospitalized. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was the worst radiation incident worldwide in four years. Yadav had been given a “shiny piece of a white metal” from the machine as a sample to scout for a buyer and had carried it around in his leather wallet, showing it to potential customers. In pain and with burn marks on his hips and thighs, he went to see doctors who confirmed he had suffered radiation poisoning, sparking panic in nearby residential areas and leading to a scramble for the source by investigators. “The metal was gleaming. We assumed it to be expensive and wanted to sell it for a good price,” said Yadav’s friend, Deepak Jain, who has been a waste metal trader for 15 years.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL GMA wins FRONTLINE Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate focus Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures NO HOLDS BARRED Congratulations FEATURE China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle HE SAYS Sacrifices and expectations SHE SAYS Voting day

Congratulations NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 05/12/2010

Congratulations

NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 05/12/2010 As it turned out, the first automated election process wasn’t as bad as expected. Not perfect, for there were glitches: PCOS machines either just suddenly stopping or not at all working; Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) who had no idea how to work the danged machines; volunteers confusing more than clarifying; disenfranchised voters with names all along on the Supplemental List of Voters that very few BEIs knew about — horror stories a-plenty, from Batanes to Jolo, to all over the world for overseas absentee voters such as my three grandchildren, none of whom received their voting packets in the US. The most wondrous aspect of it was knowing the likely winners shortly before midnight of election day. It’s still no way as fast as Barack Obama finding out he won in the US in 2008, but remembering how the count of our last presidential elections stretched long enough for Gloria Arroyo to call up Garci, heck: This one was a piece of cake. It ain’t over yet, but even as I write new information comes in, this is how fast it’s going. Gloria Arroyo’s men appear to have been summarily rejected by the electorate, in their respective bailiwicks. Former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita lost the congressional seat he once held in the first district of Batangas, to Tomas Apacible. Former congressman, Justice secretary and premier Arroyo apologist Raul Gonzalez, is not going to make it as Iloilo City mayor, against Jed Mabilog.  Also still another former solicitor-general, former Justice secretary and rumored wannabe Supreme Court justice Agnes Devanadera, running with 66,315 votes against Wilfredo Enverga’s 88,080, for congressman in the first district of Quezon. Also emerging as talunans in their respective runs are former Armed Forces chief and also of Garci name-drop fame Hermogenes Esperon and former Agriculture Undersecretary Joc-joc Bolante. What can I say, but since you all put Mrs. Arroyo ahead of country, buti nga!.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL GMA wins FRONTLINE Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate focus Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures NO HOLDS BARRED Congratulations FEATURE China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle HE SAYS Sacrifices and expectations SHE SAYS Voting day

China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle FEATURE 05/12/2010

China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle

FEATURE 05/12/2010 BEIJING — Tang Jitian has had to move several times after authorities pressured his landlords. He hardly ever sees his wife and daughter. And he has now lost his livelihood for defending the Falungong. The 41-year-old is one of a rising number of lawyers in China who have risked their jobs and even their families to fight for those whose rights have been violated, amid what activists say is a widespread official clampdown. “The issue of human rights is not an abstract one. It exists in our lives in a big way. But in the minds of many officials, it is considered insignificant,” Tang, a slight but jovial man, told AFP. He and colleague Liu Wei have had their licences revoked for “disrupting court order,” after they defended a member of the spiritual movement Falungong, which is banned in China, in April last year. They say they walked out of court due to constant interruption of their defence by the judge..... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL GMA wins FRONTLINE Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate focus Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures NO HOLDS BARRED Congratulations FEATURE China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle HE SAYS Sacrifices and expectations SHE SAYS Voting day

Sacrifices and expectations HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/12/2010

Sacrifices and expectations

HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/12/2010 Voter No. 100 spent four hours before he could cast his vote as No. 607 in the line of about a thousand registered voters at precinct177-A to E in Molino, Bacoor in Cavite, and was 490th to receive an automated congratulatory note, devoid of smile and warmth, from the PCOS machine. It was worth the wait, I should say, despite the heat, which made others leave their lines for the comfort of their homes. Many of them did not return anymore, leaving the fate of their country at the hands of those who persevered for hours if only to make their voice counted by machines we are left with no choice but to trust. The presidential candidates labeled Monday’s polls as fair, with fair finally a word that was refreshing to hear from a field which I earlier doubted would be able to stand up from the murky sea of negativity that pervaded their respective campaigns. I don’t believe that any candidate did not employ a wrecking crew to bring down his rivals. The recent campaigns were the dirtiest in the history of Philippine elections. Noynoy, Erap and Villar bore the brunt of the negative publicities, which hurt their families more than the candidates themselves, as they came ready to face the worst that came their way. This was Philippine politics by the way. They have sacrificed themselves for a political oasis that only the winner would be able to enjoy, while the nation would continue to offer itself in support and defense of whoever would become the country’s next president, especially when the one he’s going to succeed happens to be the worst and most hated leader the Filipinos ever had..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL GMA wins FRONTLINE Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate focus Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures NO HOLDS BARRED Congratulations FEATURE China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle HE SAYS Sacrifices and expectations SHE SAYS Voting day

Voting day SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 05/12/2010

Voting day

SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 05/12/2010 In a way, all the dire predictions made days before May 10, 2010 helped Filipinos become less irritable. Expecting the worst, many came to their polling precincts ready with a vast — if not limitless — supply of patience. The lines were long and the waiting, of course, excruciating. But it was heartening to note that people were willing to spend long hours waiting to exercise their right to suffrage (or as one voter quipped, “right to suffer and rage”). Anyway, whatever the outcome, we would all have demonstrated once more how hopeful we remain as a nation. Or are we? There’s no telling what could happen if, by today, we still have no idea who will be occupying Malacañang next. After all, the promise of automation was faster results. They told us votes would have been counted just two days after elections. It was one of the main points raised before it was decided that the Philippines would have its first-ever automated polls. Government even spent over P11 billion for it! As it happened, elections came and went, Philippine-style. Until the voting day itself, PCOS machines had yet to be delivered to certain areas, although its supplier, Smartmatic-TIM, reported that all machines had already reached their destinations nationwide. Some places in Metro Manila experienced long delays because of defective machines, however. In Lanao del Sur, failure of elections was declared in four towns by 12 noon, and in Maguindanao, violence erupted..... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL GMA wins FRONTLINE Usurping Congress’ canvassing mandate focus Radiation death exposes India’s waste disposal failures NO HOLDS BARRED Congratulations FEATURE China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle HE SAYS Sacrifices and expectations SHE SAYS Voting day

Noynoy pre-shaded ballots in Angono; Gibo wants poll desynchronization By Charlie V. Manalo 05/11/2010

Noynoy pre-shaded ballots in Angono; Gibo wants poll desynchronization By Charlie V. Manalo 05/11/2010 Massive vote buying in many areas in the Philippine archipelago marked the 2010 polls yesterday, and even pre-shaded ovals for Liberal Party Standard bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino were discovered by voters from Angono, Rizal. The Tribune yesterday received reports that aside from the massive vote-buying in some areas, voters were allegedly given ballots with names of certain candidates already shaded, prominent of which were pre-shaded Aquino ballots. In Angono, Rizal, amid reports of massive vote buying, voters will surprised to find out that in the ballots given to them, the name of the LP standard-bearer, Aquino had been already shaded. “I thought that Noynoy is not stained by these cheating ways? So why is this ballot I hold already pre-shaded,”an elderly voter said. Also, aside from complaining of having a hard time finding their names in the list of voters in the clustered precincts, Angono voters complained that the voting process is taking a long time they fear not more than 50 percent of the town’s total voters could cast their vote. As of 4 p.m. yesterday, most precincts have registered only an average of 400 votes cast per PCOS machine. “The way the polls are going, over half of Angono voters will not be able to vote,” said an elderly resident who had queued the long line of voters for more than hree long hours before he was able to cast his vote.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100511hed3.html

HEADLINES PCOS glitches, irregularities mar 2010 polls Estrada confident, Villar apologetic Noynoy pre-shaded ballots in Angono; Gibo wants poll desynchronization US won’t back GMA term extension 10 dead in ‘peaceful polls’ — AFP PMP presses deeper probe vs LP official linked to narco politics

PMP presses deeper probe vs LP official linked to narco politics 05/11/2010

PMP presses deeper probe vs LP official linked to narco politics

05/11/2010 The Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) pressed for a deeper investigation into reports linking a ranking Liberal Party official to narco-politics after authorities busted late this week an alleged illegal drug shipment and suspected manufacturing base in a pearl farm at Icolong Island in Quezon province. PMP standard bearer former President Joseph Estrada sought over the weekend a full blown investigation of a report by Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group Director for Region 13 Philip Placer that his agents seized the illegal drug shipment following a raid on a safehousein Sitio Sabang, Burdeos, Icolong Island on Thursday. “The PMP is calling for an exhaustive inquiry to verify the alleged involvement of some ranking local government officials identified with the Liberal Party as stated by Placer in the report that we saw,” Estrada told reporters. In his report, Placer said the raid on the Icolong Island pearl farm yielded chemicals that authorities believe to be used in manufacturing “shabu,” or metamphetamine hydrochloride. Placer added that PASG operatives also seized highly-regulated chemicals such as potassium nitrate, disodium nitrogen phosphate, sodium orthosilicate N-hydrate powder, and sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100511hed6.html

HEADLINES PCOS glitches, irregularities mar 2010 polls Estrada confident, Villar apologetic Noynoy pre-shaded ballots in Angono; Gibo wants poll desynchronization US won’t back GMA term extension 10 dead in ‘peaceful polls’ — AFP PMP presses deeper probe vs LP official linked to narco politics

Transport firms hit for barring drivers from voting 05/11/2010

Transport firms hit for barring drivers from voting

05/11/2010 Labor party-list group Federation of Free Workers (FFW) scored transport companies for preventing their drivers from participating in yesterday’s first automated national elections and exercise their right to vote. “This is unacceptable! May 10 was declared a holiday precisely to give everyone, including drivers and transport workers the opportunity to make their voices heard,” Julius Cainglet, spokesman of the FFW, said. According to the FFW, they received complaints from drivers and transport workers who were told not to miss a single minute at work on Election Day. Cainglet said some transport companies have either required their employees to report for work covering the election period from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; or were given directives to remit their “boundaries” regardless if they report for work or not. “Employers who prohibit or prevent their employees from voting are guilty of an election offense under our Election laws,” Cainglet said.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100511nat6.html

NATION Bugs spoil dawn of computer age in RP polls GMA, Mikey cast vote without hitch in Pampanga Sen. Cayetano faces raps for mauling of Tiñga supporter Police nab 165 violators of poll liquor ban Pacquiao optimistic of bagging Congress seat Transport firms hit for barring drivers from voting

Bugs spoil dawn of computer age in RP polls 05/11/2010

Bugs spoil dawn of computer age in RP polls

05/11/2010 Presidential frontrunner Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III waited five hours in scorching heat to cast his vote yesterday as glitches tarnished the dawn of the computer age in the Philippines’ chaotic election system. A newly introduced ballot-reading machine broke down at a polling station in the province of Tarlac before he could cast his vote, forcing him to stay in queue until the problem was fixed. Elsewhere across the archipelago, a heavy turnout estimated at up to 85 percent of the 50 million eligible voters, coupled with unfamiliar technology, meant long queues at the height of the humid Philippine summer. “This should not have happened,” said Aquino, 50, who showed up at 9 a.m. at a polling station in the northern province of Tarlac where his mother’s family owns a vast sugar plantation. The senator is the son of late former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and her assassinated husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., both of them revered leaders in the struggle to restore democracy, including “free and fair” elections..... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100511nat1.html

NATION Bugs spoil dawn of computer age in RP polls GMA, Mikey cast vote without hitch in Pampanga Sen. Cayetano faces raps for mauling of Tiñga supporter Police nab 165 violators of poll liquor ban Pacquiao optimistic of bagging Congress seat Transport firms hit for barring drivers from voting

Incompetence, thy name is Comelec EDITORIAL 05/11/2010

Incompetence, thy name is Comelec

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 05/11/2010 Every election year, the poll body, early in the voting game, always claims that there is a huge turnout of voters, something like 80 percent to 85 percent. It is a source of amazement just how these Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials can easily give out the high percentage of voters turnout so early in the day, since voting has not been finished as yet when the percentages are given out and there really is no way for the poll officials to give out percentage estimates of the voters’ turnout. But they do. Everytime. About the only time this can be done accurately is when the count is done, and the certificates of canvass, compiled, can this percentage of voters show just what the turnout was. Yet another statement being made by the poll officials was that there was a large turnout of voters in yesterday’s elections, as long lines have formed. But that is a pretty stupid thing for them to say, especially since they know that, as they had decided to cluster 250,000 precincts to just 76,000 precincts nationwide, with an average of some 1,000 voters per automated clustered precinct, that there is a huge turnout of voters, from the long lines of voters being formed..... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/11/2010

Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/11/2010 Comelec and its partner, Smartmatic, aren’t likely to admit that the conduct of 2010 automated polls was a big mess, and a failure in automation. It is almost certain that all the reported mess in various precincts nationwide, whether it was the breakdown of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, or their non-functioning machines which led to more and more delays for the voters to exercise their right, the disenfranchisement of many voters, and even oversized ballots, plus the wrong ballots surfacing in certain precincts, along with many more instances of snafus, is going to be dismissed as “isolated incidents,” and not reflective of the “success” of automated polls nationwide. But the truth is, the automated polls are a failed electoral exercise, mainly because the Comelec officials, blinded by the huge poll budget of some P11 billion, wanted nationwide automated polls, even when they were not ready for this and even as they refused to conduct the polls under an entirely new voting system. And these Comelec officials, so incompetent already under the old system of voting, insisted on conducting the electoral exercise about which they knew nothing — relying completely on what Smartmatic tells them.... MORE  Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system focus 05/11/2010

Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system

focus 05/11/2010 LONDON — The poll deadlock gripping Britain has fuelled criticism of its creaking electoral system — ranging from anger over chaotic voting arrangements to bemusement at how power is shared out afterwards. In the country renowned for the so-called mother of parliaments, it was embarrassing to be accused by African observers of serious organizational lapses at polling stations last Thursday. Hundreds of voters in urban areas were left fuming after being preventing from casting their ballots because they were still queuing outside at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) when voting stations closed. “What does it say about the state of our democracy?” asked Dr. Stuart Wilks-Heeg of the University of Liverpool. “We can project election outcomes using sophisticated ... forecasting techniques, but we cannot devise a voting system which can cope with a fairly moderate increase in turnout in some densely populated urban areas.”.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Oath VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/11/2010

Oath

VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/11/2010 “Ido solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God” An oath is a formal vow, an official pledge. It is a solemn declaration, a somber affirmation. The nature and import of a oath even acquires not merely a spiritual content but also a supernal context when the name of God Himself is deliberately and solemnly therein invoked. It would be truly hard to fathom the profundity of the ethical iniquity and the intensity of the moral depravity when an oath bearing such distinct attributions is not simply left unfulfilled but exactly the opposite is in fact done — not once or twice but practically always, not merely in terms of small misdeeds but in form downright customary evil with seriously adverse national impact and accompanied even by embarrassing continental notice. Unless the above cited “Oath” were flagrantly misunderstood, woefully forgotten or would be substantially changed in text and spirit, then the past, present and future Presidents of this country better know what the sacred vow they took meant or will take mean — under repugnant and abominable consequences here and now, as well as hereafter and beyond — in the event that did or do exactly the opposite. Such would not only be a betrayal of the national but also nothing less than an veritable blasphemy against Divinity! The key constituent elements of the above cited solemn vow are the following:... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

That other election AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 05/11/2010

That other election

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 05/11/2010 As I put the finishing touches to this column, it is 5 p.m. (Philippine time), Friday, May 7, and, just 12 hours after the UK polls closed, I know the election result. With 616 of the 650 results counted, it is certain that Britain will have a hung parliament. As you read this, it is the day after the Philippine elections and, if the Comelec prognosis turns out to be correct, it will be at least another day before you know the results — and maybe not even then, if the vote-counting machines have failed to function. And then it will be the end of the month before Congress canvasses the national results. Despite the swiftness with which results are announced, votes in the UK are counted by hand, although there are, unlike in the Philippines, no national votes to be tallied. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament (MP), the winner being immediately declared in the same place the votes are counted (usually a town hall). If there is sufficient reason, the declaration will be delayed by a recount, there and then, with no need to consult a national electoral body or court of law.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE 05/11/2010

Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial

FEATURE 05/11/2010 KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial resumes Monday after a lengthy delay, with his lawyers planning to cross-examine the young man who has accused him of illicit sex. Anwar, 62, says the allegations have been trumped up in a bid to end his political career and neutralize the threat he poses to the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled Malaysia for half a century. The former deputy premier was sacked in 1998 and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts. Anwar was freed in 2004 after the sex conviction was overturned and went on to reinvigorate the opposition which made big electoral gains in 2008 polls. The trial opened briefly in February with explicit evidence from Anwar’s accuser, 24-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was an aide in his office, but was suspended as the defense pursued a number of unsuccessful legal maneuvers.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans FEATURE 05/11/2010

Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans

FEATURE 05/11/2010  PORT-AU-PRINCE — They’ve been forced to swap school books for pistols, homework for hold-ups and drug-dealing: with no parents, some of Haiti’s earthquake orphans have turned to slum gangs as ersatz family in a hard-scrabble bid to survive. Square meals and the comforts of home are part of the past for thousands of youngsters who lost their mothers, fathers and other relatives in the January 12 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and traumatized the country. And for some orphans in the capital’s desperately poor shantytowns, roving gangs are filling the void. In the notorious Cite Soleil, or Sun City, a clutch of youngsters trail behind a scruffy gang leader named “Toutou Soleil 19” and members of his band, darting around makeshift huts and clotheslines strung across filthy alleyways in the capital’s biggest slum. Toutou, a 31-year-old who still carries knives but says he gave up his guns in a 2006 amnesty, stops and points across a sewer to a crude sheet-metal cabin on a mound of trash at the seafront.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune   URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Euro countries square up to change focus 05/11/2010

Euro countries square up to change

focus 05/11/2010 BRUSSELS — Backstop bailouts for troubled partners, shared economic “government” and tough new budgetary rules: 11 years after the currency’s creation, the eurozone is in metamorphosis amid financial crises. “That’s the way it always is, from one crisis to the next, Europe reinvents itself,” France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Sunday. An unprecedented market tempest that has shaken the eurozone to its core is lifting all taboos surrounding the European Union’s flagship project of monetary union. Finance ministers from the 27 member states are trying to nail down a “stabilization” fund to assuage markets that have been running wild in Asia and elswhere, merging monies raised by the executive European Commission on the back of EU budgets with guarantees by member states. “We’re moving into another dimension,” said one diplomat who likened the emerging shape of the plans to a regional version of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com8.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Incompetence, thy name is Comelec FRONTLINE Waste of P11B in taxpayers’ money focus Poll chaos throws spotlight on creaking British system VIEWPOINTS Oath AN OUTSIDERS VIEW That other election FEATURE Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE Gangs become father, mother to Haiti’s forlorn orphans focus Euro countries square up to change

Noynoy leads partial, unofficial tally of PPCRV May 10, 2010, 7:57pm

Noynoy leads partial, unofficial tally of PPCRV

May 10, 2010, 7:57pm

 

Liberal Party standard bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Monday made an early lead in among his competitors in the presidential race, while Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay is leading among the vice presidential hopefuls in the partial and unofficial tally of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).


Initial tally returns as of 7 p.m. Monday showed that Aquino was leading the pack of presidential aspirants with a total of 86,990 out of the 2,214,129 votes or 34.94 percent.


Aquino was followed by Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) presidential candidate former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada with 67,425 votes or 27.11 percent and Nacionalista Party bet Manuel “Manny” Villar with 55,639 votes or 22.37 percent..... MORE  

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/256784/noynoy-leads-partial-unofficial-tally-ppcrv

PGMA, presidential bets heave sigh of relief May 10, 2010, 6:24pm “Hay Salamat!”

PGMA, presidential bets heave sigh of relief

May 10, 2010, 6:24pm

“Hay Salamat!”
So declared President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after a new poll machine successfully read and counted her ballot in a polling place here in the country's first automated elections.

The President, widely considered a shoo-in congresswoman in the second district of Pampanga, cast her ballot early Monday morning at the Clustered Precinct 1-A at the Lubao Central Elementary School after hearing a mass for peaceful and credible elections.

With a swarm of local and foreign poll observers and media monitoring her every move, the President, clad in an aqua sleeveless blouse and gray pants, checked her name at ers' list and then entered the designated polling precinct at around 7:08 a.m.... MORE  

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/256765/pgma-presidential-bets-heave-sigh-relief

Confusion mars automated polls By MANILA BULLETIN NEWS TEAM May 10, 2010, 6:08pm

Confusion mars automated polls

But military officials say it’s generally peaceful

By MANILA BULLETIN NEWS TEAM

May 10, 2010, 6:08pm

 

Widespread reports of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine malfunction, vote-buying, voter disenfranchisement, and violence triggered chaos in the country’s first automated elections Monday.
Despite this, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) described the first 12 hours of the election day as generally peaceful and manageable.
PCOS glitch
In Isabela, ABS-CBN News reported that as of noon Monday, 65 PCOS machines were defective, while six of the seven spare PCOS machines in Bocaue, Bulacan have already been used after regular voting machines malfunctioned.... MORE  

Source:  The Manila Bulletin

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/256763/confusion-mars-automated-polls