Women power in Pangasinan BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 05/20/2010

Women power in Pangasinan

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 05/20/2010 If Makati Mayor Jojo Binay, the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino’s vice presidential candidate, is at this point leading the Liberal Party’s Sen. Mar Roxas by a slim 800,000 votes, it probably can be attributed to the color of his skin (a dark, dark brown), his height (short) and his facial features (pangit). As compared to Roxas who is tall, fair-haired and handsome (just ask his wife Korina); and most of all being incredibly wealthy (mother Judy hails from the billionaire Araneta family which virtually owns all of Cubao, QC). In trying to justify Roxas’ playing second fiddle to Binay, his campaign strategists have been insisting that his running mate Sen. Noynoy Aquino had junked him down the homestretch. Binay, they claimed, was really the Aquinos’ vice presidential choice. Because it should be recalled that Binay was a totally devoted supporter of President Cory, and was one of those instrumental in bringing her to power in 1986. As the saying goes: Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. But playing Monday morning quarterback, what the Roxas camp sorely failed to take into account was the mindset of Filipino voters most of whom are from the masa who naturally and subconsciously side with the underdog. Look at what happened in 1998 when the phenomenon of Sen. Erap Estrada, a local Tinseltown idol, registered a landslide victory over establishment types like Speaker Jose de Venecia, Sen. Raul Roco and Cebu Gov. Lito Osmeña, with the biggest margin ever in the country’s history. In the current vice presidential derby, the underdog role was a perfect fit for the kanto-boy-who-made-good Binay who was one of the pesky street parliamentarians who brought the Marcos regime to its knees in 1986. The way I see it, there was no junking done by the Aquinos. If indeed there was any junking, it was done by the Filipino electorate who saw themselves transfigured in Binay and not the aristocrat Mar Roxas. So guess whom they voted for.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100520com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Credibility is foremost FRONTLINE Fraud will out focus Scandal-tainted British parliament eyes fresh start MR. EXPOSE Whistleblowers come out BLURBAL THRUSTS Women power in Pangasinan COMMENT Cotabato ’65 VIEWPOINTS Just asking

Cotabato ’65 COMMENT 05/20/2010

Cotabato ’65

COMMENT 05/20/2010 Let’s take a respite from the prevailing election-related tensions by revisiting election year 1965. Contending were the Liberal Party (LP)’s candidate for president Diosdado Macapagal and his running mate Sen. Gerardo Roxas (Mar’s dad) for vice president, as against the Nacionalista Party (NP)’s tandem of Senate President Ferdinand Marcos for president and his running mate Fernando Lopez for vice president. It was generally an NP landslide that year which saw Marcos easily reaching an early won position, and Lopez enjoying a virtually insurmountable lead. It was all over bar the shouting with a relatively small number of votes left to be counted in Cotabato province. Convened in Sen. Jose Roy’s house were top NP campaign strategists who had confirmed an intelligence report that the Liberals’ reputed head of their dirty tricks department, DND Secretary Macario Peralta, would be flying to steal a win for Roxas with manufactured ballots. A worried Marcos gazed out the dining room’s window and, his hand superstitiously rested on a grenade fragment embedded in his shoulder — an act he was wont to do whenever pondering a conundrum — asked Roy to form a three-man task force to dissuade Roy’s childhood friend from Moncada, Tarlac from carrying out his sinister plot. In an hour, Roy, Roquito Ablan and a Cotabato businessman named David Ghent were at the Manila Domestic Airport taking off on board a chartered plane. Within minutes after touching ground at the Cotabato airport, the three were having a chat with Roy’s Kumpare Salipada Pendatun, the province’s governor in the latter’s mansion. But they failed to elicit Pendatun’s cooperation who said it was “beyond (his) power to interfere with the Defense secretary’s functions.” Dejected, they left the mansion and contacted leading members of the Ilocano community for an action-plan bull session. After an hour, the three returned to the airport with a contingent of supporters.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100520com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Credibility is foremost FRONTLINE Fraud will out focus Scandal-tainted British parliament eyes fresh start MR. EXPOSE Whistleblowers come out BLURBAL THRUSTS Women power in Pangasinan COMMENT Cotabato ’65 VIEWPOINTS Just asking

Just asking VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/20/2010

Just asking

VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/20/2010 First, a plain and clear disclaimer: This is definitely not a search for perfection. Neither is this a posture of pessimism or negativism. This is but seeking rhyme and reason in the just concluded automated elections. Among other things, there are sayings like “First impressions do not last.” “One robin does not make spring.” “It’s not over till the fat lady sings.” And so on — all essentially conveying the same message. Thus it is that the Comelec-Smartmatic team was in no time praised even blessed for a job well done. There were a lot of warm congratulations extended, and many tight hand-shakes were made as well. But as the dust begins to settle, there are worthwhile questions raised here and there, in the same way that there are reasonable doubts expressed now and then. Far be all these from sour-grapping. Neither is it about a “hard-to-please” posturing. Much less is this fomenting social discontent possibly productive of social disorder. This is but about some things that are either rather hard to swallow or difficult to accept according to sound reason. Why was such a basic and elementary component of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) such as thousands of CFCs, proved to be suddenly kaput and wherefore had to be thus suddenly “reformatted?” What is the real reason a good number of voting returns came in fast for canvassing — while the rest is taking a turtle pace to arrive to be likewise canvassed? Why it is that not all PCOS are accounted for? Except for those few destroyed by presumed rebels, where are the rest? Why is it that no less than some 60 of them were found in the wrong place but at the right time — after the elections?... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100520com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Credibility is foremost FRONTLINE Fraud will out focus Scandal-tainted British parliament eyes fresh start MR. EXPOSE Whistleblowers come out BLURBAL THRUSTS Women power in Pangasinan COMMENT Cotabato ’65 VIEWPOINTS Just asking

Speaker to sue Comelec, Smartmatic, et al. By Charlie V. Manalo 05/20/2010

Speaker to sue Comelec, Smartmatic, et al.

By Charlie V. Manalo 05/20/2010 Saying the mounting reports of automated election fraud from all over the country can no longer be dismissed as minor glitches in an otherwise generally credible elections, Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday said he was filing criminal charges against the Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials, Smartmatic, the National Printing Office and even some of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI). In a statement, Nograles said that with the evidence and testimonies presented and which continue to pour in from all sectors, including those of a whistleblower caught on video claiming he had participated in a nationwide criminal conspiracy to steal millions of votes to ensure the election of candidates who paid millions to win, point to one truth: The 2010 automated election is the most tragic subversion of the will of the Filipino people in the nation’s history. Yesterday, during a weekly forum, a newspaper columnist showed a 30-minute video of a masked man claiming he was part of a group who sold the election results to the highest bidder, shaving the votes of administration bet, Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada by at least five million votes each. If Nograles pushes through with his plan to sue the aforementioned, he will be the second in a week to have filed charges against the poll body. Last Monday, former Assemblyman Homobono Adaza filed an eight-page complaint against the very same entities Nograles would be suing before the Office of the Ombudsman. .... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100520hed1.html

HEADLINES Speaker to sue Comelec, Smartmatic, et al. Erap would have won if Cory didn’t die—Palace Red Shirts surrender after deadly Thai army crackdown GMA turns down calls to run for Speaker EU willing to help in RP-MILF peace talks No coup under Noynoy admin, vows military

Erap would have won if Cory didn’t die—Palace By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/20/2010

Erap would have won if Cory didn’t die—Palace

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/20/2010 Even Malacañang has publicly acknowledged the political strength of former President Joseph Estrada as it recognized the fact that he could have easily reclaimed the presidency had it not been for the “sympathy votes” gathered by Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, owing to his mother, former President Corazon Aquino’s death. President Arroyo’s political adviser, Prospero Pichay, told reporters yesterday that Estrada could have been in Aquino’s lead position today if the death of Cory Aquino did not occur during the pre-election period. “Cory Aquino died and it was the destiny of Noynoy Aquino to become president of this country; otherwise, if Cory did not die, Erap would have been the president of this country,” Pichay said. Pichay’s admission came simultaneously with the realization that party machinery no longer serves as the determining factor toward ensuring victory for candidates running for national positions.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100520hed2.html

HEADLINES Speaker to sue Comelec, Smartmatic, et al. Erap would have won if Cory didn’t die—Palace Red Shirts surrender after deadly Thai army crackdown GMA turns down calls to run for Speaker EU willing to help in RP-MILF peace talks No coup under Noynoy admin, vows military

GMA turns down calls to run for Speaker By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/20/2010

GMA turns down calls to run for Speaker

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 05/20/2010 President Arroyo is not interested in the fourth highest-ranking position in the land. According to presidential political affairs adviser Prospero Pichay Jr., the outgoing Chief Executive and incoming Pampanga representative has rejected an offer to be the candidate of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD for Speaker in the House of Representatives. Pichay, at a news briefing yesterday in Malacañang, said Arroyo instead wanted to play a role similar to that of Sonia Gandhi who heads a powerful Congress party in India but not necessarily holding a high position in government. “The President said that she would rather let us choose from among the members of Lakas-Kampi-CMD our candidate for Speaker,” he added. Pichay, however, said Arroyo’s allies are keeping their fingers crossed that she would eventually change her mind and dream bigger than just becoming the next Sonia Gandhi.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100520hed4.html

HEADLINES Speaker to sue Comelec, Smartmatic, et al. Erap would have won if Cory didn’t die—Palace Red Shirts surrender after deadly Thai army crackdown GMA turns down calls to run for Speaker EU willing to help in RP-MILF peace talks No coup under Noynoy admin, vows military

Enrile calls on Lacson to clear his name 05/20/2010

Enrile calls on Lacson to clear his name

05/20/2010 Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has urged Sen. Panfilo Lacson to return to the country and clear his name from the murder charges filed against him for the killing of former publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito. “I encourage him to come back and clear his name and participate in the activities of the Senate,” Enrile said in a media interview Tuesday night. Enrile said he has no information regarding the whereabouts of Lacson since the latter left the country last Jan. 5, three days after the Bureau of Immigration put him on its watchlist. The murder charges were filed based on the complaint filed by the daughters of Dacer — Carina Lim, Sabina Reyes, Emily Hungerford and Amparo Henson — following the execution of affidavit of former Senior Supt. Cezar Mancao on Feb. 14, 2009. Lacson denied any involvement in the killings, but he has not been seen in the Senate since the double murder charges were formally filed against him last Jan. 7. The lawmaker has been reportedly seen in Hong Kong and later in Australia.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100520nat1.html

NATION Enrile calls on Lacson to clear his name Ombudsman is not beholden to any person — De Jesus M/V Princess of the Stars ID of bodies completed next month Transition committee on track — Palace PNP working closely with CAAP in probe of chopper crash in Lucena

PNP working closely with CAAP in probe of chopper crash in Lucena 05/20/2010

PNP working closely with CAAP in probe of chopper crash in Lucena

05/20/2010 The Philippine National Police (PNP) is coordinating closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) in the ongoing investigation into the helicopter crash that killed Quezon Gov. Rafael Nantes and four other persons in Lucena City last Monday. PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina said Director General Jesus Verzosa has ordered the PNP’s Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) in Quezon province to forward all evidence and witnesses’ testimonies gathered from the crash site to the CAAP. “We will help in gathering of evidence and testimonies from the crash site. All evidence on the possession of the SOCO team will be presented to CAAP,” said Espina. Aside from Nantes, also killed during the helicopter crash were his security escorts Army M/Sgt. Alfred Dominguez and PO3 Randy Roperez, pilot Capt. Nestor Sanchez and civilian Rowena Navales, 14, who was a resident of one of the three houses hit by the ill-fated aircraft in Jael Subdivision in Barangay Iyam, Lucena City.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100520nat5.html

NATION Enrile calls on Lacson to clear his name Ombudsman is not beholden to any person — De Jesus M/V Princess of the Stars ID of bodies completed next month Transition committee on track — Palace PNP working closely with CAAP in probe of chopper crash in Lucena

Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar EDITORIAL 05/19/2010

Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 05/19/2010 Sen. Noynoy Aquino has not even been proclaimed president-elect by the Congress, but he and the Liberal Party (LP) members, who have promised change and reforms, are this early, showing their opportunistic streak and even plan on continuing with what Gloria Arroyo practiced during her nine-year reign. In the fight for the speakership, LP spokesman Lorenzo Tañada was quoted as saying that the incoming Aquino administration will withhold the pork barrel of any congressman who doesn’t vote for the LP bet for Speaker. Moreover, the LP, prostitute that it is, has plans to cohabit with the Nacionalista Party (NP), or any other party for that matter, to get the majority in the House of Representatives. Said Tañada: “We all know the culture in the House; lawmakers need to bring projects to their constituents if they want to show proof of service to their constituents. Even if we don’t want to do it, we might just have to, just to ensure stability in the House.” So young, and so trapo is Tañada, who, it is certain, speaks out the thoughts of Aquino and the LP members. Trapos all. And yet it was they who were grumbling about the way Gloria withheld the pork barrel of those opposed to her. Now that their candidate won the presidential derby according to unofficial results, they will do exactly about which they crabbed.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

Empty threats FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/19/2010

Empty threats

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 05/19/2010 In the end, it will have to be Noynoy Aquino who will have to blink in the matter of the appointment of Chief Justice Renato Corona, because even if Noynoy refuses to recognize him as the CJ, whether he likes it or not, Corona is now the Chief Justice and head of the judiciary and quite frankly, the Supreme Court under Corona need not even bother with the tantrums of the chief executive. The high court will go its own way. Even those threats of Aquino and his lawyers saying that they will have Corona impeached is empty, given the fact that there are no existing grounds against Corona with which to have him impeached. Truth is, all those lawyers from the (in)famous FIRM, now allied with Aquino who wanted Justice Antonio Carpio to become the CJ, were applying all these threats and pressure on Corona, to embarrass him into not accepting the post of CJ, but these tactics failed, and Corona has come off a better judicial figure, while these FIRM members were shown up for what they really were: hungry for a strong influence in the judiciary — something that they had enjoyed in the early reign of Gloria Arroyo. So Noynoy threatens to have himself sworn in by a barangay captain? So what? This move is not going to embarrass Corona and the high court, but himself. Moreover, this move would only show up the vindictive nature of Noynoy, along with his pettiness.  It doesn’t bother the new CJ that he will not be around to swear in Noynoy should he be proclaimed president-elect by the Congress. It’s no big deal to him.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

Proof of cheating mounts MR. EXPOSE Amb. Ernesto Maceda 05/19/2010

Proof of cheating mounts

MR. EXPOSE Amb. Ernesto Maceda 05/19/2010 The camp of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard bearer President Joseph Estrada yesterday threw its weight behind moves of election watchdog Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) to restore the integrity and credibility of the electoral process by conducting an audit of all 76,475 compact flash cards used in the country’s first ever automated polls held last week. “The PMP firmly believes that mounting reports of electronic fraud, pre-programming of compact flash cards, and other serious irregularities are too many to ignore and must be addressed immediately if the results are to be fully acceptable to the public,” we believe. “Thus we welcome and fully support the PPCRV as it takes the lead in ensuring that compact flash cards used for the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines are not only safeguarded but audited to ensure that it is the sovereign people’s will that was reflected in the recent elections.” Last Monday, PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa wrote to Comelec chairman Jose Melo urging, among others, an inventory of the defective flash cards which were replaced a few days before the elections after they failed to accurately read ballots. De Villa also pointed out in her letter that “the problems surfacing now regarding flash cards being found here and there, as well as complaints of loaded flash cards that imply cheating… can be resolved faster and with credibility of the 76,475 flash cards can be accounted for.”.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

A Noynoy presidency HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/19/2010

A Noynoy presidency

HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 05/19/2010 I would like to be counted among the optimists, the best a Filipino can contribute to a new leadership to replace a rotten one, but I doubt if president-in-waiting Noynoy Aquino could really eradicate corruption in government under his leadership, the same bane that has pestered the one he is about to succeed. To the idealists, Noynoy is a gift from heaven, a panacea to the ills that have plagued this once great country of ours, for nine years and even beyond, as even as a young child, this rubbernecker could not remember not hearing the words corruption, lagay, kotong, and their variants at least a day of his existence. Corruption, not a few claimed, has become endemic in our system. But even foreign visitors would come to our defense in saying corruption exist in all governments, and that there is no sure formula in stopping it. Noynoy would need a stronger hand if he is serious about his campaign promise. He would also need a lot of allies, all with clean hands, in stamping out the bad eggs from government, many of them appointed and elected, which make Noynoy’s campaign statements nothing but bunkum, all made to earn additional pogi points, like he still needs them to prop up his passed-on popularity gained by his deceased parents.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

When the smoke clears SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 05/19/2010

When the smoke clears

SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 05/19/2010 Just days after the first automated polls in our country, it became quite clear that Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino would end up in Malacañang. Maintaining a comfortable lead over his unforeseen rival, former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, Aquino is now largely seen as the next president of the Philippines. These days, the son of two famous modern heroes is both hailed and crowned with plenty of thorns. His supporters defend criticisms of a perceived “weak” leadership, which are based mostly on his 12 (some say “unimpressive”) years in public office. Even now, talk is rife about the future battles he may have to wage in politics, starting with the fact that his predecessor, President Gloria Arroyo, has secured for herself a seat in Congress and is rumored to be eyeing the Speakership. Also, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, wife of the president who was booted out when Cory Aquino came into power, is now also a congressman, elected to her post at the age of 80. The Marcoses, generally perceived as enemies of the Aquino family, are in power again, with Imee as governor and Bongbong in the Senate. What could this mean for the next president of the Philippines? Political observers say this could mean that Aquino will have a hard time accomplishing his goals if he faces opposition from Congress. Eventually, they add, an Arroyo-led House could work toward a Charter change, where a new form of government would make Gloria the Prime Minister.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran ANALYSIS 05/19/2010

Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran

ANALYSIS 05/19/2010 BRASILIA — For admirers of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — and there are many — the deal reached with Iran over its nuclear activities was a diplomatic triumph seized with high-stakes, last-minute flair. For the United States and its allies skeptical over Tehran’s track record of broken promises, though, the accord is a vexing problem, an obstacle to UN sanctions on Iran they had been pushing hard for. Lula himself crowed from Tehran that “diplomacy emerged victorious.” Unspoken but implied was that he had pulled off a coup in the last year of his mandate, boosting Brazil’s profile on the international stage to the stature it badly wants: that of a global player deserving of a permanent UN Security Council seat. “If Iran complies with this deal, Brazil will have scored a goal with its diplomacy,” opined one analyst to AFP, professor Marcelo Coutinho of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Rubens Figuereido, a specialist at the University of Sao Paulo, agreed. “If the agreement is what they say it is, it’s a victory without precedent for Brazil because it’s the first time it has put itself at the forefront of the international diplomatic stage,” he said.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf focus 05/19/2010

Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf

focus 05/19/2010 NEW ORLEANS — Giant plumes of oil floating deep in the Gulf of Mexico could create a new “dead zone” of oxygen-depleted waters unfit for marine life and wreak environmental damage that will take generations to overcome, scientists warned Monday. “Normally, in a shallow spill, everything pretty much shoots up to the surface and the impacts are primarily to surface organisms like turtles, dolphins, and birds,” said Paul Montagna, a marine ecologist at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. But the oil which has been gushing out of the wreckage of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon since April 22 is traveling up through chilly, dark waters 5,000 feet below the surface. “Under this really cold, high pressure environment the oil is getting dispersed through the water column,” Montagna said in a telephone interview. “What that means is that basically life in the entire water column is now being exposed.”....MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100519com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Different Aquino dog, same Gloria collar FRONTLINE Empty threats ANALYSIS Brazil’s Lula may have ‘scored a goal’ on Iran MR. EXPOSE Proof of cheating mounts focus Underwater oil plumes could create new ‘dead zone’ in Gulf HE SAYS A Noynoy presidency SHE SAYS When the smoke clears

Erap votes auto shaved by 5M—whistleblower By Pat C. Santos 05/19/2010

Erap votes auto shaved by 5M—whistleblower

By Pat C. Santos 05/19/2010 Election fraud operators are now coming out of the woodwork and detailing just how some presidential candidates in the May 10, 2010 polls were cheated out of millions of votes, with former President Joseph Estrada’s votes electronically shaved by some 5 million votes. The main beneficiary of the electronic fraud was said to have been Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino. Buddy Cunanan who introduced himself to the media at a forum as a concerned citizen and a columnist of the Manila Times yesterday presented a 30-minute video showing a “masked man” who called himself a whistleblower and admitted that he was a cheating operator in charge mainly of electronic cheating in his assigned areas, such as Laguna, Pangasinan, the National Capital Region and Region 1V. It will be recalled that Estrada lost in his bailwick Laguna and the NCR, landing in Number 3 position even in San Juan City. In the video the man claimed that the presidential race was not between Estrada and Aquino, but between Estrada and administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro. Estrada’s votes were shaved by 5 million votes. Teodoro had about the same number of votes shaved, the whistleblower claimed..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100519hed1.html

HEADLINES Erap votes auto shaved by 5M—whistleblower PCOS may have been hacked — Nograles CJ asks wife to resign post in state-owned firm CJ asks wife to resign post in state-owned firm Thai Red Shirts OK Senate negotiations offer Return of ‘Hyatt 10’ under Noynoy gov’t slammed

PCOS may have been hacked — Nograles By Charlie V. Manalo 05/19/2010

PCOS may have been hacked — Nograles

By Charlie V. Manalo 05/19/2010 Smartmatic and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have been crowing that the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) can’t be hacked, and there-fore no automated cheating can occur. But it appears that they spoke too soon, as a docu-mentary film aired recently on TV showed just how easily the PCOS machines can be hacked and votes manipulated. Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday said that while Congress is determined to push the early procla-mation of the country’s next President and Vice-President, he is equally disturbed by the fact that an HBO film documentary showed automated election manipulation by hacking into the memory cards of optical machines similar to the PCOS used during the May 10 national elections. At a press briefing, Nograles said that based on an HBO film documentary, Harri Hursti demonstrated how votes can be manipulated even without any physical contact with a random sample of an optical scanning machine that was actually used during US elections as long as the memory card used was programmed by Hursti himself. Nograles said the documentary entitled Hacking Democracy showed disturbing results, entirely reversing the actual votes made vis-a-vis the result churned out by the randomly selected optical scanning machine. “My attention was called to documented evidence of counting machine anomalies in the United States, one of which is the Hursti hack. The result should have 1 for ‘yes’ and ‘7’ for ‘no’ but when the machine showed the result, it was ‘7’ for yes and 1 for ‘no’. Nograles said.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100519hed2.html

HEADLINES Erap votes auto shaved by 5M—whistleblower PCOS may have been hacked — Nograles CJ asks wife to resign post in state-owned firm CJ asks wife to resign post in state-owned firm Thai Red Shirts OK Senate negotiations offer Return of ‘Hyatt 10’ under Noynoy gov’t slammed

Thai Red Shirts OK Senate negotiations offer 05/19/2010

Thai Red Shirts OK Senate negotiations offer

05/19/2010 BANGKOK — Thai anti-government protesters on Tuesday agreed to an offer by the nation’s Senate to mediate crisis talks with the government to end wild street battles that have left 38 dead. Five days of clashes with troops have reduced parts of Bangkok to battle zones, with columns of smoke billowing overhead from piles of tires set ablaze by the “Red Shirt” protesters occupying the city’s main shopping district. As the United Nations urged Thailand to “step back from the brink,” some 60 senators sent a letter to the government and the Reds Monday, urging them to halt the violence and enter into talks organized by the upper house. “The Reds agree to accept the proposal by the Senate speaker who wants to mediate the talks, and are ready to join from now,” said protest leader Nattawut Saikuar. “We will not go with any conditions, the senator is free to offer any proposals and we are willing to consider them,” he added, in a climbdown from earlier demands for talks brokered by the UN or another international agency. Two previous rounds of negotiations have raised hopes for a peaceful resolution but then collapsed, and the government has not responded to the latest proposal.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100519hed5.html

HEADLINES Erap votes auto shaved by 5M—whistleblower PCOS may have been hacked — Nograles CJ asks wife to resign post in state-owned firm CJ asks wife to resign post in state-owned firm Thai Red Shirts OK Senate negotiations offer Return of ‘Hyatt 10’ under Noynoy gov’t slamme

Comelec proclaims last three winners in Senate race, completes roster of 12 05/19/2010

Comelec proclaims last three winners in Senate race, completes roster of 12

05/19/2010 After deferring it for a day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finally proclaimed the three remaining winners of the Senate race that was part of the national elections last May 10, completing the 12 slots that were open. While the canvassing of all provincial Certificates of Canvass (PCoC) has yet to be completed, the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBoC), yesterday proclaimed former Sen. Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III (independent), re-electionist Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), and outgoing Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III (Liberal Party).  In a resolution, the NBoC said it decided to give the Comelec the go-ahead to proclaim Osmeña, Lapid and Guingona as it was already statistically improbable for the other ranking Senate candidates to catch up or overtake them in the vote count. Based on the tally of the NBoC, Osmeña had garnered a total of 11,583,854 votes while Lapid had 10,971,045 votes derived from 102 of the 103 PCoC. Guingona, meanwhile, had 10,200,293 votes, which is 1,158,799 votes over fellow LP member, Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros, who had 9,041,494 votes.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100519nat2.html

NATION PARC-Hacienda case: An acid test for Aquino, Corona Comelec proclaims last three winners in Senate race, completes roster of 12 AFP sees need to revise strategy against Reds Binay to Roxas: Don’t do another ‘Hello Garci'

Binay to Roxas: Don’t do another ‘Hello Garci’ 05/19/2010

Binay to Roxas: Don’t do another ‘Hello Garci’

05/19/2010 Front-running United Opposition (UNO) vice presidential candidate Jejomar Binay has called on his close rival, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, to not do a repeat of the “Hello Garci” scandal as the nation awaits the genuine results of the elections. Speaking through Lito Anzures, Binay said he believes Roxas is as committed as he is to clean, honest and credible elections and both of them must respect the people’s will by not doing anything that would impeach the real outcome of the May 10 elections. Anzures stressed that the figures from all regions indicate the statistical improbability of a 100 percent outcome for Roxas just as it is impossible for him to receive 100 percent from the remaining election results from Luzon areas in which he had established a clear advantage over the senator from Capiz province. He said a trend has been set in the tabulations of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters ng Pilipinas (KBP), which were far more complete than the figures cited by the Liberal Party (LP).... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20100519nat4.html

NATION PARC-Hacienda case: An acid test for Aquino, Corona Comelec proclaims last three winners in Senate race, completes roster of 12 AFP sees need to revise strategy against Reds Binay to Roxas: Don’t do another ‘Hello Gari'