All eyes and ears are on Grace, Nancy, Leni
Why is Grace Poe number one? The SWS and Pulse Asia failed to capture this unexpected outcome of the May 2013 elections in their surveys? Why?
Why is Grace Poe number one? The SWS and Pulse Asia failed to capture this unexpected outcome of the May 2013 elections in their surveys? Why?
Voting was uneventful where I voted last Monday. No election irregularities, no machine breaking down or jamming. It just took so long—a little past two hours—from the time I entered the barangay hall to the time the machine flashed the message that I had voted successfully. A drop of indelible ink applied on my finger was the last step in a process that should’ve taken just a little more than half an hour. If I were a senior citizen I would have finished in half the time, but I struggle, vainly, to keep from entering middle age. I endured a long, slowly moving line to get the ballot, a long piece of paper that reminded me of school and multiple-choice exams.
That line is from “The American President,” a political romance starring Michael Douglas which the incumbent American president recently described (for comedic effect, but not inaccurately) as “Aaron Sorkin’s liberal fantasy.”
Joining the ranks of political endorsers is Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who recently announced her support for two members of Team PNoy: Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara and former Rep. Risa Hontiveros.
The elections are just around the corner. In fact, the trapo (traditional politicians), bagong pulitiko (new breed), and bimpo (batang isinubo ng magulang sa pulitika) alike are winding down on their campaign sorties, leaving our sidewalks festooned with the sleaze posters of epal brandishing their messiah complex. Radio and television are airing too-good-to-be-true political ads and candidates are strutting in the streets in an effort to win the masa vote. Some have engaged in public debates, and not without the old mudslinging. There is just too much politicking.
Since the election campaign started I have been thinking of who I should vote for, from senators down to councilors. I checked the background of most of the candidates, and found that a number of them are not practicing their real professions and are just keeping their positions in the government.
It is quite alarming that Commission on Elections Chair Sixto Brillantes is so confident about the credibility of the coming 2013 elections even though he himself has disallowed the review of the source code. How can he put so much trust in a system he himself does not understand?
Considering that there is no way for ordinary people to find out whether the results of the precinct count optical scan machines would match the data that will be received by the canvassing servers, hiding the source code will just strengthen our doubts as to the reliability of the election results.
It is exactly one week to election day but many voters, believe it or not, are still not certain whom to vote for, judging from the many queries I and fellow journalists get. It is really difficult to choose the right candidates for next Monday’s elections because of the general lack of qualifications and the abundance of factors that disqualify many of them, or at least make them not worthy of our votes.
Ang Kapatiran Party’s three senatorial candidates may not win on May 13. Even if they lose, I like to think that the party will emerge as the real winner in the 2013 elections. By fielding candidates, it has already achieved part of its objective—to start the political education of Filipino voters. Fielding three candidates in a race where the name of the game is money, public visibility and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering is already an act of fortitude vis-à-vis established, present-day political norms.
Many people will liken the notion of a “Catholic vote” to the alleged bloc vote of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. First, we must explain what it is not. The Catholic vote is not a bloc vote according to the dictates of the clergy. It would not be acceptable for the bishops and priests to dictate [...]
We were amused when the Commission on Elections chair and the interior secretary held a press conference discussing the capability of some electronic gadgets to jam the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) transmittal of the results of the 2013 elections. Giving the public an idea of the various possibilities in which the elections could be sabotaged does not only raise doubts about the credibility of elections; it also gives unscrupulous “merchants” an idea about how they can possibly widen their market, especially at the local level where the failure to transmit the election results from a single precinct could open up the opportunity to tamper with the results (during the manual transmission of the election returns).
