Friday, January 29, 2010

Tests expose weaknesses of poll machines

THE FIELD TESTING of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the automated elections continues to be hounded by glitches, most recently in Taguig and Pateros where election officials ran a demonstration at selected schools Friday.

After repeated attempts to transmit the results of the demo vote failed, residents who participated in the demo test at the Maharlika Elementary School in Taguig said they were afraid the vote could be tampered with should election inspectors fail to transmit the results right after polls close at 6 p.m. on May 10.

“What assurance do we have that the networks won’t bog down on election day?” asked Alhabsar Sahijuan, after technicians, using three different SIM cards, took almost an hour to send the results.

Simultaneous tests were also held at the Taguig Elementary School and Aguho Elementary School in Pateros.

36-hour period

Commission on Elections Spokesperson James Jimenez said the technical difficulties did not mean that the elections are doomed.

He noted that the tests were aimed at exposing the weaknesses of the system so that they could be addressed.

At the Taguig City Hall where the transmitted votes from Maharlika were received, Comelec official Celia Romero said that a delay in the transmission of results does not necessarily mean that there is a problem.

She said the Comelec has allotted some 36 hours for the transmission of returns from the precincts to the municipal level.

“We estimate the transmission time to be around two minutes, but in case there are delays, the 36-hour period would be sufficient to remedy the issue,” explained Romero, a member of the Comelec project management office which oversaw the demonstration.

She noted that from time to time text messages get delayed “but users still get the message.”

She also noted that aside from three SIM cards which will be issued to teachers, a broadband satellite connection and a high-speed Internet line are also on standby.

Signal problems

Michael Dioneda, Comelec director for the National Capital Region, said the four PCOS, which will be used to record and count the votes, encountered some problems during the transmission stage so the results could not be transmitted after several attempts.

“We encountered problems in terms of signal, but eventually it was all transmitted,” Dioneda told a press briefing.

The three machines in the Maharlika and Taguig elementary schools were able to transmit the results via GSM—the network used by cell phone providers—after Comelec officials changed the SIM cards.

The troubleshooting in the these instances lasted about 45 minutes and it took technicians three SIMs to get the signal for transmission, Dioneda said.

In the Aguho Elementary School, the problems with transmission persisted even after the SIM cards were replaced.

In the end, the technicians had to resort to the Broadband Global Arena Network satellite transmission to send the data to the canvassing center at the Pateros Municipal Hall.

One machine, also in the Aguho school, rejected four out of 10 ballots. Dioneda said the machines may have rejected the ballots because they were crumpled during the first field test last Wednesday.

Mock poll Feb. 6

Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, the technology provider implementing the country’s first-ever electronic balloting, is addressing the problems encountered in the voting and transmission of ballots.

But that the machines were able to send the votes accurately to the canvassing centers showed that the system was working, Larrazabal said.

Larrazabal noted that the Comelec is taking note of the technical and procedural glitches during the tests to ensure that these will not be repeated on election day.

“There are some things we observe today that will help us in the conduct of elections,” he said.

“We are going to do another test, a more comprehensive one, which is the mock elections on Feb. 6,” he said.

Questions from residents

Some 20 residents, including barangay officials, participated in yesterday’s field-test demonstrations, throwing questions at Dionela and Comelec staff.

Pointing out that the telcos experience much traffic during holidays, Sahijuan said the same could happen on election day because the airwaves would be buzzing with queries about the results, among other things.

Dionela said the telcos have assured the Comelec that their services would be at their “fullest potential” on election day.

Dionela walked the observers through the process from the setting up of the machine at the precinct, to the printing of election returns and transmitting of the results to the main server in Intramuros.

Ballot too long

Teresa de Luna, 59, found the ballot to be too long and the letters too close to each other. Although she used her reading glasses to take a look at the ballot, she said it would be better if the letters were bigger.

Ricarido Bautista, 45, asked why people with disabilities have to be certified by a Comelec office to be handicapped just to allow the person to have a companion at the voting booth.

“The commission should have at least listed voters who had disabilities to spare them the hassle of proving their handicap,” he said.

Dionela explained that persons with disabilities who need to have companions when they vote have to prove to the election officer in their area of their handicap.

Sahijuan said yesterday’s demo had barely reassured him that the polls would go smoothly. He said he was hesitant about the new process but would still vote because “that’s my right and I don’t want it to go to waste.”

“I just hope the system would be further enhanced, but I believe automating the elections is the way to go,” he said.

More delays

In another field test in a remote village in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, on Thursday, it took nearly five hours for about 300 people to finish casting their ballots.

It also took more than an hour for the results to reach the provincial capitol in Koronadal City.

During the voting process, which started after 11 a.m., the machines encountered a slowdown, thereby delaying the process.

Jay Herada, the South Cotabato election supervisor, said the voting machine would regularly “pause” during the voting process, thereby delaying the printing of the results.

It was almost 5 p.m. when the mock balloting ended.

Herada blamed the delay in the transmission to a weak signal and bad weather.

He said there is a need to fine-tune the technical aspect of the automated voting such as changing the location of the machine to another area, where the signal would be stronger.

In Kidapawan City in North Cotabato, which was also one of the pilot-testing areas, the process went smoothly but observers raised the possibility of power failure on election day.

Election officer Diosdado Javier said the Comelec was coordinating with the power companies.

Soldiers to stop saboteurs

He said the military would also deploy soldiers to thwart saboteurs from attacking power lines.

If anything goes wrong, he said the machines are also equipped with an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system that will automatically operate in case of a power outage. - source: inquirer.net

Teodoro grilled on Arroyo ties

Gilbert Teodoro found himself in the hot seat at a youth forum Friday when he and other presidential candidates were asked whether they would make President Macapagal-Arroyo accountable for anything anomalous that happened in her administration.

At the forum at the De La Salle University (DLSU)-Manila campus, moderator Ted Failon asked the presidential hopefuls: “Is there something for which President Arroyo should be held accountable? How should she be made accountable?”

At first, Teodoro, the administration presidential candidate, hesitated to give an answer, saying his previous working relationship with the President bars him from doing so.

“Just think about it, if I participate (in efforts to prosecute her), people would say ‘lulutuin mo lang’ (you’ll just fix it.) If I don’t participate, people would say I did not work for justice,” said Teodoro, who resigned as defense secretary to run in the May elections.

“In the end, anyone with reason to file a case against her should just do it. I should not interfere,” he added.

Failon reminded Teodoro that he and seven other presidential candidates—Senators Benigno Aquino III, Richard Gordon, Jamby Madrigal and Manny Villar, Olongapo Councilor JC de los Reyes, environmentalist Nicanor Perlas and preacher Eddie Villanueva—were required to answer “yes” or “no” to the question.

The eight were guests at the ANC-Youth 2010 Boto Para Sa Pagbabago forum held on the DLSU campus on Taft Avenue in Manila.

Teodoro took a deep breath before answering.

Familiar turf

“If I say ‘yes,’ I might be accused of riding on the popular sentiment against a party mate and former boss in the Cabinet. If I say ‘no,’ I would be depriving myself of the objectivity I need as President,” he replied. Cheers erupted afterward.

That Teodoro was in familiar turf apparently helped. Teodoro is a DLSU alumnus.

Madrigal, who answered “a resounding ‘yes”’ when asked whether she would make Ms Arroyo accountable, was apparently unsatisfied with Teodoro’s answer.

In the portion where all candidates were allowed to ask each other questions, Madrigal asked Teodoro whether he would recognize his debt of gratitude (utang na loob) to Ms Arroyo.

“Utang na loob means paying goodness with goodness. But if it’s otherwise, nothing is worth staining my reputation,” Teodoro answered in Filipino and English.

“So, did the President shower you with goodness?” Madrigal retorted.

“If you are given goodness, you pay back with goodness,” he said.

Justice to victims

“But would you give justice to the victims of the administration? Or would you adhere to party loyalty?” Madrigal shot back.

“Justice should prevail,” Teodoro said. “We have a judicial process and it should be observed.”

Failon cut the discussion at this point.

Ms Arroyo has been accused of stealing the 2004 presidential election, of corruption, of human rights violations and of other scandals the latest and most notable being the NBN-ZTE $329-M deal which Ms Arroyo later aborted

Scandals

As expected, Teodoro’s rivals took turns lambasting Ms Arroyo, detailing the scandals that rocked her administration.

Aquino said the President should be made accountable for transgressions “because the people need closure.”

“The issue here is transparency … Whoever is guilty should be punished. Besides, we’re talking here of a very long list,” the Liberal Party standard-bearer said.

Perlas said Ms Arroyo’s “multitude of sins caused us so much shame as a country,” and should thus be made to face the consequences.

Commission to try GMA

Perlas said he planned to create a commission that would involve civil society groups to try Ms Arroyo.

“I would activate a different kind of people power to make this happen,” he elaborated.

Madrigal said the “Hello Garci” scandal was already enough proof that Ms Arroyo was willing to steal the people’s mandate to preserve her power.

[The scandal referred to the taped telephone conversations between then election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and a woman who sounded like Ms Arroyo who was inquiring how her lead in the 2004 presidential election could be preserved while the votes were still being canvassed. Ms Arroyo admitted she was the woman on the other end of the line and said sorry.]

Worse than plunder

“It was worse than plunder. Plus the human rights violations, the extrajudicial killings! The Maguindanao massacre! I would fire the defense secretary then,” Madrigal said, bringing the audience to laughter.

Villanueva said “collective wisdom” had already labeled Ms Arroyo the worst president.

“We suffer from gross misgovernance. The budget intended for education, health and livelihood went somewhere else. Once I become President, I will overhaul the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman because what we need now is absolute transparency,” he said.

Villar and the rest took a more sober stand on anomalies committed under the Arroyo administration.

“There are courts and if there are cases filed, I will not lift a finger to defend President Arroyo from any charges filed against her,” he said.

Gordon said his job as chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee had exposed him to many government irregularities.

“With the country having many problems, I would submit the blue ribbon findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ), give it one year to make recommendations and let the axe fall where it may,” Gordon said.

Councilor De los Reyes would also let the DOJ take center stage in prosecuting Ms Arroyo since he would have other responsibilities as President.

Loudest applause, scream

If Teodoro had any consolation, it was that he received the loudest applause and screams from the DLSU crowd.

During a break, loud shrieks were heard from the students in the balcony of the auditorium where the forum was held whenever Teodoro gazed upward, smiled and waved at the students.

Beatriz Tan, 19, a student of psychology and legal management, said she appreciated Teodoro’s way of “not answering a question directly but making you understand what he means.”

Sheena Maata, 17, described the Lakas-Kampi candidate as “a man of wisdom and integrity.”

Gordon also had his share of fans.

Students who stepped out of the auditorium noted he was “very charismatic,” “articulate” and “was able to say what he meant using very simple words.” - source: inquirer.net

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Edu Manzano won't bow out of VP race

Administration bet Edu Manzano has reiterated that he is not bowing out of the vice presidential (VP) race amid speculations that he might back out due to insufficient campaign funds.

Unlike his running mate, Gilbert Teodoro, and other administration candidates, Manzano has yet to release his own political advertisements, fueling speculations that he was already thinking twice about running under the banner of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

In his interview with ABS-CBN News during his and Teodoro’s visit to 2 universities in Bulacan Tuesday, the actor and former game show host finally put all speculations to rest.

For one, he would not give up his VP bid because he has already sacrificed much for his candidacy, he said.

“I still believe that he's (Teodoro) still the most competent and the most intelligent and has the most experience. Why would I leave my candidate like that? Walang iwanan at all,” he said.

Manzano was also not in a hurry to launch his political ads. He added that what’s important is for the people, especially the youth, to become aware of his platform of government.

“In the previous surveys, ang aking awareness rate is 100%. Kapag ako ang naglabas ng commercial ngayon, sayang lang sa pera. Let's wait for the actual campaign period [to start],” he added.

Despite his claim of high awareness rate, Manzano continued to perform poor in surveys.

In December 5-10 SWS survey, for instance, results showed that only 2% of the respondents would vote for the administration VP bet. Among the 5 VP contenders, Manzano ranked 4th.

From Bulacan, Teodoro and Manzano, meantime, are expected to visit universities in Metro Manila and Batangas.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Aquino-Villar rivalry heats up over survey

THE RIVALRY between the campaigns of front-runner Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and his closest opponent, Sen. Manuel Villar, has turned cut-throat with less than four months to go before the May 10 elections.

On Friday, the Villar camp alerted journalists to the results of a Social Weather Stations candidate preference survey apparently showing that Villar had cut down the lead of Aquino to eight percent, if the two were to be pitted in a one-on-one race.

If the duel is only between Aquino and Villar, the SWS said, the former’s 52 percent was “within striking distance” of Villar’s 44 percent, leading the Villar camp to crow that the latter was “regaining momentum.”

The “undecided” in this two-man race configuration was, however, pegged at 4 percent.

The survey, according to the SWS, also revealed that Aquino had lost his vote-rich bailiwick, northern and Central Luzon, to Villar. Aquino got only 31.33 percent while Villar took 41.33 percent in the region.

Mental dishonesty

Aquino immediately fired off a reaction, saying that the public was being misled.

Apart from the what-if, two-horse scenario, it appears that the results were from the same survey that the SWS conducted on Dec. 27 to 28, 2009, commissioned by Villar ally Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, and whose results were released by Villar’s office last Jan. 8.

In the results of that survey in which the names of eight presidential aspirants were included, Aquino polled 44 percent to Villar’s 33 percent. The latter’s lead narrowed to 11 percent.

Yesterday, Aquino accused the Villar camp of attempting to condition the minds of the public into thinking that Villar was actually catching up with him by releasing the results of the same “biased” survey it had commissioned repeatedly.

‘Illusion of bandwagon’

“It’s a sort of mental dishonesty when you release the results of the same survey in pieces just to show that there is a narrowing trend and create an illusion of a bandwagon for their candidate,” Aquino said in a phone interview.

He said the SWS survey commissioned by Zamora was being “milked” to show that he was losing his lead.

Aquino said that the release of the survey sub-sets could mislead the people into thinking that Villar was catching up on him.

“The survey had set a lot of conditions, such as one versus one or choose one of three, which is so far from the actual conditions. It’s hard to make conclusions out of these numbers,” he said.

Piecemeal release

NP spokesperson and senatorial candidate Gilbert Remulla said it was customary for survey results to be issued on a piecemeal basis.

“You release it one by one, do it little by little. Not for any other reason. Even SWS does that on a piecemeal basis because it is easier to digest. If you put out everything at the same time, what will happen is all the other details will be lost.”

Asked if the “one-on-one” survey was released to counter the bad publicity for Villar generated by the C-5 dispute in the Senate, Remulla said: “No, it was meant to be communicated that way. If the Liberals are trying to pass on as current the Dec. 9, 2009, survey, this one is definitely more relevant and current.”

Alerted by NP

Senate reporters were alerted to the SWS website about the results of the two-horse race scenario by a press statement from the Villar camp reacting to the survey.

The press statement quoted detained Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, an NP senatorial candidate, commenting that the survey had confirmed Villar’s supposedly regaining momentum.

“This means that more and more people are realizing that Villar is a good choice to run the nation,” Querubin said.

“It also shows that people want a leader who is compassionate and competent and not those who are uncaring and untested,” he said.

Sen. Manuel Roxas, Aquino’s running mate, said that “in whatever scenario, Noynoy is still No. 1.”

He said Aquino led by a “formidable 4 to 5 million votes in all scenarios explored.”

“The forces of reform as represented by Noynoy consistently prevail in whatever scenario they try to cook up,” he said.

In its website, the SWS said that “in view of sponsor-authorized releases of a commissioned survey, SWS is disclosing the survey’s pertinent results and technical details, for the benefit of the public.”

4 other scenarios

The question asked was: “Among the names found in this list, who will you probably vote for as President of the Philippines, if elections were held today?”

Four other scenarios were tested in the December 2009 survey.

From a list showing seven names of presidential contenders without deposed President Joseph Estrada, 49 percent chose Aquino, 38 percent went for Villar, 6 percent for Teodoro, 2 percent for Villanueva, and 1 percent each for Gordon and Madrigal, and 0.3 percent for JC de los Reyes.

From a list of seven names without administration candidate Gilberto Teodoro, Jr., the respondents chose Aquino (45 percent), Villar (35 percent), Estrada (14 percent), Gordon (2 percent), Villanueva, (2 percent), Madrigal (1 percent) and De los Reyes (0.4 percent).

From a list only showing Aquino, Teodoro and Villar, 50 percent chose Aquino, 40 percent went for Villar and 7 percent for Teodoro.

If the contest would be between Aquino, Estrada and Villar, 47 percent chose Aquino, 37 percent Villar and 14 percent Estrada.

Choices and Voices for 2010

Deposed President Joseph Estrada elicited the most laughs. Sen. Benigno Aquino III surprised with his eloquence. Senators Manuel Villar and Richard Gordon trumpeted their track records. Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro drew the most cheers from the women. And evangelist Eddie Villanueva said he was not beholden to anyone.

This was how six presidential candidates performed at a presidential forum, “Choices and Voices for 2010: An Encounter with the Presidentiables,” held Friday at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City.

The candidates tried to get on the good side of the Cebuanos, praising them for their fearlessness and entrepreneurial skills.

The Cebuanos responded with applause ranging from enthusiastic to polite.

Estrada elicited the most laughter when he asked moderator Bunny Pages that his “jingle” should not be taken out of his 3 minutes.

Estrada used up 1 minute and 30 seconds greeting the organizers and the sponsors. By the time he got around to answering the question, “Why should Cebuanos vote for you,” he had only 9 seconds left.

The audience was also amused when, asked how he proposed to end corruption in the country, Estrada quipped, “I’ve been there.”

Aquino surprised the audience with his eloquence, speaking smoothly without any awkward poses whenever he responded to a question.

A liberated zone

Villar and Gordon stressed their track records, while Aquino said he was one who kept his word no matter what.

Aquino also recalled his first visit to Cebu after the assassination of his father, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

“It seemed fear did not exist (in Cebu). Even if it was still martial law, I felt that the whole of Cebu was already a liberated zone,” he said.

He was warmly applauded when he thanked the Cebuanos for keeping his mother, President Corazon Aquino, “safe in 1986.”

Jesus Is Lord Movement founder Villanueva pointed out that his party, the Bangon Bagong Pilipinas, was the only party not beholden to any political, business or foreign power.

Teodoro, wearing a dark jacket over denim pants, was the obvious favorite of the women.

The audience also broke into enthusiastic applause when Teodoro said Cebu was a model for the rest of the country.

Teodoro wins mock polls

It was also Teodoro who came out the winner in the mock polls conducted at the forum.

Out of 935 votes cast, Teodoro got 456, Aquino a far second with 296, followed by Villar (88), Gordon (45), Villanueva (29), Estrada (19) and Perlas (2).

It was noted, however, that Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, a Teodoro supporter, had brought with her the administration mayors, their relatives and staff who vastly outnumbered the crowd brought by Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.

Only those inside the plenary hall where the forum was held were allowed to vote in the mock polls.

Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph and Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Eric Ng Mendoza said they were impressed with the way Gordon and Teodoro had answered the questions.

Still ‘great hope’

But Mendoza said he still felt that Aquino was “the great hope” of the country.

Both said they were “confused” about who to vote for.

The candidates entered the CICC plenary hall at the same time at exactly 4:30 p.m., followed by their entourages. Some were accompanied by their senatorial candidates.

Some 2,000 people filled the plenary hall, while another 1,500, made up mostly of the candidates’ supporters, were gathered at the summit hall where a video screen had been set up to allow them to watch the proceedings.

The forum was jointly organized by the province’s three major business chambers—the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and the Cebu Business Club (CBC)—and the Aboitiz Equity Ventures and the Visayan Electric Company (Veco).

Saturday, January 16, 2010

I shall not steal, vows Aquino

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has just sharpened the anticorruption jabs of his presidential campaign.

Explaining a new political ad in which he proclaims, “Hindi ako magnanakaw ( I will not steal),” Aquino told reporters here Friday that this meant he would “lead by example” and pursue a two-prong strategy to “put a stop to corruption” in the Philippines.

The Liberal Party standard-bearer said his formula involved the strict enforcement of anticorruption laws on one hand, and on the other, the provision of “sufficient means” for government employees to be able to fend for their families.

Aquino and his running mate, Sen. Manuel Roxas, were in town to attend the wake of Marciliano “Bong” Dizon, a coordinator of the Noynoy Aquino for President Movement who was gunned down by two men on Wednesday.

“We have good laws [that punish and prevent graft and corruption]. All we need to do is enforce those laws,” Aquino said.

A case in point, he said, was the P728-million fertilizer scam where the money was allegedly used for election spending. “This took place in 2004 but was only investigated in 2008. So when would the investigation and trial be over? A witness in the Senate has already been killed. So how can we ensure justice? When there’s wrongdoing, it should have an equivalent punishment through good prosecution supported by a fair judicial system,” he said.

The carrot side of the strategy, he said, was to provide sufficient means for government employees to fend for their families and give an education to their children.

On reports that his closest rival, Sen. Manuel Villar, had eaten into his lead, Aquino begged to disagree.

“What is clear to me is that while my opponent has placed many ads and I did otherwise, I still maintained a solid foothold,” he said, adding that he expected his lead to widen as the campaign deepened.

Aquino said his hectic provincial visits had greatly reduced his sleeping hours.

In La Union on Thursday, he and Roxas had their hands full with several invitations that ended with dinner at 11 p.m.

The next day, he said, they were up at 4 a.m. to make it to Tarlac, Aquino’s home province, and then to Pampanga.

He said that as a senator, he is used to working late hours but for health reasons, he makes sure to get four to five hours of sleep.

So will he be a sleepless president? His reply: “When it’s needed. But people who don’t sleep may not make sound decisions.”

Security concerns may slow down his campaign.

Of 20 security personnel he requested from the Philippine National Police, he said he got 10. “Only six are available for now. The four are due for training or reporting,” he said.

Aquino said he would campaign in 80 provinces within 90 days, covering a minimum of one province a day. At that rate, six security personnel would not be enough, he said.

“I will adjust to the system because that is what is allowed us,” he said.

On the statement of another presidential candidate, Sen. Richard Gordon, that the presidency cannot be bought or inherited, Aquino said he agreed with his colleague.

“But let us also say that principles can be inherited. An outlook to serve the people can also be inherited. Getting a sense of what’s right and wrong and what distinguishes the two are learned and inherited from parents,” he said.

The parents of Aquino are martyred Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who was killed as he returned from exile to lead the opposition against then dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and the late President Corazon Aquino, who beat Marcos and caused his ouster following the Edsa I Revolution.

“On the presidency, my father had said, ‘I can open the door for you but it is up to you if it will remain open.’ I ran in four elections and my door has remained open. For sure I have accomplishments to make that door open,” he said.