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GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Jose Tolentino, the executive director of the Commission on Elections, Thursday said that the Smartmatic automated poll machine is incapable of detecting multiple registration of voters and “flying voters,” a case which led to the recent bombing in Marawi City.

“The automated machine cannot detect flying voters or multiple registrations of voters. The teachers manning the voting may check flying voters through the pictures of list of voters and the voters who will cast their ballots on election day,” he said.

In Davao City, groups concerned with the questionable processing of the automated election system (AES) also urged the Comelec to release the source code that is allegedly fraught with unreliable vote counting structure.

Rona Castillo, a fellow of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), bared in a press briefing Thursday that the 82,000 sets of poll machines have not yet undergone testing nor have arrived on time for such purpose.

Tolentino of the Comelec explained that the automated machine is not equipped with a gadget or software to detect flying voters, although a bill is pending in Congress to enable a verification of voters through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

In the Marawi City incident, a resident of Lanao del Norte died while several others, including minors, were injured when an explosion hit a line of people who were queuing to register as voters in the city’s Comelec office.

Police and Army troops led by Brig. Gen. Rey Ardo, 401st brigade commander, later found out that most victims of the blast caused by a hand grenade were not local residents but were from Lanao del Norte who tried to register as flying voters in Marawi City.

The discovery of the dubious scheme to register flying voters after the deadly grenade bombing has led to the relief of the Comelec registrar of Marawi City to ensure the dignity of registration of voters, a move welcomed by Lanao del Sur Gov. Bombit Adiong.

In Taguig City, a dubious discovery of almost 700 centenarians in the city’s voters’ list has also raised concerns about the integrity of the computerized registration of voters.

Tolentino emphasized that the automated machines are basically designed to do computerized counting of ballots in the fastest way to void attempts to cheat in the counting as experienced in previous elections.

Smartmatic personnel, the Information Communications Technology Solutions Association of Region 12 and Central Mindanao Comelec officials led by regional director Mike Abbas held a day-long information drive in Robinson’s Place Gensan on the automated elections to demonstrate the capacity of the electronic machines to count ballots.

Smartmatic personnel demonstrated the machine’s high speed capability of electronic counting of ballots, the machine’s battery which can last for several hours and its capability to operate using car or truck batteries should a power outage occur.

Tolentino and Smartmatic officials also assured the public that the software of the automated machine cannot be hacked as it will reject any alien entry to penetrate the software.

Abbas stressed that Smartmatic holds the technology for automated elections but it is the Comelec which runs the technology, operate, supervise and control the computerized machine.

However, CenPEG in Davao reiterated that Comelec left the AES untested and is fraught with at least 30 vulnerabilities and weak spots ranging from ballot printing, the lack of a source code review, to unreliable infrastructural systems and imminent power and telecommunication transmission failures.

Among the 30 vulnerabilities, Castillo said the source code is the most critical since the counting of the votes would rely on the software to be used by AES.

“How will we know if the program used is correct and whether it is secured or not?” she said.

To put teeth to their advocacy, Castillo said their group has filed a petition of mandamus before the Supreme Court last October 5 to compel the Comelec to release the source codes.

But in a statement published on its website (comelec.gov.ph), Comelec said it recently selected SysTest Labs of Colorado, USA to review and certify the source code of the AES pursuant to provisions of RA 9369 Sec. 9.

“SyTest laid out a multi-faceted approach to detail system integration and the functional artifacts for testing the AES in various load and stress situation. SysTest specified areas of review and validation which include security of public fading devices, error notification, associated recovery aspects, apart from auditing capabilities,” the Comelec said.

Miguel Avila of the Smartmatic-TIM Corporation had earlier assured that their machines are “stand alone” and could not easily be hacked even by technology-savvy people. He added that the 128-bit system is virtually hack-proof and could not be successfully hacked.

Both EBF and CenPEG conducted an AES voters’ education orientation last November 3, which gathered around 20 religious leaders comprised of nuns, bishops and pastors.

“This is a very challenging task for us, poll watchers, because the counting of votes would become invisible to the naked eye,” said Sr. Elsa Compuesta of the Sister’s Association in Mindanao. – mb.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines—Opposition Sen. Francis Escudero Wednesday rearranged the political landscape ahead of the May 2010 elections by resigning from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), the party founded by business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr.

“I am leaving my party because I believe that I can fulfill the role that I am bound to play in connection with the coming elections … not as a member of any party or a companion of any person, but as just me,” Escudero announced at the historic Club Filipino in San Juan City.

The announcement came after Escudero failed to convince Cojuangco, NPC chair emeritus and chair of San Miguel Corp., to bankroll his presidential candidacy in talks early this week.

“This should be the first test of leadership of any putative candidate—for him to decide on his own and take full responsibility for the decision whether or not to run and what position to run for,” Escudero said at a press conference.

But to the consternation of his mostly young supporters who turned up at Club Filipino despite the belated advisory, the lawmaker from Bicol deferred the announcement of his plans for the 2010 elections.

Escudero asked his supporters to give him time to decide what to do next. “I will freely decide on my own, just give more time because it’s only now that I can rest from all of these.”

But Escudero did not leave the NPC—the party that carried him to victory since he run for representative of Sorsogon in 1998—without unloading his frustrations.

“Whoever will run or will become president of the country can’t fulfill all the things that he should do … when his hands and feet are shackled, his eyes are blindfolded and mouth gagged,” he said in Filipino.

Dictates of single group

“And he can’t decide on the basis of the dictates of the interest of a single group, party or person,” Escudero said.

Escudero’s decision to abandon ship left the NPC without a standard-bearer a month before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy.

This took everyone by surprise, causing party mates to convene an emergency meeting at the NPC Clubhouse in New Manila sudivision, Quezon City, hours after Escudero’s announcement.

Open to all options

In his speech at Club Filipino, Escudero wasn’t clear if he would still throw his hat into the ring.

However, he said, when asked later by a reporter, that he was ready to “serve in a higher capacity.”

He denied that there was a simmering tension between him and Sen. Loren Legarda, an NPC member seeking the vice presidency. “I have no problems with Loren,” he said.

Asked if he could slide down to the vice presidential post, Escudero said: “I’m open to all options.”

Rise to national prominence

Elected to the Senate in 2007 after serving three terms as minority leader in the House of Representatives, Escudero, who turned 40 on Oct. 10, has three more years left in his six-year term.

His rise to national prominence followed his pivotal role as leader of two of the four impeachment drives against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

His charisma and debating prowess as a lawyer—captured by national TV every time he stood on the floor of the House—were attributes which endeared him to the youth.

His election in 2007 also saw the rise to the upper chamber of three House colleagues—opposition Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, and administration ally Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.

No party affiliation

Escudero cited three reasons for the surprise announcement before a jampacked crowd of allies and supporters, who include the group identified with the late opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. and detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

“Whoever is planning to run for president of the country should have no allegiance to any party—NPC, LP, PMP, Lakas or whatever. The party that anyone is aspiring to run under should be none other than the Philippines, and his party mates should be all Filipinos,” Escudero said, drawing applause from the crowd.

He pointed out that only a united citizenry, and not a single party or group, could solve the many deep-seated problems of the country.

Parties obstacles to change

Second, he said political parties had become obstacles to genuine and meaningful change.

If a presidential candidate is beholden to his party, “how can he make crooked government officials accountable if he belongs to the same party?” Escudero said.

“I want to prove to you and to myself that I am doing this for the right reason, not for any interest. Not for just anyone, but for you and for the motherland,” he said.

Lacson, Grace Poe

A member of Escudero’s inner circle told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Escudero was considering a presidential candidacy as an independent, but several of his campaign strategists raised the possibility of running in tandem with either Sen. Panfilo Lacson or Poe’s daughter Grace Poe.

Ping’s role

Rumors that Escudero had already joined forces with Lacson seemed to have been validated when Banayo, Lacson publicist, showed up at Club Filipino.

Banayo, who joined Escudero’s camp two months ago, confirmed to reporters that Escudero called up Lacson minutes before his announcement Wednesday.

Lacson, however, had earlier said he was supporting the presidential bid of Senator Aquino.

The absence of NPC stalwarts at Club Filipino proved that all was not well within the party.

Neither Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco (a son of the NPC emeritus chair), who was present at the announcement of Legarda’s vice presidential bid on Friday, nor party chair Faustino Dy, president Frisco San Juan and secretary general Jack Duavit were present.

Besides his young supporters, only Escudero’s close friend, An-Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel, and former PNP chief Avelino Razon, who as a new NPC recruit is gunning for the mayoral seat of Manila, turned up to join Escudero in what could be one of his saddest moments in his political career.

Agonized over decision

“It was a very painful decision for him. But in the end, it was a decision that had to be made because his brand of politics—people politics—would eventually contradict party politics,” Banayo, Escudero’s campaign manager and strategist, said after Escudero left the hall.

Banayo said it was a decision that Escudero had “agonized” over in the past weeks and months.

“Chiz did not want to be saddled by the compromises that go with party politics. To be able to institute genuine change and reforms in this country, one must find the courage to go beyond party politics. What he will do now is bring his platform of change directly to the people, especially the youth,” he said. – Inquirer.net

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Businessman Roy Chiongbian, brother of third termer and outgoing Rep. Erwin Chiongbian, has announced that he is running for the lone congressional district of Sarangani against popular boxing champion Manny Pacquiao next year.

Chiongbian officially declared Friday his candidacy for the 2010 polls under the Sarangani Reconciliation and Reformation Organization (Sarro) Party, the local party founded by his late father, Rep. James L. Chiongbian and his mother, former Gov. Priscilla L. Chiongbian.

Sarro is allied with the the administration Lakas-Kampi Christian-Muslim Democrats Party.

“Let me confirm to you right here and right now that with the help of God, yes, I am definitely running for Congress in Sarangani,” said Chiongbian in his declaration speech before a crowd of supporters from the political and business communities in his family’s Lagao residence here.

He said he will continue the legacy started by his parents who brought development to Sarangani with their hallmarks of good governance.

He said he saw the results of the projects implemented by his parents and understood that there’s really a need to sustain them.

“I see that there is still a lot that can be done to improve the quality of life of our fellow Sarangans in education, health, agri-development, and peace and order,” he said.

Sarangani Governor Migs Dominguez, a Sarro party-mate of Chiongbian and a key figure in the Lakas-Kampi CMD Party, asserted that Sarangani needs sincere service for the people which could be attained through partnerships with Chiongbian.

The Chiongbian-Dominguez tandem would present a formidable fight to the Pacquiao-Juan Domino alliance in Sarangani in next year’s gubernatorial and congressional elections.

Pacquiao is reportedly ready with a huge P400 million budget to ensure that his popularity is converted into votes in the forthcoming polls following his defeat to Rep. Darlene Antonino Custodio in the 2007 elections for the first congressional district of South Cotabato.

“Gusto po nating ipagpatuloy ang sinserong serbisyong may dignidad, prinsipyo at pagmamahal sa tao through effective partnerships. The only person who can continue these partnerships is Congressman Roy Chiongbian,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez stressed that people must stand with their principle for peace and unity in the province.

Vice Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, a nephew of Chiongbian, also confirmed how the programs of the province became successful with the teamwork he has with Governor Dominguez.

“We need synergy and I believe that synergy among us – Governor Dominguez and Roy Chiongbian and me – is very, very good. With our teamwork, I see that three years from now, Sarangani will grow faster and more efficient compared in the past,” Solon said.

MANILA, Philippines – The possible tandem of Senators Manuel “Manny” Villar and Loren Legarda for 2010 took shape Saturday as he closed the door on a teamup with Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, the administration standard-bearer.

With Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno pulling out of the vice presidential race, the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD was pressing Legarda to form a tandem with Teodoro.

To sweeten that offer, the ruling party said it was not averse to coalescing with Legarda’s party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition. It’s actually the NPC’s decision, according to Lakas-Kampi-CMD secretary general Gabriel Claudio.

“She continues to be a viable, desirable running mate to Gibo. That is certainly open and seriously considered by the party,” Claudio said by phone on Friday night.

But Legarda is not biting.

“With due respect, gratitude and admiration for Gibo, I hope that he can share my advocacy and platform … even as I stay with the opposition,” she told the Inquirer yesterday on the phone.

Asked about the chances of a teamup with Villar, the standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Legarda said:

“I am quietly, deeply reflecting on who could best help me accomplish my goals for the people.

“I will only consider it if he accepts my platform on sustainable development, good governance and climate change adaptation, and priority on migrant workers, which is so close to my heart.”

Legarda had earlier revealed that she was being courted by Villar, Teodoro, and Senator Francis Escudero, the presumptive standard-bearer of the NPC.

Same advocacies

Villar could not be reached on the phone.

Sought for comment, NP spokesman Gilbert Remulla heaped praise on Legarda, saying she was “an advocate of the same issues and programs that Senator Villar has been pursuing for the last two decades, which are OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and the environment.”

“Her politics is only secondary to her advocacies, and that is the basis of a true leader,” Remulla said.

Legarda declared her intention to run for vice president at a press conference that followed a Friday rally at the Rizal Park where she launched her “green” candidacy. But she did not say whether she would run under her party, and who she would be running with.

Hours earlier, Puno announced that he would no longer run in tandem with Teodoro in order to focus on the rehabilitation of areas devastated by the recent back-to-back storms.

Legarda said she found Teodoro “intelligent and a man with integrity.”

“Amid the call of the times due to the recent typhoons, it’s not easy to be defense secretary, doing the work of an NDCC [National Disaster Coordinating Council] head while trying to campaign [for president],” Legarda said.

She said that despite her decision not to team up with Teodoro, they would still find a reason to work together in pursuit of her advocacies.

Escudero spurned?

Lakas-Kampi-CMD had been holding talks with Legarda for her to run with Teodoro under its banner. It is to hold a national convention on November 12 where Teodoro, his running mate and senatorial candidates are to be proclaimed.

There are reports that NPC chairman emeritus Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco has changed his mind about bankrolling Escudero’s presidential candidacy.

If the reports are true, these would free Legarda and clear the way for a coalition between Lakas and the NPC for the 2010 polls, said Claudio, who advises President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on political matters.

“It was previously presumed that NPC would have its own candidate for president. There’s a lot of speculation – indication that Senator Escudero just might not be endorsed by the party itself. So that gives rise to the prospects of a Lakas-NPC coalition,” Claudio said.

Only weeks ago, the Escudero-Legarda tandem appeared to be a done deal, with the two senators starting to map out their national campaign strategy.

Escudero was to have announced his presidential run early this month.

But in a surprise move, he deferred his announcement, purportedly in deference to the rescue and relief operations for typhoon victims.

Ball in NPC court

Claudio said the ruling party had no objection to a coalition with NPC, which, if formalized, could be the institutional basis for “a Gibo-Loren tandem.”

Party officials had described the tandem as “a potent combination.”

“[But] this is something we can’t decide unilaterally,” Claudio said.

Yesterday, he sent this text message: “The ball is in NPC’s court.”

Claudio said it was the League of Provinces of the Philippines that had endorsed the Teodoro-Legarda tandem as a condition for the coalition of the ruling party and the NPC.

There is a “rainbow coalition” of Lakas, Kampi, NPC and other parties in the House of Representatives, but none has been forged at the national level.

On the other hand, an NP stalwart said negotiations were ongoing for an NPC-NP alliance.

One issue being resolved is Legarda’s request to stay with the NPC in deference to Danding Cojuangco, said the source, who is privy to the talks but asked not to be named for lack of authority from Villar to discuss the matter publicly.

The NP stalwart admitted that the Villar camp was engaged in one of its most vital negotiations to defeat the Liberal Party tandem of Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel “Mar” Roxas.

Vilma et al.

As for Batangas Governor Vilma Santos running for vice president under the administration banner, Claudio said the ruling party had yet to get “a formal declaration of availability or non-availability” from her.

“No truth to that,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said over the state-run dzRB. “Somebody told me – I think it was Gabby [Claudio] – that there’s nothing definite about Vilma. Somebody just floated the idea that she could run as VP.”

If the party fails to get Legarda, or even Santos, to team up with Teodoro, it can fall back on its allies, Claudio said.

He named some of them as Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, both Lakas-Kampi-CMD members, and Tourism Secretary Ace Durano of the NPC.

“If [the NPC] will not allow Senator Legarda to be Gibo’s running mate, Lakas-Kampi will proceed to field somebody from its own ranks, where other excellent materials for vice president, can be drawn,” he said.

Popular VP candidate

A ranking Lakas-Kampi-CMD executive conceded that if the administration’s problem was Teodoro’s low popularity, “then obviously we will go for a popular vice presidential candidate.”

He said the administration actually had “a stable of ‘vice presidentiables.’”

To those named by Claudio he added business leader Manuel V. Pangilinan and actor and TV host Edu Manzano.

He cited Pangilinan’s “financial clout and muscle,” Garcia’s “Visayan bailiwick” and Manzano’s “celebrity appeal.”

But a governor from the Visayas said both Garcia and Durano had refused the offer to become Teodoro’s running mate.

Revilla is said to prefer the senatorial race where he is practically a sure winner, if recent survey results are any indication.

Inquirer.net

After Estrada declared his presidential bid, constitutional experts and legal experts continue the debate on the legitimacy of his impending candidacy. GMANews.TV file photo

A day after former President JosephA day after former President Joseph Estrada announced that he is taking another shot at the presidency, another round of debate on the legitimacy of his plan has erupted among constitutional experts and legal luminaries.

How often can one become president of the Philippines? Can Estrada — 13th Philippine president, impeached in Congress, ousted through a popular uprising, convicted of plunder and granted pardon by his successor — run for the position again?

Round 1: Eligibility for re-election

Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution states that, “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”

Dean Amado D. Valdez of the University of the East College of Law interprets this constitutional provision as a restriction against the following from seeking re-election: incumbent presidents, and those who have finished the six-year term as prescribed in the 1987 Constitution.

Estrada does not fall under the two categories, Valdez said.

“The incumbent is not allowed to seek re-election, to avoid his misuse of government resources – that was the concern of the Constitution’s drafters,” Valdez said in Filipino in an interview on Wednesday.

His opinion was echoed by Estrada’s lawyer, Jose Flaminiano, a former regional trial court judge.

Flaminiano said the constitutional ban on re-election (”The President shall not be eligible for any re-election”) only applies to incumbent presidents.

But election lawyer Romulo Macalintal and former Commission on Elections chair Christian Monsod do not agree with Valdez and Flaminiano.

Macalintal, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s lawyer, said the two were mistaken in interpreting the constitutional provision on the reelection ban for presidents.

He said the restriction applies to anyone who was elected president – regardless of whether they are incumbent or have been elected in the past.

“Mukhang malabo iyan dahil ang isang nahalalal na pangulo ay di na maaaring tumakbong muli (Estrada’s bid might not prosper because anyone elected to the presidency cannot seek any reelection at all),” he said in interview with GMA’s Unang Hirit.

For Monsod, a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission (ConCom) that drafted the 1987 Constitution, an elected president gets only “one shot at the presidency.”

In an interview on dzBB radio, Monsod explained that in 1986, the ConCom delegates initially intended the provision to be: “The President shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.” This was to prevent incumbent presidents from using their power and resources to seek another term in office, according to Monsod.

But after deliberations, the ConCom decided to adopt the amendment proposed by former Senator Ambrosio Padilla, which stated, “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election.” According to Monsod, this covers any elected president, incumbent or not.

Thus, a portion of the Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution now reads, “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election.”

According to Monsod, Estrada cannot run “at anytime in this lifetime” because of such constitutional ban.

Even Fr. Joaquin Bernas, dean emeritus of the Ateneo School of Law and another ConCom delegate, has been quoted as saying that the Charter explicitly prohibits a president from seeking re-election, which means “either election immediately after a term or election even after some interruption.”

Round 2: Failing to complete full term

The second argument raised by Valdez and Flaminiano is that Estrada could run again because he was not able to finish his six-year term (The second portion of Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution says, “No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”)

Estrada’s camp argues that the ousted leader can run again because his term was cut short to less than three years following the January 2001 “Edsa II” uprising.

“Hindi natapos yung term ni Erap. He did not serve for more than four years so he is not disqualified to run,” Flaminiano said.

But for Monsod, this particular constitutional ban applies to those who succeeded the presidency who have not served for more than four years. He said Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who succeeded Estrada in January 2001, was qualified to run for president in 2004 because the remainder of Estrada’s term that she served was less than four years.

Monsod said the prohibition does not apply to Estrada, who was an elected president, not a successor.

Estrada’s camp also argues that the Arroyo government from 2001 to 2004 was illegitimate because Estrada did not resign. This is, however, contrary to a Supreme Court ruling in March 2001.

According to the SC ruling, Estrada abandoned his office and this constitutes resignation. “Abandonment of office is a species of resignation, and it connotes the giving up of the office although not attended by the formalities normally observed in resignation,” read the concurring opinion given by retired justice Jose Vitug.

Macalintal explained that Estrada’s power was not clipped from him via the second People Power Revolution. Instead, he resigned when he relinquished his power and abandoned his office to give way to then Vice President Arroyo.

Monsod said that as far as he is concerned, the ruling was “final and executory that is part of the law of the land.”

Round 3: Conditional pardon vs Absolute pardon

Former President Estrada holds back his tears as he waves to journalists after his conviction by the Sandiganbayan in 2007. GMANews.TV file photo

Another bone of contention is whether the executive clemency President Arroyo granted to Estrada in 2007 forbids him from running again.

On Sept. 12, 2007, the Sandiganbayan convicted Estrada of plunder. But barely a month later, on October 25, Mrs. Arroyo pardoned Estrada, subsequently restoring his political and civil rights.

A portion of Mrs. Arroyo’s order granting Estrada pardon reads: “Whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has publicly committed to no longer seek any elective position or office.”

In an earlier report, Estrada’s former lawyer Allan Paguia and presidential chief legal counsel Raul Gonzalez said Estrada’s pardon was conditional. That is, Mrs. Arroyo granted him pardon on the condition that he would not run again.

But Estrada’s camp insists that President Arroyo gave an absolute pardon.

“Legally, it is plain that the pardon granted was an absolute [one] and not a conditional pardon,” said Margaux Salcedo, Estrada’s spokesperson.

The final battleground: Supreme Court

Estrada’s announcement last Wednesday does not make him an official candidate yet. Only when he files his certificate of candidacy between November 20 to 30 would his presidential bid be formalized.

Despite what could seemingly be a roller-coaster ride of arguments, it is highly likely that those questioning the legitimacy of Estrada’s bid would elevate the matter to the Supreme Court.

Monsod said he is confident that the high tribunal will put its foot down on Estrada’s ambitions.

“The Supreme Court will read the constitutional provision and read the proceedings of the Constitutional Commission. They can only come to one conclusion that he (Estrada) cannot run for any re-election,” he said. - GMANews.TV