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| REVIEWS AND OPINIONS |
The price of corruption
EDITORIAL – The price of corruption
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The budget secretary tossed the blame to the World Bank while the secretary of public works and highways said the government would push through with the affected road projects even without funding from the bank.... |
A LAW EACH DAY HELPS
Opinion
Useful conflict
A LAW EACH DAY (KEEPS TROUBLE AWAY) By Jose C. Sison
Monday, November 12, 2007
I am sure the silent majority is fervently wishing that the Enrile-De Venecia word war will escalate to greater intensity unlike the short-lived GMA-De Venecia feud that abruptly... |
Musharraf yields to pressure
Musharraf yields to pressure
General Pervez Musharraf's weekend declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan was yesterday unravelling fast in the face of furious domestic and international reaction. Elections are now to be held in January as scheduled and he said he will resign as army ch... |
PNP flip flop about Glorietta
EDITORIAL – Flip-flop
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
What do you know — the explosion at the Glorietta shopping mall might not have been an accident after all. Didn’t the chief of the Philippine National Police himself announce that methane and diesel fumes that had ... |
Philippines 'Family Business'
Opinion
EDITORIAL – Family business
Friday, November 2, 2007
Will there ever be a limit to the reach of political dynasties? This question must be asked if the nation wants to maintain a system of checks and balances, discourage corruption and strengthen democracy at the gra... |
Rich social lessons from Estrada pardon
Rich social lessons from Estrada pardon
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
Monday, October 29, 2007
“I’m not against pardon per se, I’m against the undue haste to grant it.” Thus Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio explains his objection to President Gloria Arroyo&... |
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| Highest alert for 1st b'gay polls in 6 years |
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Highest alert for first b’gay polls in 6 years
By Mayen Jaymalin
Monday, October 29, 2007
Police were placed on the highest security alert yesterday ahead of the nationwide barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, which authorities fear could be disrupted by communist guerillas supporting candidates in the polls, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said.
Over 51.3 million registered voters nationwide are expected to troop to 558,118 polling precincts set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) nationwide for the first ever barangay and SK elections in six years.
Two previous barangay and SK elections were suspended due to budgetary constraints.
For each of the 41,995 barangays, a voter will elect one chairman and six councilmen, and one SK chairman and six SK councilmen.
Ahead of the balloting, New People’s Army guerillas abducted a candidate for barangay captain in Basey town in Western Samar. The candidate, Elizabeth Gutierrez, who was abducted Wednesday, was running against a relative of a rebel commander, police said.
Suspected communist gunmen killed a former rebel also aspiring to become a barangay executive last Monday in Villareal town, also in Western Samar.
This, while acting Comelec Chairman Resurreccion Borra reported that over P355 million was allocated to ensure a peaceful conduct of today’s elections.
“The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has earmarked P255,151,000 for the Philippine National Police (PNP) and P100,000.000 for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the elections,” Borra said.
The funds that DBM released in its Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) issued to the PNP and the AFP would cover the budgetary requirements of the two agencies during the elections.
Borra announced the release of more than P400 million for the transportation allowance of teachers who will serve on election day.
Comelec, meanwhile, reiterated that all stores and establishments across the country are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages.
Hotels and establishments in areas frequently flocked by tourists should secure a written authority from the poll office before they are given exemption.
The liquor ban began last night and will end midnight tonight.
Malacañang, for its part, called on voters to vote for candidates with integrity.
Presidential Management Staff chief Secretary Cerge Remonde and Presidential Deputy Spokesman Anthony Golez, in separate interviews, also expressed optimism the polls would be generally peaceful and orderly.
President Arroyo is scheduled to proceed to her hometown in Lubao, Pampanga at around 10 a.m. today to vote.
Golez pointed out that personnel and government institutions, particularly the teachers, the PNP and the Comelec, who are responsible for maintaining honest and fair elections, are already in place.
Golez said that with all the systems in place, “all our people need to do is to go out and exercise their right to vote.”
“We are reminding everyone to choose those who have both the inclination and time to serve,” Golez said.
He said the polls are a very important political exercise because the barangay is the most basic form of government and in far-flung communities, barangay leaders are the only public officials that the local population deal with.
“We appeal to all concerned, especially to candidates and their supporters, to promote peace and reconciliation in this election,” Remonde said. “So vote according to your conscience.”
Election related violence
But the PNP had already recorded a total of 30 election-related violent incidents, only a few hours away from the opening of the polls.
Senior Superintendent Jose Gentiles, of the PNP’s directorate for operations, said nine incidents were recorded Saturday while 21 took place last Friday.
The incidents were recorded by the PNP from Sept. 29, the day the election period commenced, to Oct. 27.
Gentiles said the figure is lower compared to the 2002 barangay elections, where the number of election-related incidents reached 195 cases.
Gentiles said the latest election-related incident was reported in Lamitan, Basilan, where Michelle Manuel, the 17- year- old sister of an SK candidate, was assaulted on the way home after campaigning last Saturday.
Michelle was killed and her older brother, Joseph, who is the candidate, was injured in the attack.
Their father died of a heart attack upon learning of the incident.
“We expect violent incidents to rise and the PNP has prepared measures to preempt that,” he said, adding that police personnel would be deployed in more than 4,000 areas of concern to ensure the holding of a peaceful and orderly election.
Gentiles said the PNP would also help the Comelec in the retrieval of ballot boxes once they are summoned to do the job.
The PNP also said they would concentrate on ensuring peace and order in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, ARMM police director, said there are 120 barangays tagged as areas of immediate concern in the province of Lanao del Sur alone.
The ARMM police will be augmented by the military contingent in ensuring a peaceful election, especially in far-flung barangays.
But Goltiao is optimistic that today’s polls will be peaceful because of the strict supervision by both the PNP and the AFP.
The National Election Monitoring Action Center in Camp Crame has started overseeing the elections. PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. will immediately hold a press conference at 6 a.m. today to apprise the media of the PNP’s preparations in today’s election.
Razon has also ordered his regional directors to send their reports on the election situation in their areas of concern and in barangays controlled by the New People’s Army as soon as possible.
DepEd is ready, too
On the part of the Department of Education (DepEd), Undersecretary of legal affairs lawyer Franklin Sunga said the department has already set up a “command center” for the Election Task Force to receive complaints and other requests for assistance coming from teachers serving in the election.
“We are very much ready,” Sunga told The STAR of the department’s preparedness for today’s polls.
He said that similar task force units were set up in their different regional offices. He added that DepEd expects some 400,000 public school teachers to serve in today’s barangay and SK elections.
He said an effort jointly pursued with the Comelec to move for higher election duty pay for teachers, through a bigger budget allocation from DBM, failed.
Sunga said teachers only stand to get a P1,000 honorarium and a P500 transportation allowance, with a possible additional P500 honorarium if a teacher will also handle the SK count.
The pay could also increase by an additional P500 if teachers will have to work an extra day for any purpose.
‘Take down your campaign materials’
Meanwhile, a local waste and anti-pollution watchdog yesterday reminded aspirants in the synchronized elections to immediately take down their campaign materials right after the polls to acknowledge their responsibility to society and environment.
“Win or lose, all aspiring public servants should be responsible enough to clear the surroundings of all campaign discards as much as possible,” said Manny Calonzo, secretary of EcoWaste.
“All candidates should commit to removing all their campaign propaganda on Oct. 30 as an acknowledgement of their responsibility to the environment and society. Please take down your campaign materials without delay,” he added.
Today’s scheduled elections followed a nine-day extensive campaign in almost 42, 000 barangays nationwide, rendering the use of campaign materials such as posters, tarpaulins, and leaflets, among others, in order to convince voting public.
These campaign materials usually end up as garbage in the communities.
The EcoWaste likewise urged candidates to promote the creative use or recycling of election discards rather than resort to dumping or burning of the collected campaign materials so as not to add to the worsening pollution in villages.
The group stressed that haphazard disposal of campaign trash will definitely endanger public health and environment due to toxic pollutants contained in certain campaign paraphernalia.
“The candidates’ leadership and cooperation in conducting post-campaign cleanup regardless of their polling performance will surely enhance their public image as well as promote ecological values among community members,” Calonzo noted. – With reports from Paolo Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda, Katherine Adraneda, Non Alquitran, AP
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