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Posted March 03, 2007 18:24:00(Mla Time)
Jerome Aning
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections on Friday approved the senatorial candidacies of 37 people, at the same time declaring 42 others as nuisance candidates.
In Resolution No. 7832, all six Commissioners voted to “give due course” to the certificates of candidacy filed by 34 people running under 13 registered political parties and three more running as independents.
Among those declared nuisance candidates were Danton Remoto, Theodore Aquino, as well as others described by the commission as “habitual filers,” namely Orlando Abitona, Eduardo Flaminiano, Gherry Guillergan, Daniel Magtira, Manuel Po, Francisco Tajanan, and Camilo Tiqui.
Those who made it to the official list, by political affiliation, were:
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan: Joselito Cayetano, Melchor Chavez, Antonio Estrella, Oliver Lozano, Eduardo Orpilla, Ruben Enciso, and Victor Wood
Nationalist People’s Coalition: Francis Joseph Escudero, Loren Legarda, Vicente Sotto III, and Tessie Oreta
Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan: Aquilino Pimentel III
Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats: Michael Defensor, Vicente Magsaysay, Cesar Montano, Prospero Pichay Jr., Ralph Recto, Luis Singson, and Juan Miguel Zubiri
United Opposition: Panfilo Lacson, John Henry Osme?and Antonio Trillanes IV
Liberal Party: Benigno Aquino III and Francis Pangilinan
Ang Kapatiran Party: Martin Bautista, Zosimo Paredes, and Adrian Sison
Aksyon Demokratiko: Sonia Roco
Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino: Joker Arroyo
Nacionalista Party: Alan Peter Cayetano, Manuel Villar Jr.
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino: Edgardo Angara
Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas: Jamalul Kiram III
Philippine Green Republican Party: Felix Cantal
Independents: Anna Dominique Coseteng, Richard Gomez, and Gregorio Honanan
Remoto is an Ateneo de Manila University professor and head of the gay group Ang Ladlad, which earlier failed to secure Comelec accreditation to participate in the party-list elections for the House of Representatives.
Theodore Aquino is a civil engineer and president of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in the United States. He is a distant cousin of Tarlac Rep. Benigno Aquino III.
The commissioners invoked the body’s power to determine whether or not a candidate is a nuisance, saying they were mindful of the dignity that must be accorded the office of a senator, the minimum qualifications set by the Constitution and electoral laws, the “magnitude of the responsibilities” of a senator, as well as the candidates’ capability to wage a nationwide election campaign.
“There are indications that various certificates were filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate had no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the certificate has been filed and thus prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate,” the resolution said.
The commissioners allowed Coseteng and Honasan, former senators, to run again in consideration of their “unquestionable political track records.” They noted Gomez’s being “a very popular actor” and the number of his prominent supporters as proof that he was serious in running for the Senate.
Those who did not make it to the list were told to appear on Monday at Comelec and to “show cause their certificates of candidacy should be given due course.”
In the resolution, Comelec also approved the substitution of Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla by Montano on February 19 and the withdrawal of lawyer Mario Ongkiko as Kapatiran candidate on February 22.
It also disapproved the UNO’s certificate of nomination for Coseteng, saying this was only brought before Comelec on February 16, beyond the filing deadline, which is not allowed under election law.
Comelec also reminded the candidates to submit their drug-test certificates as required by law, saying the law department will compile a list of those without certification on April 11 for eventual publication.
Comelec education and information director James Arthur Jimenez said the list, though official, was not yet considered final as the commission has yet to resolve disqualification cases involving the two Cayetanos and the two Aquinos.
“The list may still be modified depending on the outcome of the cases,” Jimenez said in a phone interview.
During the January 15-February 12 filing period, a total of 80 people went to the law department to file their certificates of candidacy for the 12 senatorial seats that would be vacated on June 30.
Originally posted at www.inquirer.net
Posted March 03, 2007 16:58:00(Mla Time)
MANILA, Philippines — Doctors and engineers, not soldiers, should be deployed in Metro Manila slums to “effectively win hearts and minds” of poor urban dwellers who are being targeted by communist organization efforts, said Senator Ralph Recto in a statement Saturday.
“Doctors in fatigues would be a most welcome sight in places where public health services are lacking. In these areas, disease is the enemy not dissidents,” he said.
“[Engineering battalions] can do civic action. They can build schools, drain canals, fix health centers, pave alleyways, and other activities that would give residents better infrastructure,” he added.
Recto was reacting to reports that soldiers are prowling urban-poor areas where alleged Communist agitation is taking place.
“I think they’d better bring in medicines than munitions. If there are no NPAs (New People’s Army rebels) to shoot at, then why not give vaccination shots to children instead?” he said.
“Mas mabuti siguro na martilyo at hindi M-16s ang dala (Bearing hammers is better than bearing M-16s),” Recto said.
The senator from Batangas who is seeking a second term under the banner of the administration’s Team Unity said that instead of spreading anti-Communist propaganda to dissuade residents from supporting militant party-list groups, military doctors and engineers would do well to teach hygiene and public health tips, or conduct reading lessons or adult education.
“Sa lugar na may dengue, maari silang maglecture kung paano puksain ang mga kiti-kiti (For instance, they should lecture on how to stop the growth of mosquitoes in those places with dengue),” he suggested.
Recto said this non-armed approach is the better way to address so-called threats to the state. “If reports are to be believed, the civic action approach in neutralizing insurgency has been proven effective in Sulu,” he said, referring to efforts by American soldiers in Mindanao to win the populace by building roads and schools, and conducting free clinics.
He said the two military hospitals in Metro Manila — the V. Luna Medical Center and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center — can be the sources of doctors and medicines.
Recto also said the military has a budget of P1.3 billion this year which, he added, the government can augment for free clinics in some Metro Manila villages.
Originally posted at www.inquirer.net
Posted March 03, 2007 16:31:00(Mla Time)
MANILA, Philippines — Opposition candidates must be given equal media exposure in two sequestered television networks, lawyer and opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said Saturday.
In an e-mail sent to media outfits, Pimentel said sequestered television networks Radio Philippine Network-Channel 9 and Intercontinental Broadcasting Network-Channel 13, as well as in the state-owned Nation Broadcasting Network-Channel 4 should adequately cover the campaign activities of senatorial candidates of the Genuine Opposition (GO).
He said “playing up only the activities of their administration counterparts” raises the suspicion that “their privatization has been purposely put on hold so that they can be used for propaganda purposes by Malaca? in this year’s mid-term elections.”
Pimentel, son of his namesake and incumbent Senate minority leader, asked the Arroyo administration why the sale of RPN-9 and IBC-13 to private investors has not materialized despite elaborate privatization scheme packaged by a reputable investment firm hired by the Privatization Management Office of the Department of Finance.
Based on the government’s timetable, the privatization of the two TV networks, which were sequestered about 20 years ago, should have been completed in 2006.
“The privatization of those stations must be pursued vigorously. In the meantime, we demand that the Genuine Opposition must be given equal time with the bets of the administration in RPN-9 and IBC-13,” the lone senatorial contender from Mindanao said.
“After all, these are sequestered firms that belong to the people until these are sold to private investors if not returned to their rightful owners.”
Originally posted at www.inquirer.net
Posted March 03, 2007 15:22:00(Mla Time)
Veronica Uy
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan on Saturday said the Constitution did not allow him to agree with the opposition’s proposal to view the election returns during the canvassing of results for the presidential and vice presidential 2004 elections.
Pangilinan, who was the Senate’s representative to the national board of canvassers, said doing so would have turned the canvassing board into the presidential electoral tribunal.
“This is not allowed under the Constitution,” he said in a statement e-mailed to media outfits.
“Delay then was one of many strategies employed by the opposition. They had succeeded in delaying the proceedings considerably considering that it took the board a month and a half before it finally proclaimed the winners of the 2004 elections,” he said.
Some sectors in the opposition, particularly actor Rex Cortez, have been campaigning against Pangilinan’s reelection bid for his having said “noted” every time the opposition questioned the certificates of canvass.
Although wooed by the Genuine Opposition (GO) to join its senatorial ticket, Pangilinan is seeking a second term as an independent candidate. GO has since dropped him from its roster of candidates.
Explaining the role that earned him the derisive title “Mr. Noted,” Pangilinan said when the opposition questioned 144 of the 177 certificates of canvass the first time, they “debated and discussed the law and the constitutional provision lengthily.”
“After which,” he added, “we had to note this same position of the opposition raised over and over for a total of 144 times. Not to simply note the position raised repeatedly would have meant that we would debate the same law and the same legal argument over and over 144 times.”
Agreeing with the opposition’s proposal that time, he said, would have caused undue delay in the proceedings.
“The Constitution provides that the canvassing board has no jurisdiction over electoral fraud because the task is given to the electoral tribunal. Our hands were tied by the Constitution,” he said.
“The opposition then had wanted us to violate the Constitution in order to address their grievances. It is like asking the police to convict an accused in his custody even if he has no authority to do so as the authority resides in our courts,” he added.
“In the end, we decided on a course of action with the Constitution as our sole guide, controversial though the decision may have been,” Pangilinan said.
Originally posted at www.inquirer.net
Posted March 03, 2007 14:16:00(Mla Time)
Joey A. Gabieta
TACLOBAN CITY — Twenty people, including an Army sergeant, have been arrested in Eastern Visayas since the imposition of the election gun ban last January 14.
Chief Superintendent Eliseo de la Paz, police regional director, said the arrest of the gun ban violators proves that law enforcers in the region are serious in their drive to check the proliferation of loose and unlicensed firearms.
“We don’t take into consideration the position of the person arrested. Otherwise, our campaign [to enforce the] gun ban related to the forthcoming elections would be a failure,” De la Paz said.
De la Paz identified the arrested Army sergeant as Segundo Sevillano, who was caught with a .45-caliber pistol at a checkpoint in Calbayog City on January 14. The soldier failed to prove he is exempted from the gun ban, De la Paz said.
He said the soldier and the 19 other gun ban violators — all civilians — have been charged with illegal possession of firearms in violation of Commission on Elections Resolution 7764.
Of the 20 people so far arrested, nine are from Leyte province and 11 from Samar province, which the police have identified as an area of concern in the May elections.
De la Paz said he expects more arrests, particularly in Samar, where guns are known to proliferate during elections.
Since the election season began, several killings have occurred in Samar province, including those of Daram Mayor Benito Astorga, who was gunned down last January 25 and Councilor Vivencio Yantos of San Jose de Buan who was killed on February 19.
On February 6, Vice Mayor Francisco Langi Sr. of Motiong escaped an attempt on his life.
Originally posted at www.inquirer.net
Posted March 03, 2007 08:19:00(Mla Time)
I was not surprised to hear that Manny Pacquiao would not pursue his political ambition over his boxing career. That’s good news!
However, this act also proves his incapacity to decide and stick to what he believes. It’s like getting into a boxing fight in which most of the decisions and strategies come from the coach. “With your strength and my strategy, we will win.” I wonder who said that is.
I personally do not doubt Manny’s intention to help the Filipino people. However, there are a lot of ways to do that.
I remember a respected host of a morning show who suggested that Manny should establish a foundation instead of getting into politics. Manny tactlessly responded: “Alangan namang galing na lang lagi sa sarili kong bulsa ‘yong pantulong ko” [The assistance I give can’t always come from my own pocket] — those may not be the exact words). That kind of reasoning is not enough for a person to run for office.
Last week, Manny got a high school diploma by passing an education department exam — and now he wants to become a congressman? That’s weird. Voters nowadays are more aware and informed about politics.
Everybody is asking if Manny knows something about lawmaking, or what could he say during congressional sessions if ever he gets elected. I bet his coach does!
I am one of the people celebrating Manny Pacquiao’s decision not to run for office. It is the most appropriate move for him to preserve his reputation and to spare his constituents from the intentions of people around him.
Everybody loves Manny Pacquiao as a boxing hero, and not as a politician.
MARK FRANCIS PARALLAG, Balili, Iba, Zambales (via e-mail)
Originally posted at www.inquirer.net
