Comelec proclaims 28 winning party-list groups - Eleksyon 2010 - GMANews.TV

MARCOSES COME CLOSE TO FULL CIRCLE
Alexander Martin Remollino

With three of them now holding elective posts -– including one senator -– the Marcoses have come close to full circle.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the only son of the ousted president, was among the new senators-elect proclaimed last May 15, five days after the country's first automated elections. His mother, Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, is the new representative of Ilocos Norte's second district. His sister, Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos, is Ilocos Norte's new governor.

Forced into exile in Hawaii on the heels of the 1986 People Power uprising, the Marcoses were allowed to return in 1991.

This is not the first time since 1992 that any of the remaining Marcoses were able to hold elective offices.

Imelda was elected representative of her native Leyte's first district in 1995.

Bongbong represented Ilocos Norte, his father's home province, from 1992 to 1995. He subsequently served as Ilocos Norte's governor for three terms. In 2007 he was reelected as the province's second-district representative.

Imee was Ilocos Norte's second-district representative from 1998 to 2007.

This, however, is the first time all three of them are holding elective posts at the same time. While it is not quite yet the time for them to sing “Happy Days Are Here Again,” all it would take for a complete reversal of 1986 is for one of them to become president... READ FULL ARTICLE AT PHILIPPINE ONLINE CHRONICLES OR AT LA INDYMEDIA

WONDERLANDS
Alexander Martin Remollino

Alice in Wonderland cries and creates
a sea of tears,
where she swims and meets a Mouse
and other animals.
They later meet on the bank... READ FULL POEM

KA BEL: HUWARANG LIDER NG SAMBAYANAN
Alexander Martin Remollino

Kahapon ang ikalawang anibersaryo ng kamatayan ni Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran.

Noon at ngayon ma’y isang huwaran si Ka Bel sa lahat ng nagnanais na maging lider ng bansa... BASAHIN ANG BUONG ARTIKULO

THE NEW SENATORS-ELECT AND PEOPLE'S ISSUES
Alexander Martin Remollino

The line-up of 12 new senators-elect who will serve until 2016 is now complete. As nationally elected legislators, they will play prominent parts in crafting national policy for the next six years.

What are we to expect from the newly elected senators? A look at their track records, or previous positions on people's issues, and their platforms of government would be instructive.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had been able to proclaim nine senators-elect last May 15, five days after the country's first automated elections. They are Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Franklin Drilon, Juan Ponce Enrile, Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Ralph Recto, and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

Three days later, the Comelec was able to proclaim the remaining three senators -- Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, and Teofisto “TG” Guingona III.

During the run-up to the elections, the Pagbabago! People's Movement for Change -– a group advocating socio-political and economic reforms -– had assessed several of the senatorial candidates based on its People's Criteria, which cover five issues: truth, accountability, and justice; economic progress and the environment; people's welfare; sovereignty, peace, and equality; and love of country. Pagbabago released its findings to the media a week before the elections.

This is an opportune time to review the People's Criteria that Pagbabago put forward and take a look at how the 12 senators-elect weighed against these... READ FULL ARTICLE AT PHILIPPINE ONLINE CHRONICLES OR AT LA INDYMEDIA

YOU HAVE REFUSED TO SEAL YOUR LIPS
Alexander Martin Remollino

You have refused to seal your lips --
knowing that each time you tell your tale,
you speak out for all those voices... READ FULL POEM

MCKINLEY DID NOT CIVILIZE THESE ISLANDS
Alexander Martin Remollino

McKinley did not civilize these islands:
their people had just fought fiercely for freedom
when his uniformed beasts
planted the Stars and Stripes on their soil... READ FULL ARTICLE

NOTES FOR A POETRY WORKSHOP, BY WAY OF A POEM
Alexander Martin Remollino

A poem is the smallest package
containing the biggest things... READ FULL POEM

PHILIPPINES: INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF AUTOMATED POLLS URGED
Alexander Martin Remollino

Quezon City -- A group advocating political and socio-economic reforms has called for an independent audit of the May 10 elections, the first automated elections in the Philippines' history.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had declared the May 10 elections a success, even as it acknowledged the numerous problems that had arisen during election day.

"I'm smiling again," Comelec chairman Jose Melo told reporters in a press conference on Monday. "It was successful. I will add the 'very' part later."

But the Pagbabago! People's Movement for Change has disputed Melo's assessment, citing the Comelec's own admission that there are discrepancies between the electronic election returns and their printed versions. The discrepancies affect some 150,000 voters from 196 precincts in different provinces... READ FULL ARTICLE

PHILIPPINES: WATCHDOG URGES POLL BODY TO COMPLETE RESULTS TRANSMISSION
Alexander Martin Remollino

Quezon City -- An election monitoring group has urged the Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) to complete the transmission of election results.

In a press conference here earlier today, Kontra Daya conveners said delays in the canvassing of votes could put the credibility and integrity of the counting in question.

The 2004 and 2007 elections were marred by allegations of massive fraud. The automation of Philippine elections failed to ease fears that fraud can still be committed.

Around 10 percent of precinct results have yet to be transmitted to the Comelec. Also, as of early last night, the National Board of Canvassers had been able to process only 60 out of 274 certificates of canvass... READ FULL ARTICLE

PHILIPPINES' NOYNOY CAN'T YET REST ON HIS LAURELS
Alexander Martin Remollino

Manila -- The Liberal Party's Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, the leading presidential candidate, seems set to become the Philippines' next president.

Based on the results of the unofficial Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)-GMA 7 count as of 1:10 pm today, reflecting 89.46 percent of election returns, Aquino enjoys a lead of almost 5 million over his closest rival, Joseph Estrada.

But he cannot yet rest on his laurels. There is someone he has to face who could pose a major challenge to his rule... READ FULL ARTICLE

WHO IS USING THE HACIENDA LUISITA 'CONTROVERSY' AS A TOOL FOR POLITICS?
Alexander Martin Remollino

When I interviewed 32-year-old Maribel Valdez on Nov. 16, 2009, during the fifth anniversary of what is now known as the Hacienda Luisita Massacre, she was not saying national candidates and "left-leaning groups" were using the issue as a "black propaganda ploy" against Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, the Philippines’ leading presidential candidate, whose family claims ownership of the 6,453-hectare land encompassing several villages in Tarlac. She was not saying she and her family were "beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita."

Hacienda Luisita was, in late 2004, the scene of a bloody confrontation arising from its supposed owners’ refusal to grant farm and mill workers’ demands for higher wages and additional work days, hospital benefits, and land redistribution. Seven strikers –- Jesus Laza, Jhaivie Basilio, Juancho Sanchez, Jessie Valdez, Jun David, Jaime Pastidio, and Adriano Caballero –- lost their lives on Nov. 16 that year, when a combined police and military contingent fired upon the picket line. A hundred and eighty-one more were wounded.

Maribel was pregnant with their fourth child when her husband Jessie was killed. During our interview, she said she had become the sole breadwinner for herself and the children, earning a living by planting rice in her native Isabela, where they moved shortly after the massacre... READ FULL ARTICLE

PHILIPPINES: PRESIDENTIAL SON IS ABOVE POLL LAWS
Alexander Martin Remollino

In the Philippines, being a presidential son allows you to be a party-list nominee without possessing any of the qualifications for being one.

Or at least that is what is shown by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling dismissing the disqualification petitions filed by senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza and the party-list group Bayan Muna against presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo.

Arroyo is running for a seat in the House of Representatives as the first nominee of Ang Galing Pinoy Partylist (AG), which claims to represent security guards, tricycle drivers, and small businessmen. Ocampo, Maza, and Bayan Muna have sought his disqualification, arguing that Arroyo does not represent the marginalized and underrepresented sectors that AG claims to represent... READ FULL ARTICLE AT LA INDYMEDIA OR AT ASIANCORRESPONDENT.COM

KAHEL
Alexander Martin Remollino

Tila hindi bibitiw sa baril ang mga daliri ni Nonoy kahit na pukpukin ng maso.

Buo na ang kanyang kapasyahan: aasintahin niya ang ulo ni M. Villa, ang kanyang pangunahing kalaban sa panguluhan ng bansa, at kakalabitin niya ang gatilyo. Mabaliw-baliw na si Nonoy sa galit dahil may ilang linggo nang halos araw-araw ay laman ng mga balita si M. Villa at ang pagsasalaysay nito ng mga ulat mula raw sa mga sakada ng Hacienda Lucia na siya, kapag nalalasing, ay mahilig na mamaril ng sinumang dumaan sa kanyang harapan. Buo ang paniniwala niyang makasisira ito sa kanyang kampanya, kahit na ang mga marka niya sa lahat ng sarbey ay tila walang alam na tunguhin kundi pataas.

At ngayon, sa kanyang sasakyang nakahimpil may ilang daang metro mula sa tanghalan, nakaabang siya at ang kanyang mga badigard sa pagtawag sa pangalan ni M. Villa.

"At ang susunod na magsasalita, mga kababayan, ay ang dapat na maging susunod na pangulo ng Pilipinas -- walang iba kundi si M. Villa!"

Humigpit pang lalo ang kapit ng mga daliri ni Nonoy sa baril. Bumaba ang bintana ng kanyang sasakyan at bahagyang sumungaw mula roon ang bunganga ng baril ni Nonoy... BASAHIN ANG BUONG KUWENTO