As PHILBEX Davao returns for its 5th year, the highly anticipated trade show introduces new event features that will elevate visitors’ trade experience and pave the way for business-to-business opportunities.
Elections 2019 | Migrant group assails OAV ‘irregularities’
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – A Filipino migrant group expressed indignation over reports of irregularities and problems encountered by overseas Filipino workers in the overseas absentee voting that kicked off last April 13.
Migrante International called the Commission of Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) negligent of their duty over several reports such as delayed arrival of the absentee voting ballots, vote counting machines (VCMs) rejecting ballots and problem with the ballot’s barcode among others, which have reached their chapters abroad.
There are 1.8 million registered Filipino overseas absentee voters who want to exercise their democratic right to vote, said Migrante. They fear that such problems in the overseas absentee voting would deny them of this right.
“Comelec failed to ensure that overseas absentee voters receive all the necessary information and materials to prepare them for the elections even prior to April 13, the first day overseas absentee voters could officially vote,” Migrante said in a statement.
Delayed delivery of ballots
The most common report that reached Migrante is the delay in the delivery of ballots as Comelec did not fund the postage. According to a report, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said there is a 2016 “agreement directing consulates and embassies to pay the postage cost for the ballots and the DFA will reimburse thereafter.”
Voters abroad could cast their votes in their homes or workplaces by mailing the ballots directly to them. The voters then send their ballots to their respective voting posts to be counted manually or via automated election system by Comelec-designated officials.
In New Zealand, Migrante Aotearoa chairman Mikee Santos criticized Comelec for the delay in releasing the budget for postage.
29 April 2019#ComelecPalpak: Filipinos in New Zealand Dismayed Over Delayed Delivery of Ballots, Leading to Massive…
Geplaatst door Aroha Migrante op Zondag 28 april 2019
“With only two weeks to go, Comelec’s budget release for postage fees is way too late. Why only now? Comelec’s failure to guarantee earlier delivery of ballots with pre-paid envelopes will surely mean massive voters disenfranchisement again,” said Santos in a statement.
He said Comelec reportedly transferred P55 million ($1.06 million) on April 27 and approved an additional P14 million ($269,729) for payment of postage fees to ensure the delivery of the ballots.
Santos called the last minute release of the budget as “major blunder of Comelec.”
“It exposes how the current government continues to neglect Filipinos abroad. The Philippine economy relies on the billions of dollars of OFW remittances, and yet they always take us for granted. It’s a big, direct punch in the faces of all overseas Filipinos who were hoping to vote, but many will likely be unable to do so due to long delay of sending the ballots with pre-paid envelopes. This is an unforgivable, gross neglect not only of our rights, but the integrity of our election,” Santos said.
Meanwhile in Washington, a report said that ballots were sent out only beginning April 22 or nine days after the voting period started. https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/27/19/delay-in-oav-ballots-worries-fil-am-voters
Migrante International said this delay is a grave concern.
“The option to vote by mail is critical to thousands of overseas absentee voters who lack access to resources and time to travel to their nearest consulates or voting centers because of the distance from their workplace or home,” the group said.
They added that this is a clear violation of Republic Act 9189, which guarantees that overseas absentee voters will not have to shoulder any costs related to the process of voting.
“Comelec’s admission of lack of financial resources to pay for postage stamps due to the delay in the passage of the national budget is unacceptable, further revealing that protecting the constitutional right of all Philippine citizens to vote is not a priority of this administration,” the group said.
Ballots rejected, vote counting machines breakdown
There were also reports of ballots being rejected in five precincts in Hong Kong, according to Kontra Daya. There were also four incidences of VCM breakdowns and inconsistencies between the receipts printed by the VCM and actual votes cast by voters in three precincts.
There were also reports of initial unavailability of the computerized list of voters in Al-Khobar, a VCM with a broken seal in Jeddah, insufficient ballots in Russia, double ballots in Italy, and more than 3,000 voters disenfranchised in Damascus, Tripoli and Baghdad due to the absence of polling centers for Filipino OFWs.
Migrante-Bologna also reported that an OFW got two ballots bearing the same serial number.
The Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) has pointed out that “countermeasures should have been in place at the get-go to ensure that VCMs don’t malfunction and break down, ballots are in order, and polling precincts are prepared.”
Mac Yanto, CPU deputy coordinator and convener of Kontra Daya said that Comelec has not significantly improved since the first automated election in 2010. He said this is the fourth automated elections held in the country, yet, the same problems were still encountered up to now.
“It’s not like we’re doing this for the first time. By now there should be more stringent systems and counter-measures in place to ensure smooth, transparent, peaceful, and accurate elections,” he said.
‘Voting is not a privilege’
Santos said that “voting is not a privilege but a fundamental right of every Filipino.”
He said Migrante-Aotearoa is holding the Comelec accountable “for this deliberate disregard of OFWs’ right to elect rightful candidates for this year’s election.”
The post Elections 2019 | Migrant group assails OAV ‘irregularities’ appeared first on Bulatlat.
Hugpong bets top AdDU Blue Vote survey
Unsurprisingly, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) local and national candidates dominated the latest Ateneo de Davao University “Blue Vote” Electoral Survey Series for 2019 mid-term elections.
How do the Senatoriables Fare? : Contractualization
#MalalangEkonomiya #MayMagagawa #PeopleEconomics #BeyondElections2019
Malacañang’s enthusiasm on credit rating upgrade unwarranted-IBON
IBON executive director Sonny Africa said that the recent credit rating upgrade is not a sign of economic progress and that Malacañang’s enthusiasm is greatly unwarranted. The credit rating upgrade is most of all an assessment of the government’s ability to repay debt and not of economic development. There would be no such upgrade if development were a concern, he said, because the economic conditions of the people are getting worse.
Big Three credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s recently gave the Philippines a BBB+ credit rating upgrade, which is only one step away from a single “A” grade. Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo reacted by praising the economic team for “a splendid job in putting the economic house in order and spearheading bold economic reforms [and] bolstering the domestic economy”.
The Palace’s enthusiasm is however unwarranted, Africa said, because the economy cannot be said to be doing well. The country has been getting credit upgrades for over a decade since March 2009 and has been receiving investment upgrades for over six years since March 2013, yet the economy cannot be said to be in good shape.
If anything, he pointed out, the Duterte watch so far is seeing the worst job creation in nine administrations and six decades. “This looks to get even worse after four straight quarters now of falling employment creation including two quarters of job losses,” said Africa. “As it is, the PSA’s latest January 2019 labor force survey shows 387,000 less employed Filipinos now than in the same period last year.”
The upgrade is then not from any economic progress, Africa pointed out, but largely on the back of the regressive TRAIN law, which since last year has disproportionately burdened the majority poorest Filipinos.
Africa stressed that the importance of the upgrade in stimulating capital inflows shouldn’t be exaggerated as indicating economic progress either already in place or yet to come. The economy is clearly not progressing because jobs are being lost rather than created, he said. This is so because the agricultural and industrial foundations the economy so desperately needs are being neglected for short-term Build, Build, Build infrastructure illusions, Africa explained.
Africa went on to say that more capital flows will also not mean progress if much of this will just go to financial and speculative sectors rather than the real economy. “The supposed easier availability of capital from abroad will be really only be meaningful if the country had solid industrial policy and an agricultural development plan in place, which unfortunately it does not,” he concluded.
SC Issues Writ of Amparo and Habeas Data in Favor of NUPL
The Supreme Court, in a special En Banc session held on Friday, issued a writ of amparo and habeas data in favor of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).
The Court also referred the petition of NUPL, et al. to the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, who was directed to cause the immediate raffle of the said case among the appellate justices. The CA was further directed to hear the petition on May 14, 2019 and to decide the case within 10 days after submission of the case for decision.
The Court also ordered respondents President Rodrigo Duterte, who was impleaded in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Security Adviser (Ret.) Gen. Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr., et al. to make a verified return of the writ of amparo and habeas data on or before May 8, 2019, and to comment on NUPL, et al.’s petition before the said date.
In its petition, NUPL, et al. sought for the issuance of the writ of amparo and habeas data for their protection, claiming that their rights to life, liberty and security have been violated and continue to be violated through the persistent threats and harassment and red tagging allegedly done to vilify and intimidate them and prevent them from pursuing their profession as members of the Bar and from practicing their advocacy as peoples’ lawyers serving the poor and the marginalized. They claimed that some NUPL members have died in the line of duty.
The petitioners are likewise asking the Court to compel the respondents, under the writ of habeas data, to provide them with copies of all the facts, information, statements, records, photographs, and other evidence, documentary or otherwise, pertaining to each of them in the respondents’ files and records.
In particular, NUPL alleged that it was branded as an “enemy” by the Philippine Army in 2013. In 2014, NUPL-Vice President Atty. Catherine Salucon allegedly experienced heavy surveillance and harassment and that her paralegal, William Bugatti, was killed hours after they had parted ways after a court hearing. In 2018, NUPL-Negros Secretary General Atty. Benjamin Ramos was killed in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. They cited other several incidents of threats, harassment and intimidation due to their work and advocacy.
Also named as respondents were National Defense Secretary (Ret.) Gen. Delfin N. Lorenzana, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin R. Madrigal, Jr., AFP Deputy Commander for Intelligence Brig. Gen. Fernando T. Trinidad, AFP Intelligence Service of the Philippines (ISAFP) Chief Maj. Gen. Erwin Bernard Neri, Philippine Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Macairog S. Alberto, and AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations Maj. Gen. Antonio G. Parlade, Jr.
We are certainly pleased and somewhat relieved that the High Court has favorably acted upon our petition for protection of the life, liberty and security of NUPL members who are after all, officers of the court.
Edre Olalia NUPL President Co-Petitioner
It came at a propitious time when the 2018 Bar results came out today welcoming our new colleagues in the profession. It gives our new lawyers a veritable food for thought while they rightfully celebrate.
It also sends a strong and clear signal to the military and government officials alike, as well as their proxies or agents, that there are certain well-defined rules of evidence not incompatible with basic fairness, decency, common sense and logic that must be observed.
While this is just a start of an intense judicial battle and tedious procedure, we are grateful that the Court heeded our supplication to be given judicial shield and a potential relief from reckless accusations, malicious labelling and vicious attacks in different forms and guises.
Its subtext is as unequivocal – incessant redtagging, personal mudslinging and contrived narratives will be subjected to judicial restraint and accountability.
3 May 2019
Statement | The Duterte regime will pay for its crimes against press freedom and human rights
The Rodrigo Duterte regime is the biggest threat to the people’s right to press freedom, freedom of expression and other human rights. It uses the entire coercive power of the State to attack and quell the independent press and these attacks are instigated and led by the madman in Malacañang Palace himself.
Today, May 3, as the country observes World Press Freedom Day, members of the alternative media condemn the nightmarish Duterte regime for its crimes against our ranks and against the Filipino people.
Since December last year, sustained distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have been unleashed against Bulatlat, Kodao, Pinoy Weekly, Altermidya, and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, as well as websites of activist organizations Anakpawis Party, Arkibong Bayan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Party, Human Rights Online, Ibon Foundation, Karapatan, and the National Democratic Front. Sweden-based digital rights group Quirium has identified two information technology companies, IP Converge and Suniway, as the source of the ongoing cyberattacks aimed at taking down our websites. We have filed cases against these two entities and we expect this to go to trial very soon. We believe that these entities are acting in behalf of masterminds (the real cyber-assassins) who are probably state forces.
Earlier, Altermidya journalists have been arrested for covering the NutriAsia labor strike in Bulacan. Journalists from Altermidya-member outfits have also been red-tagged and, like many other independent journalists, have been vilified online by paid trolls using social media accounts created to defend this rotten government.
Other independent media outfits and journalists suffer all forms of attacks from this regime. Recently, the Office of the President admitted that the so-called matrix of destabilizers, including Vera Files, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Rappler, and Bulatlat associate editor and PW columnist Danilo Arao as well as the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers came from Pres. Duterte himself. Earlier, ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer have been threatened by Duterte, who said that his attacks will only stop if these outfits would agree to be his regime’s federalism drive mouthpieces.
We accuse Duterte for instigating these attacks against press freedom and the people’s right to know. Even before he assumed power, he has already justified the killing of journalists. After ranting madly in his speeches, worsening attacks, harassments and vilification are then launched against the independent press. These attacks go hand-in-hand against the killings of activists, farmers, indigenous peoples, lawyers, church people and many others on top of the unjust arrests and filing of trumped up charges in a grand scheme called the Whole of Nation approach to quell legitimate dissent.
Today, Altermidya and the Filipino people picketed the general headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to indict it and the Duterte regime as enemies of press freedom and human rights. The AFP is one of Duterte’s leading peddlers of lies and fake news. It red-tags journalists and activists, many of whom are later unjustly arrested or, worse, summarily killed.
We are here to prove that we are neither afraid or unbowed of their sinister deeds and plans. We come to warn them that a day of reckoning will soon come and that they will be made to pay for all their crimes against our ranks and the people’s.
No tyrant has ever succeeded in completely silencing legitimate dissent and independent voices. In the Philippines, the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship and the immoral Joseph Estrada presidency—both of which has attacked the Philippine press—were in fact ousted from office. Soon, the nightmare who is Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his bloody tentacles—lieutenants in the government, his online troll army, and the military and police—will end. We vow to make them pay for their crimes against the people.
#WorldPressFreedomDay | Journalists, rights defenders slam Duterte, military for attacks
MANILA — On World Press Freedom Day, journalists and human rights defenders staged a protest in front of Camp Aquinaldo, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), denouncing the state-perpetrated attacks against the Philippine press.
In a statement, the Altermidya People’s Media Network, a network of alternative media outfits, maintained that the Rodrigo Duterte regime is the biggest threat to the people’s right to press freedom, freedom of expression and other human rights. “It uses the entire coercive power of the State to attack and quell the independent press and these attacks are instigated and led by the madman in Malacañang Palace himself,” the group said.
The group tagged the AFP as one of Duterte’s leading peddlers of lies and fake news. “It red-tags journalists and activists, many of whom are later unjustly arrested or, worse, summarily killed,” the group said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) as well as journalists based in Panay, Cagayan de Oro City, and Cordillera have been labeled as “communist fronts” by military agents. Sherwin de Vera, a columnist of Northern Dispatch, was charged and detained on trumped-up charges after the military accused him of being a communist. He was released on bail.
Since December last year, sustained distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have been unleashed against Bulatlat, Kodao, Pinoy Weekly, Altermidya, and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, as well as websites of activist organizations Anakpawis Party, Arkibong Bayan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Party, Human Rights Online, Ibon Foundation, Karapatan, and the National Democratic Front. Sweden-based digital rights group Quirium has identified two information technology companies, IP Converge and Suniway, as the source of the ongoing cyberattacks aimed at taking down our websites. Alternative media outfits have filed a civil case against the said companies. “We believe that these entities are acting in behalf of masterminds (the real cyber-assassins) who are probably state forces,” the Altermidya said.
“We accuse Duterte for instigating these attacks against press freedom and the people’s right to know. Even before he assumed power, he has already justified the killing of journalists. After ranting madly in his speeches, worsening attacks, harassments and vilification are then launched against the independent press. These attacks go hand-in-hand against the killings of activists, farmers, indigenous peoples, lawyers, church people and many others on top of the unjust arrests and filing of trumped up charges in a grand scheme called the Whole of Nation approach to quell legitimate dissent,” the group said.
Earlier, Altermidya journalists have been arrested for covering the NutriAsia labor strike in Bulacan.
Other independent media outfits and journalists suffer all forms of attacks from this regime. Recently, the Office of the President admitted that the so-called matrix of destabilizers, including Vera Files, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Rappler, and Bulatlat columnist Danilo Arao as well as the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers came from President Duterte himself. Earlier, ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer have been threatened by Duterte, who said that his attacks will only stop if these outfits would agree to be his regime’s federalism drive mouthpieces.
Meanwhile, human rights alliance Karapatan said the dangerous tagging of human rights defenders and journalists as terrorists is “part of a convoluted and orchestrated effort to discredit groups and individuals and evade any form of investigation and accountability processes.”
“Duterte, his minions at PCOO [Presidential Communications and Operations Office] and officials of the PNP [Philippine National Police] and AFP are further engendering a climate of impunity in the Philippines, perpetrating unabated human rights violations amid a growing opposition to the government’s crimes and anti-people policies,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, said.
Altermidya warned that Duterte and his agents would be made to pay for their crimes against the people.
The post #WorldPressFreedomDay | Journalists, rights defenders slam Duterte, military for attacks appeared first on Bulatlat.