Mainstream News

VoteReportPH: New tools for old problems (PROMETHEUS BOUND)

This article was published in Manila Times, 3 June 2010.

BY RICARDO BAHAGUE JR.

Coming from a history of election fraud and violence, it should have been no surprise that the same old problems were reported during the elections a month ago.

Even the speed at which the Comelec started proclaiming national candidates fell short of the target that the Comelec-Smartmatic automated election system (AES) evangelists promised. Traditional forms of fraud such as vote-buying, harassment and ballot snatching (and pre-shading) remained amid the lack of trust in the AES itself due to Comelec’s own doing: it out-sourced and privatized its constitutional function to a foreign company. Comelec trusted Smartmatic hook, line and sinker as it let security features be removed one by one while playing a deaf ear to calls for them to address vulnerabilities that various groups have raised.

Elections, E-Monitoring, and Empowerment: The Vote Report PH Experience

by Leon Dulce and Rick Bahague
Computer Professionals' Union
 

The recent 2010 Philippine Elections was a landmark in our nation’s history not only for the first time we had an automated election system (AES), but also was the first time that the online and IT communities engaged in full-fledged electoral monitoring. The challenges that came with the AES emboldened the IT community to fully participate in the election process, lending their technical expertise to watchdogs and poll watch monitors. It was also the first time citizen journalists from the blogging community were accredited by the COMELEC.

The People Continue to Support Progressive Partylists

Despite the barrage of black propaganda, harrasments, and negative campaigning by State Agents, the progressive partylists under the MAKABAYAN Coalition continue to enjoy warm support from the

Activity Report on the National Conference on Citizen Electoral Monitoring

 

3 killed, 6 wounded in Antique poll violence

Source: abscbnNEWS.com via wewatch

TIBIAO, ANTIQUE – Three people were killed while 6 others were wounded in a possible election-related shooting in Tibiao, Antique province early Sunday.

11 out of 7,555 voting machines in Metro found defective

Source: inquirer.net

MANILA, Philippines -- Eleven vote scanning and counting machines out of the 7,555 units distributed around Metro Manila were reported to be defective and needed to be replaced after they were tested and sealed on Sunday.

Power facilities in poll centers fixed

Source: manila bulletin (mb.com.ph)

CEBU CITY – Power distribution utility firm, Visayan Electric Company (VECO) announced that it is presently fixing the electrical facilities of schools covered under its franchise area which will serve as polling precincts for the national and local elections on May 10.