MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections has rejected the demand of the kidnappers of the son of Comelec Commissioner Elias Yusoph to void election results in several towns in Lanao del Sur.
“We will stick to our role as deciders of (electoral) protests and even Commissioner Yusoph said, ‘let’s decide the way the cases should be decided.’ That is the policy of the government,” Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said yesterday.
“Otherwise all those who would lose in elections would engage in kidnapping. They cannot get anything from us,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer admitted there are pending petitions with the Comelec concerning the recent elections in Lanao del Sur.
Yusoph said his 22-year-old son Nuraldin was unharmed and that with the case now with the National Bureau of Investigation, he felt no need to go to Lanao at the moment.
The young Yusoph had just finished his prayers in a mosque in Barangay Sabala Amanao in the early evening of June 20 when he was snatched by unidentified men.
“We hope that he would be released,” Yusoph said, stressing that the kidnapping was part of the risks of his job as Comelec official.
The commission said only Yusoph would be allowed to speak about the kidnapping to avoid confusion and bungling of the case.
Political connections
Authorities have tagged an alleged notorious kidnapper and member of a prominent political clan in the kidnapping of the younger Yusoph.
Officials said Demaporo Masacal, who is in his late 40s, led the kidnapping of Yusoph.
“He (Masacal) is a nephew of a very prominent political leader in the first district of Lanao del Sur,” said Ali Macabalang, director of the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information.
The ARMM’s acting governor, Ansarudin Adiong, has ordered the regional police to seal all entry and exit points in Marawi City and the first district of Lanao del Sur to restrict the movements of Yusoph’s kidnappers.
ARMM sources said Masacal used to be a member of a rebel group identified with Ustadz Muammar Biston, father-in-law of the founder of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the late Salamat Hashim.
“But he (Masacal) was detached from that group because of his wrongdoings and involvement in various crimes. He is, in fact, being hunted both by the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front to make him answer for some of the crimes he committed against Maranaws in Lanao del Sur,” a source from the ARMM said.
Macabalang, an ethnic Maranaw, said they have been receiving information that the kidnapping of Yusoph is related to the “very sensitive and very complicated” election controversies in some towns in the first district of Lanao del Sur.
One of the groups suspected of involvement in the kidnapping is reportedly ranting against a Comelec decision to cluster several voting precincts in some of the 45 barangays in Masiu, hometown of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.
One of Pangandaman’s sons is a candidate for the lone congressional seat in the second district of the province. There is still no proclaimed congressional representative in the district.
Special elections are still being readied in some parts of Lanao del Sur.
NBI joins probe
A National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) task force is scheduled to fly to Marawi City today to help in the investigation.
NBI Director Nestor Mantaring has ordered Arnel Dalumpines to lead the task force.
The team will coordinate with NBI-Iligan, which has already started its investigation.
“We will be having case conference here. But the NBI Iligan investigators have already started their investigation. They are now at the site,” Dalumpines told reporters.
ARMM police head Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag said the kidnapping was election related.
“An unidentified person called the commissioner at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, demanding the nullification of the election results of Malabang, Picong, Taraka and Masiu in exchange for the release of young Yusoph,” Latag said.
Latag also revealed the creation of Task Force Yusoph, in cooperation with the provincial Crisis Management Committee led by Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr.
Latag said he has ordered Lanao del Sur Provincial Police director Senior Superintendent Panares Adap to establish checkpoints around the city.
Meanwhile, Malacañang ordered authorities to do everything to ensure the safe release of the younger Yusoph.
“There are clear leads but I cannot discuss them with you,” Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza told reporters.
“I think politics is the motive here,” he said.
He, however, said investigators are not ruling out the possibility that the kidnapping was for ransom. – Sandy Araneta, Lino de la Cruz and Paolo Romero - By Mayen Jaymalin
Showing posts with label lanao del sur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lanao del sur. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
News Update Comelec to spend P21 million for special polls
The government will spend about P21 million for the conduct of special elections in some municipalities in the Visayas and Mindanao on Thursday.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo said they would get the funds from the commission’s regular budget. “Sa pondo ng Comelec... wala ng iba (No one else will shoulder the bill except us)," he said.
Of this amount, P16 million will go to Smartmatic-TIM for the use of its Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, according to Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento.
"The contract with Smartmatic for the use of the machines is good for 10 days. So after May 20, they have to be retrieved. Then there should be another payment for the special elections," Sarmiento told reporters in Filipino Wednesday.
The P16 million will cover the payment for the technical personnel and delivery of the machines to the affected provinces, namely Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Western Samar, and Saranggani.
Municipalities and villages where special elections will be held are Lumba Bayabao, Lumbaca Unayan, Marogong, Masiu, Sultan Domalondong, Tubaran, and Bayang in Lanao del Sur; barangays Danapah, Kailih, Bato-Bato, Apil-Apil, Bucalao, Sangkahan, Cambug, and Look Bisaya in Al Barka, and barangays Upper and Lower Mahaybahay in Maluso, both in Basilan; Brgy. Buenas Aires in Pagsangjan, Western Samar; and barangay Poblacion in Gian, Saranggani.
About 80,256 votes are expected to be cast during Thursday’s special elections, according to Melo.
Election inspectors
Sarmiento said the P21-million budget would also cover the honorarium of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) and the cost of the transportation of personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines.
In Lanao del Sur, PNP trainees would serve as BEIs after teachers refused the assignment due to fear.
“Kung anong tinatanggap ng BEI tatanggapain din nila (They will be paid the same amount as the teachers who served as BEIs )," Sarmiento said.
The teachers who served as BEIs in the May 10 automated elections received P4,800 as honorarium.
Sarmiento said they had informed the teachers who were supposed to serve in the elections that they would be replaced by police trainees due to security concerns.
The Comelec is expected to pay Smartmatic-TIM a separate P7.2 billion for automating the May 10 polls. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal had earlier said that only 20 to 30 percent of the automation contract remains unpaid.
The poll body will also be paying the supplier another P243 million to produce and supply the ballot boxes.
All systems go
Melo said everything is all set for the special elections. He said they would use the PCOS units that were earlier allotted for the areas. The machines will also be tested and sealed prior to the elections.
Sarmiento, meanwhile, asked the people in the provinces to immediately inform the Comelec of any anomaly that may occur during the special polls. He also asked them to avoid any violence during the conduct of the elections.
“We have deployed PNP and AFP to provide the security. We cannot afford another special elections dahil magastos po (because it is too costly)," he said.
Melo said that the results of the special polls would only affect the local and party-list elections.
Meanwhile, the Comelec has yet to decide on other petitions to conduct special elections in some provinces, including Abra and Cordillera. — KBK/RSJ
Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo said they would get the funds from the commission’s regular budget. “Sa pondo ng Comelec... wala ng iba (No one else will shoulder the bill except us)," he said.
Of this amount, P16 million will go to Smartmatic-TIM for the use of its Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, according to Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento.
"The contract with Smartmatic for the use of the machines is good for 10 days. So after May 20, they have to be retrieved. Then there should be another payment for the special elections," Sarmiento told reporters in Filipino Wednesday.
The P16 million will cover the payment for the technical personnel and delivery of the machines to the affected provinces, namely Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Western Samar, and Saranggani.
Municipalities and villages where special elections will be held are Lumba Bayabao, Lumbaca Unayan, Marogong, Masiu, Sultan Domalondong, Tubaran, and Bayang in Lanao del Sur; barangays Danapah, Kailih, Bato-Bato, Apil-Apil, Bucalao, Sangkahan, Cambug, and Look Bisaya in Al Barka, and barangays Upper and Lower Mahaybahay in Maluso, both in Basilan; Brgy. Buenas Aires in Pagsangjan, Western Samar; and barangay Poblacion in Gian, Saranggani.
About 80,256 votes are expected to be cast during Thursday’s special elections, according to Melo.
Election inspectors
Sarmiento said the P21-million budget would also cover the honorarium of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) and the cost of the transportation of personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines.
In Lanao del Sur, PNP trainees would serve as BEIs after teachers refused the assignment due to fear.
“Kung anong tinatanggap ng BEI tatanggapain din nila (They will be paid the same amount as the teachers who served as BEIs )," Sarmiento said.
The teachers who served as BEIs in the May 10 automated elections received P4,800 as honorarium.
Sarmiento said they had informed the teachers who were supposed to serve in the elections that they would be replaced by police trainees due to security concerns.
The Comelec is expected to pay Smartmatic-TIM a separate P7.2 billion for automating the May 10 polls. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal had earlier said that only 20 to 30 percent of the automation contract remains unpaid.
The poll body will also be paying the supplier another P243 million to produce and supply the ballot boxes.
All systems go
Melo said everything is all set for the special elections. He said they would use the PCOS units that were earlier allotted for the areas. The machines will also be tested and sealed prior to the elections.
Sarmiento, meanwhile, asked the people in the provinces to immediately inform the Comelec of any anomaly that may occur during the special polls. He also asked them to avoid any violence during the conduct of the elections.
“We have deployed PNP and AFP to provide the security. We cannot afford another special elections dahil magastos po (because it is too costly)," he said.
Melo said that the results of the special polls would only affect the local and party-list elections.
Meanwhile, the Comelec has yet to decide on other petitions to conduct special elections in some provinces, including Abra and Cordillera. — KBK/RSJ
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
News Update Pinoy resilience made May polls possible despite gov’t failures — int’l observers
It was only because of the resilience of the Filipino people – teachers who acted as Board of Election Inspectors and voters – that the automated poll was made possible, an international observers mission that monitored the May 10 polls concluded.
The mission noted, on the other hand, that the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and its poll body failed to address election-related problems such as widespread intimidation, vote buying, corruption and violence, among others. In a report submitted Tuesday to Senator Francis Escudero, co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Elections System (JCOC-AES), the People’s International Observers Mission (PIOM) said that the recent elections were not peaceful or violence-free, fair or honest. “The People’s IOM considers the Comelec (Commission on Elections), Smartmatic and the Arroyo government accountable for the problems encountered in the May 10 elections," the 85-member mission from 11 countries said. Some members of the mission were caught in a crossfire in Tugaya, Lanao del Sur, on election day itself. The shootout was caught on video by independent multimedia group Kodao Productions and later broadcast on nationwide television. But what caught the PIOM members’ attention was the people – lining up under the sun or amid the heat for hours just to be able to cast their votes. The group also commended the teachers who were able to pull through the automated voting amid the lack of training to handle the machines. “With the many serious problems in the whole election process, we would like to add that it is only through the efforts of the people – the sacrifices made by the public school teachers and the resilience of voters – that the elections was made possible," the IOM said.
‘A sense of dignity’
The IOM refused to comment on the success or failure of the automated polls, saying they will leave it to the Filipino people to say. Yvon Alain Raoul from Canada, who monitored the polls in Abra, a province in northern Philippines with extensive warlord presence, said he would gladly come back to the country because “the Filipino people has given me a sense of what dignity is all about." “We have in our country (Canada) too many people who have lost the hope that a democratic process can be accomplished in its totality. So this kind of hope is something that we are gonna bring back with us," he said during a press conference after their discussion of their poll experience with Escudero. “I hope it is not an illusion. I hope it’s not going to be something which is going to fade away and I really hope that if you have democracy in this country, this is the best guarantee to assure that the whole process will complete itself and be useful," he added. The other members of the mission were from Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Argentina.
The group were in the country from May 7 to 15, 2010, and monitored elections in selected areas of Abra, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Quezon, Albay, Sorsogon, Iloilo, Davao del Sur, Surigao, Lanao del Sur, and the urban poor communities of Tondo and Payatas in Metro Manila.
Among the observations of the group were the sore lack of preparations for automation; general chaos and confusion in the voting process; lack of secrecy in the voting; clear violations in the campaigning; the prevalent practice of vote-buying; and numerous incidents of election-related violence. The group also mentioned the “systematic vilification campaign against senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza and eight progressive party-list groups." It also noted that political dynasties and their armed militias still lord it over local politics. “The political and economic inequality creates vulnerability to intimidation and vote-buying," the group said. The group felt strongly against the heavy military and police presence in the communities, and within polling places as these contributed to or caused the climate of fear. Soldiers even harassed members of the mission, they said. IOM recommendations
The People’s IOM recommended to the Comelec to: • Adopt a system more attuned to the Filipino culture while complying with international human rights standards on the right to political participation. • Provide more voters’ education seminars to empower them to exercise their rights. • Install systematic voting procedures, to include ensuring access for the elderly and the differently-abled. • For the voting process, implement a more accessible and secure system of voters’ verification • Ensure secrecy of the ballot. • Institute a process where the voter could verify what was recorded by the machine • Ensure transparency in the transmission process. Each precinct’s election returns should be posted online. • Validate the results of the elections through completing the process of manual audit. • Provide more technicians and improve on-site technical support. • Implement the law on campaigning. • Impose stricter rules for the conduct of poll watchers. • Remove the clustering of precincts.
The group also called on the incoming administration to dismantle private armies and to put a stop to the militarization of villages. They said the security of the voting process should be ensured through a systematic and transparent process and not through the deployment of men with guns.
Escudero to ‘reserve judgment’
Escudero, for his part, said he will wait for the more complete copy of the IOM’s report before he would give his conclusion. “Until after all pieces of evidence, and after all the random audit is conducted, personally, I will be reserving judgment in so far as this automated procedure and election is concerned," he said in a separate press conference. He added: “On the whole, because of the speed by which the results came in, I think on that score the Comelec should be commended. But on the issue of accuracy, we will get to know that in the coming days." The senator said the JCOC will compile all the reports that will be submitted to it and will leave the work of giving recommendations to the next Congress JCOC, because the term of the current JCOC will end on June 30. “We will make a summary of all the reports submitted without doing corresponding recommendations. We will leave it to the next JCOC to make the corresponding recommendations and after collating all of these data that are coming to us right now," he said. —JV
Predominantly Muslim Philippine Provinces: Basilan, Lanao Del Sur, Maguindanao, Sema V. Comelec,
Sulu, Tawi-Tawi
Proposals of the Honorable City Mayor of Marawi City, Sultan Omar Dianalan, on how to solve the present crisis in Mindanao, specifically
Lanao del Sur
Marketing of major agricultural products in Lanao del Sur ([Publications / Marketing Research Unit], National Food and Agriculture Council)
The mission noted, on the other hand, that the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and its poll body failed to address election-related problems such as widespread intimidation, vote buying, corruption and violence, among others. In a report submitted Tuesday to Senator Francis Escudero, co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Elections System (JCOC-AES), the People’s International Observers Mission (PIOM) said that the recent elections were not peaceful or violence-free, fair or honest. “The People’s IOM considers the Comelec (Commission on Elections), Smartmatic and the Arroyo government accountable for the problems encountered in the May 10 elections," the 85-member mission from 11 countries said. Some members of the mission were caught in a crossfire in Tugaya, Lanao del Sur, on election day itself. The shootout was caught on video by independent multimedia group Kodao Productions and later broadcast on nationwide television. But what caught the PIOM members’ attention was the people – lining up under the sun or amid the heat for hours just to be able to cast their votes. The group also commended the teachers who were able to pull through the automated voting amid the lack of training to handle the machines. “With the many serious problems in the whole election process, we would like to add that it is only through the efforts of the people – the sacrifices made by the public school teachers and the resilience of voters – that the elections was made possible," the IOM said.
‘A sense of dignity’
The IOM refused to comment on the success or failure of the automated polls, saying they will leave it to the Filipino people to say. Yvon Alain Raoul from Canada, who monitored the polls in Abra, a province in northern Philippines with extensive warlord presence, said he would gladly come back to the country because “the Filipino people has given me a sense of what dignity is all about." “We have in our country (Canada) too many people who have lost the hope that a democratic process can be accomplished in its totality. So this kind of hope is something that we are gonna bring back with us," he said during a press conference after their discussion of their poll experience with Escudero. “I hope it is not an illusion. I hope it’s not going to be something which is going to fade away and I really hope that if you have democracy in this country, this is the best guarantee to assure that the whole process will complete itself and be useful," he added. The other members of the mission were from Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Argentina.
The group were in the country from May 7 to 15, 2010, and monitored elections in selected areas of Abra, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Quezon, Albay, Sorsogon, Iloilo, Davao del Sur, Surigao, Lanao del Sur, and the urban poor communities of Tondo and Payatas in Metro Manila.
Among the observations of the group were the sore lack of preparations for automation; general chaos and confusion in the voting process; lack of secrecy in the voting; clear violations in the campaigning; the prevalent practice of vote-buying; and numerous incidents of election-related violence. The group also mentioned the “systematic vilification campaign against senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza and eight progressive party-list groups." It also noted that political dynasties and their armed militias still lord it over local politics. “The political and economic inequality creates vulnerability to intimidation and vote-buying," the group said. The group felt strongly against the heavy military and police presence in the communities, and within polling places as these contributed to or caused the climate of fear. Soldiers even harassed members of the mission, they said. IOM recommendations
The People’s IOM recommended to the Comelec to: • Adopt a system more attuned to the Filipino culture while complying with international human rights standards on the right to political participation. • Provide more voters’ education seminars to empower them to exercise their rights. • Install systematic voting procedures, to include ensuring access for the elderly and the differently-abled. • For the voting process, implement a more accessible and secure system of voters’ verification • Ensure secrecy of the ballot. • Institute a process where the voter could verify what was recorded by the machine • Ensure transparency in the transmission process. Each precinct’s election returns should be posted online. • Validate the results of the elections through completing the process of manual audit. • Provide more technicians and improve on-site technical support. • Implement the law on campaigning. • Impose stricter rules for the conduct of poll watchers. • Remove the clustering of precincts.
The group also called on the incoming administration to dismantle private armies and to put a stop to the militarization of villages. They said the security of the voting process should be ensured through a systematic and transparent process and not through the deployment of men with guns.
Escudero to ‘reserve judgment’
Escudero, for his part, said he will wait for the more complete copy of the IOM’s report before he would give his conclusion. “Until after all pieces of evidence, and after all the random audit is conducted, personally, I will be reserving judgment in so far as this automated procedure and election is concerned," he said in a separate press conference. He added: “On the whole, because of the speed by which the results came in, I think on that score the Comelec should be commended. But on the issue of accuracy, we will get to know that in the coming days." The senator said the JCOC will compile all the reports that will be submitted to it and will leave the work of giving recommendations to the next Congress JCOC, because the term of the current JCOC will end on June 30. “We will make a summary of all the reports submitted without doing corresponding recommendations. We will leave it to the next JCOC to make the corresponding recommendations and after collating all of these data that are coming to us right now," he said. —JV
Predominantly Muslim Philippine Provinces: Basilan, Lanao Del Sur, Maguindanao, Sema V. Comelec,
Sulu, Tawi-Tawi
Proposals of the Honorable City Mayor of Marawi City, Sultan Omar Dianalan, on how to solve the present crisis in Mindanao, specifically Lanao del Sur
Marketing of major agricultural products in Lanao del Sur ([Publications / Marketing Research Unit], National Food and Agriculture Council)
Monday, May 10, 2010
News Update Comelec recommends failure of elections in 4 Lanao Sur towns
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday recommended the declaration of failure of elections in four municipalities in Lanao del Sur in the southern Philippines due to the absence of the board of election inspectors (BEI) in these areas, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said.
These municipalities are Masiu, Lumba-Bayabao, Lumba-Unayan and Tubaran, according to Jimenez. The Comelec en banc will decide on the matter later in the day.
He said the poll body has yet to determine why the BEI members did not show up. - ANDREO CALONZO/YA
These municipalities are Masiu, Lumba-Bayabao, Lumba-Unayan and Tubaran, according to Jimenez. The Comelec en banc will decide on the matter later in the day.
He said the poll body has yet to determine why the BEI members did not show up. - ANDREO CALONZO/YA
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