By Charlie Señase
Inquirer Mindanao Bureau

COTABATO CITY–Acting Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Resurreccion Borra has reminded provincial, city, and town poll officials to disseminate resolutions pertaining to the October 29 barangay (village) and youth polls.

“It is imperative that candidates in the Barangay and the Sangguniang Kabataan elections and the public in general are aware of the Comelec guidelines,” said city election registrar Arlan Mangelen in paraphrasing Borra’s latest directive.

Significantly raised was Comelec Resolution 8230 which pertains to the use of campaign and other propaganda materials of which a candidate is only allowed to spend P3 per voter.

Mangelen said poster sizes should not exceed two feet by three feet and must only be displayed within the designated common poster areas.

The Comelec official also reminded candidates of the October 18 deadline for the filing of their certificates of candidacy.

While the liquor and gun bans are being enforced until November 13, the Comelec has set the campaign period from October 19 to 27.

By Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has accredited the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) as its citizen’s arm for the October 29 Barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections.

In a resolution, the Comelec en banc granted the PPCRV’s August 10 petition seeking accreditation.

The Comelec said that it has considered PPCRV’s commendable participation in past electoral exercises as well as its commitment toward honest, clean, credible, and peaceful elections, for its accreditation of the group.

It added, the PPCRV has also sufficiently complied with the Comelec’s accreditation rules.

The Comelec said that the PPCRV will conduct poll watching and assist voters in various precincts, and assist the Comelec in providing voter’s information and values education in municipalities, cities and provinces. Beverly T. Natividad

By Inquirer

DAGUPAN CITY–A candidate for village chief was shot dead in front of his furniture shop in Tayug, Pangasinan, on Tuesday even as more areas were placed under police watch in the run up to the barangay and youth elections on Oct. 29.

Tayug police chief Supt. Sotero Soriano Jr. said Jaime Tolentino, 57, who filed his candidacy for barangay captain of Carriedo in Tayug on Monday, died instantly after men aboard a motorcycle shot him at about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Tolentino’s 24-year-old son, Marlon, who was sawing a piece of wood in their shop, was wounded when a stray bullet hit his right leg.

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By Leila Salaverria
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Jailed opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has asked the Supreme Court to reverse a Makati court decision and allow him to attend Senate sessions and other official functions.

Trillanes, who is in jail on coup d’etat charges in connection with the July 2003 Oakwood mutiny, also asked the high court to stop the military from preventing him from seeing his Senate staff, resource persons and guests at his detention cell at the Marine Barracks of Fort Bonifacio.

Named respondents in the petition were Makati regional trial court Judge Oscar Pimentel; Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr.; Marine Commandant, Major General Benjamin Dolorfino; Navy Flag Officer in Command, Vice Admiral Rogelio Calunsag; and Marine Barracks Manila commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Luciardo Obeña Jr.

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By Charlie Señase
Inquirer Mindanao Bureau

COTABATO CITY–After almost five months of waiting, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finally proclaimed three winning candidates in this year’s gubernatorial race in Shariff Kabunsuan province.

In July, Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) appointed provincial officers-in-charge while waiting for the Comelec’s proclamation of winning bets.

The proclamation was delayed by the election protest lodged by opposition gubernatorial bet Tocao Mastura and his partymates.

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By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine National Police (PNP) has identified at least 4,511 villages throughout the country as hotspots for the upcoming October elections, PNP Chief Avelino Razon Jr. said Tuesday.

At the same time, Razon said the PNP will work with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to ensure that the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) polls will not be disrupted by threat groups like the communist rebels, terrorist groups and private armies of some politicians.

Razon presented a report on the October 29 elections to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during Tuesday’s meeting of the National Security Council in Malacañang. He said he will submit the same report to the Commission on Election Wednesday.

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By Artemio V. Panganiban
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The resignation of Benjamin Abalos Sr. highlights the need for a new credible head of the Commission on Elections. Aside from the chair, however, there is another vacancy in the seven-member commission. And come Feb. 2, 2008, two more commissioners (Resurreccion Borra and Florentino Tuason) will retire, thereby presaging a full leadership change.

Some preliminaries. At the outset, let me tackle a few housekeeping legalities. Sec. 2 of Article IX (C) of the Constitution says, “Appointment to any vacancy (in the Comelec) shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor.” So, an appointee to the chairmanship now will hold office only until Feb. 2, 2007 when Abalos’ original term expires. The chair to be appointed after Feb. 2 shall serve the regular term of seven years, from 2008 to 2015. Nonetheless, the chair who may be named now cannot be reappointed to the seven-year term beginning in February 2008 because the Constitution bars “re-appointments.”

For the same reason, none of the present commissioners can be appointed chair (”Matibag vs Benipayo,” Apr. 2, 2002). In the meantime however, the incumbent members may designate one from among themselves to be an “officer in charge,” as they have already done.

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By Dona Pazzibugan
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol will soon be charged with electoral sabotage for losing the municipal election results in the province during the May senatorial elections.

Resurreccion Borra, who took over as acting Commission on Elections chairman following Benjamin Abalos Sr.’s resignation, told a Senate budget hearing last week that the poll body would pursue filing criminal charges against Bedol.

Borra and Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Florentino Tuason and Romeo Brawner appeared before Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the Senate finance committee and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, to appeal for no further cuts to the Comelec’s proposed P4.3 billion-budget for next year.

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By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Acting poll chief Resurreccion Borra has warned the public against taking lightly the importance and the level of rivalry in the upcoming barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections on October 29.

“Let’s not underestimate [these] elections because it will be hotly contested. Brothers will run against brothers; fathers against sons; relatives against neighbors. All do not want to lose and amor propio or pride will not create the atmosphere conducive to a free, fair, and intelligent elections,” he told reporters at the Senate shortly before the start of the hearing on the Comelec’s budget.

Borra, who took over the helm of the Commission on Elections following the resignation of erstwhile chairman Benjamin Abalos, said the poll body will hold a command conference with the military and the policemen next Wednesday in Camp Crame to discuss the possible election hot spots or areas where violence may occur.

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