kontradaya.org

Kontra Daya hits Comelec en banc ruling allowing Mikey to sit in Congress

nato — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:34:46 +0000

News Release
July 21, 2010

The anti-fraud and election monitoring group Kontra Daya today denounced the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc decision allowing Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, son of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to sit in Congress as representative of Ang Galing Pinoy Partylist (AGP).

Shortly before the elections, the party-list group Bayan Muna and then senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza of the Makabayan Coalition had filed disqualification cases against Arroyo, claiming he does not represent the security guards, tricycle drivers, and small businessmen AG claims to represent.

In a resolution dated May 7, however, the Comelec’s 2nd Division headed by Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer dismissed the petitions, saying Arroyo “has actively supported and advanced the projects and programs of the party.”

“Evidently, therefore, the respondent had clearly immersed himself with the hopes and aspirations of the party and the sector it represents. He has as much right to be a nominee as any other member of the party,” the resolution read.

Yesterday, the Comelec en banc by a vote of 4-2-1 allowed Arroyo to sit as AG representative. Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco, and Elias Yusoph voted in the affirmative. Commissioners Gregorio Larrazabal and Rene Sarmiento voted in the negative, while Chairman Jose Melo abstained.

“The majority who voted to let Mikey Arroyo sit in Congress obviously have no qualms about violating the Comelec’s own guidelines and the existing jurisprudence in favor of the rich, powerful and influential,” said Kontra Daya convener Fr. Joe Dizon.

The Comelec’s own Rules on Disqualification Cases Against Nominees of Party-List Groups/Organizations, promulgated on March 25, provide that a party-list nominee must not only be “a bona fide member of the party-list or organization which he seeks to represent for at least ninety days preceding election day,” but should also be “one who belongs to the marginalized and underrepresented sector/s, the sectoral party, organization, political party or coalition he seeks to represent.”

In its landmark decision on the 2001 case Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party v. Commission on Elections, et al, the Supreme Court ruled that a party-list group or organization “must not be an adjunct of, or a project organized or an entity funded or assisted by, the government. By the very nature of the party-list system, the party or organization must be a group of citizens, organized by citizens and operated by citizens. It must be independent of the government. The participation of the government or its officials in the affairs of a party-list candidate is not only illegal and unfair to other parties, but also deleterious to the objective of the law: to enable citizens belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors and organizations to be elected to the House of Representatives.”

Based on these standards, Dizon said, the Comelec could not have run out of reasons for disqualifying Arroyo from taking a congressional seat.

“When Mikey joined Ang Galing Pinoy, he was the son of an incumbent president and was himself an incumbent district representative,” Dizon noted. “He is also one of the richest politicians in the Philippines, as attested by his having properties not only here but also in the United States. He is no security guard, tricycle driver, or small businessman – nor has he any track record of actively advocating for these sectors.”
“The weakest link appears to be Commissioner Armando Velasco who earlier voted to disqualify nominees of Ang Kasangga partylist because they did not belong to the marginalized sectors they claim to represent. Yet in the case of Mikey, he made a 180 degree turn and thinks Mikey belong to the sector of security guards and drivers,” Dizon added.

“The Comelec commissioners who voted to allow Mikey Arroyo to represent AGP in Congress have, by this singular act, contributed immensely to the further destruction of the Philippine party-list system,” Dizon said. ###

Statement on Comelec’s disqualification of Ang Kasangga nominees Haresco and Lacson

nato — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 08:06:30 +0000

Press Statement
July 10, 2010

Kontra Daya welcomes the decision of the Commission on Elections First Division granting the petition to disqualify the nominees of Ang Kasangga Partylist Teodorico Haresco and Eugenio Jose Lacson. The petition was filed by members of Kontra Daya including Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, Jr. ACT vice-chair Benjie Valbuena, Courage chair Ferdie Gaite, Migrante chair Gary Martinez, Anakbayan chair Ken Ramos and SCMP chair Ma. Cristina Guevarra last March 31. The petitioners were represented by Atty. Julius Matibag of the National Union of People’s Lawyers.

The decision issued last July 7 correctly states that Haresco and Lacson are not qualified to be part of the partylist system because one is a big businessman and the other is a three-term city mayor. Haresco owns several businesses and has been head of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s “Presidential Bridges Program”. Lacson meanwhile is an established local politician with a definite constituency.

The decision on Ang Kasangga should serve now as a precedent for the disqualification of Ang Galing Pinoy’s Mikey Arroyo and 1-Utak’s Angelo Reyes and other like them. They should once and for all be booted out of the partylist system for marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

The Comelec’s 2nd Division has yet to issue a ruling on Mikey Arroyo’s bid as a partylist nominee, but given the decision of the 1st Division, it would be grossly untenable for the 2nd division to rule in a contrary manner.

Ang Kasangga has been previously used by Ma. Lourdes Arroyo, sister of then First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, as a vehicle for congressional representation. In the 2010 elections, known Arroyo allies Haresco and Lacson also attempted to use Ang Kasangga as a backdoor to Congress.

Kontra Daya calls for a comprehensive review and overhaul of the accreditation process for the partylist system to be able to root out pseudo-partylist groups. The abuse of the partylist system must stop.

Kontra Daya: Arroyo allies worming their way back to power

arnold — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:15:31 +0000

The anti-fraud group Kontra Daya today warned of the impending return to power of hard-core Arroyo allies through defections to the new ruling party, the Liberal Party.

“Members of former President and incoming Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Lakas-Kampi coalition, who arrogantly blocked any opposition to the Arroyo administration when they were in power, are surreptitiously transferring to the Aquino administration by offering support to its speakership bet, Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte,” said Kontra Daya convener Fr. Joe Dizon.

Of the 25 congressmen sworn in last June 25 as new Liberal Party members, 22 are “defectors” from Lakas-Kampi: Florencio Miraflores, Rodolfo Valencia, Pangalian Balindong, Amado Bagatsing, Joaquin Nava, Arturo Robes, Herminia Roman, Marcelino Teodoro, Joseph Violago, Sergio Apostol, Maria Carmen Apsay, Jose Carlos Cari, Maximo Dalog, Rogelio Espina, Ben Evardone, Paolo Javier, Rene Relampagos, Jesus Sacdalan, Andres Salvacion, Mel Sarmiento, Eric Singson Jr., and Jerry Treñas.

While some are either third-termers or second-termers as congressmen, many are neophyte lawmakers who occupied other local government posts under the Arroyo administration. They are known to have aggressively pushed for Arroyo’s charter change bid.

Two of them, Miraflores and Valencia, are returning congressmen who voted against the impeachment complaints filed against Arroyo.

“Even the diehard pro-Arroyo party-list groups are paying homage to Belmonte and President Aquino even if they had been previously known to campaign for Arroyo’s speakership bid,” Dizon said.

On June 15, several representatives of party-list groups known to be allied with Arroyo visited Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III, then president-elect, at his residence and expressed support for him. They included Rodante Marcoleta of Alagad, Godofredo Arquiza of Senior Citizens, Catalina Leonen-Pizarro of ABS Partylist, Agapito Guanlao of Butil, and Nicanor Briones of the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines – who have all been elected to another term.

Comelec must make no more delays in secrecy folder probe – Kontra Daya

arnold — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:06:03 +0000

The anti-fraud group Kontra Daya today said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should avoid making further delays in the investigation of the poll body’s scrapped P689.7-million ballot secrecy folder deal with OTC Paper Supply.

The Comelec almost purchased 1.8 million ballot secrecy folders at P380 each from OTC Paper Supply. The contract aroused controversy and eventually, Comelec chairman Jose Melo orderred its cancellation. The Comelec decided to use ordinary folders for the May 10 elections.

Early last April, the poll body created a three-man team headed by Comelec Law Department head Ferdinand Rafanan to investigate anomalies surrounding the ballot secrecy folder deal.

The team’s deadline for submitting its findings was first set at April 20, but it was moved several times to April 30, June 4, June 18, June 22, and June 25. The deadline was extended again to today.

“This investigation has gone on too long and it must not take any longer,” said Kontra Daya convener Fr. Joe Dizon. “The investigative team should be able to submit its findings no later than today.”

Dizon also expressed hope that the investigative team’s report will leave no stone unturned as to who were involved in the anomalous deal.

Genuino party-list received gov’t funds, documents show

arnold — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:07:09 +0000

The party-list group Batang Iwas Droga (BIDA), founded by former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chief Efraim Genuino and which fielded Genuino’s daughter Sheryl Genuino-See as its first nominee during the May elections, received funds from the government gaming agency, documents show. This, the anti-fraud group Kontra Daya said, boosts its position that BIDA is ineligible for competing in the elections as a party-list group and should thus be disqualified.

Kontra Daya received copies of checks Pagcor paid to BIDA Foundation Inc. and BIDA Production Incorporated.

BIDA Foundation Inc. received a total of P28.2 million in check payments – P26.7 million on Dec. 23, 2008 and P1.5 million on March 17, 2009 – for production expenses for the film Baler and for food packs, respectively.

BIDA Production Incorporated, meanwhile, was paid a total of P24.98 million for services rendered for the Pagcor project Maligayang Barangay, as well as for promotional and video materials for the same project; promotional materials and judging for the Pinakamaligayang Barangay project; and BIDA members’ IDs and pins, as well as tarpaulin and collaterals. Payments for BIDA members’ pins alone amount to a staggering P8.82 million.

“These documents boost our assertion that the Commission on Elections, or Comelec, should never have accredited BIDA as a party-list group,” said Kontra Daya convener Fr. Joe Dizon. “BIDA is clearly a government-funded project and has no place in the party-list system.”

In the 2001 case Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party v. Commission on Elections, et al, the Supreme Court ruled that a party-list group “must not be an adjunct of, or a project organized or an entity funded or assisted by, the government. By the very nature of the party-list system, the party or organization must be a group of citizens, organized by citizens and operated by citizens. It must be independent of the government. The participation of the government or its officials in the affairs of a party-list candidate is not only illegal and unfair to other parties, but also deleterious to the objective of the law: to enable citizens belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors and organizations to be elected to the House of Representatives.”

Kontra Daya filed a petition for disqualification against BIDA before the Comelec on March 31. The Comelec’s 2nd Division, headed by Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, dismissed the petition, but Kontra Daya filed a motion for reconsideration before the Comelec en banc.

“The Comelec should now decisively act on our petition to cancel BIDA’s accreditation,” Dizon said. “Genuino’s resignation as Pagcor chairman does not remove the fact that BIDA received funds from Pagcor.”

Witness of poll irregularities in Basilan town bares slay attempt

arnold — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:09:37 +0000

News release
June 7, 2010

One of the witnesses of alleged irregularities during the May 10 elections in Basilan province claimed that an attempt on his life was made purportedly due to his role as a poll watcher for one of the mayoralty bets in Tabuanlasa town, according to a report reaching Kontra Daya.

In a sworn affidavit, 37-year old Hadji Abdulmaula Mannan said that on May 25 at about 2 PM, two unidentified men aboard a motorcycle were tailing him while he was driving his motorbike along R.T. Lim Boulevard in Zamboanga City. He claimed that one of the men pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and pointed it toward his direction. Mannan said that he escaped by speeding up and beating the traffic signal.

Mannan said that he has no known enemies but added that he had an argument with a certain Hadji Hakim Harun during the May 10 elections. Harun is the barangay captain (village chief) of Kaumpurnah, Tabuanlasa in Basilan. Mannan recalled that he complained the illegal presence of Harun at the voting center during the elections. In an earlier affidavit, Mannan claimed he saw Harun distributing ballots to voters inside the precinct at Barangay Kaumpurnah.

Harun allegedly threatened Mannan in Tausug, “Aunda waktu mu” (Your time will come).

Kontra Daya earlier disclosed that based on information it has gathered from affidavits of 16 people (including Mannan) who were members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI), poll watchers, and voters in Tabuanlasa, Basilan, various forms of poll irregularities took place in different polling areas in the said municipality last May 10.

These include alleged incidents of armed men taking away ballots from BEI members and pre-shading them. Armed men also allegedly prevented voters from entering the polling center in some precincts.

Kontra Daya condemned the reported murder attempt on one of the witnesses of poll irregularities in Tabuanlasa and called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as well as the Philippine National Police (PNP) to immediately probe the incident and ensure the security of Mannan and his family. #

In Basilan town, pre-shaded ballots and chosen voters

arnold — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:09:00 +0000

The anti-fraud group Kontra Daya has received information on fraud committed during the May 10 elections in one of the island municipalities in Basilan.

The area is a recently created municipality with no electricity and with weak cellular phone signals.

According to Kontra Daya, the information came in the form of affidavits executed by members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) who had served in the polling places there, as well as by pollwatchers and registered voters. Executing the affidavits were 16 persons from different barangays in the island municipality.

In their affidavits, the BEI members told of how armed men snatched the ballot boxes from them as they were bringing these to the polling places. The armed men divided the ballots among themselves and shaded these. Based on the affidavits Kontra Daya received, this type of incident took place in more than one precinct.

The pollwatchers corroborated the teachers’ accounts in their own affidavits, and together with the registered voters also told of how they were refused entry by armed men whom they identified as hirelings of the then-incumbent mayor. The armed men, they said, allowed a small number of token voters in but decided who among the voters would be allowed to vote, and instructed them on who to vote for.

“The information we received confirmed fears that it is possible to commit fraud even in an automated election system,” said Kontra Daya convener Fr. Joe Dizon.

“We are now trying to gather information on whether or not similar incidents took place in other provinces, particularly in the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” Dizon added.

Dizon said they are withholding the witnesses’ names for now for security reasons. “But we have their assurance and commitment that they will come out at the proper time and venue,” he said.

Renato Reyes Jr., another Kontra Daya convener, meanwhile said what happened in the island municipality in Basilan shows that automation alone cannot solve all the ills of the electoral system.

Kontra Daya post-election recommendations

nato — Sat, 15 May 2010 22:53:59 +0000

We are issuing these recommendations based on the monitoring work we did before and during the May 10 polls. While it is acknowledged that the transmission and initial tallying of results were fast, the whole automated process was fraught with problems; from poor preparations, inadequate training of BEI’s, absence of rigorous testing of machines and the lack of education among the public.

1. Review the clustering of precincts

The unusually large number of voters queuing up at each clustered precinct greatly contributed to the slow and often disorderly voting process in many polling areas nationwide. Under the manual election system, each polling precinct usually has only 100 to 200 voters. But the clustering done under the automated election system (AES) increased the number to almost 1,000 voters per polling center. Combined with malfunctioning precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, poorly trained members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI), and not enough number of technicians led to unmanageable queues in several polling areas. These discouraged many voters and not a few were forced to just go home. Kontra Daya recommends that the clustering system be reviewed and bring down the number of voter per polling center to a much more manageable level. This will require the use of additional PCOS machine to decongest the clustered precincts.

2. Conduct more intensive trainings for BEI members and technicians

The automated polls were also slowed down by the lack of adequate and intensive training for the public school teachers who comprised the BEI. There were many reports during the elections that BEI members had to seek the assistance of Smartmatic technicians, who numbered few, or consult the manual to execute basic commands of the PCOS machines. Some BEI members were also still unfamiliar with the AES process. Aggravating the situation was the lack of skills of several Smartmatic technicians who had to consult their supervisors or the main office to fix glitches encountered by the PCOS machines, further delaying the voting process. Kontra Daya recommends that the training for public school teachers and technicians be given more attention and resources for future automated polls. At the minimum, trainings should be conducted at least a year before the scheduled elections and not rushed in just a few months before the actual polls.

3. Conduct more mock polls that simulate actual polling conditions

Many of the technical glitches encountered by the PCOS machines such as machine failure, unreadable memory cards, thermal paper errors, paper jam, low battery power, etc. as well as the long queues during the actual election day could have been foreseen and thus minimized if not totally avoided if more mock polls were held. In addition, these mock polls should simulate real polling conditions, including the expected average number of voters in one cluster of precincts, available transmission infrastructure especially in remote areas, etc. in order to draw up measures or adjustments that could speed up the process. Mock polls also serve as on-the-job training for BEI members and technicians. The more mock polls, the better for teachers and technicians. In the last elections, only one mock poll simulated at least the expected number of voters (1,000) but even this was still conducted under highly controlled conditions.

4. Probe the issue of wrongly configured compact flash (CF) cards

Smartmatic-TIM should be held accountable for the snafu created by the wrongly configured CF cards distributed to polling centers days before the elections. During the actual elections, there were still numerous reports of PCOS machine failure due to faulty CF cards delaying the voting as well as the transmission process. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) may have to review and revise its system on technical preparations. The Comelec must allow a reasonable schedule for the final testing and sealing of the PCOS machines as well as consider a system of verification from independent IT experts on the reliability of the Comelec’s technical preparations.

5. Probe the failure to use UV lamps and its implications

An investigation on the failure of many BEI members to use the controversial UV lamps to verify the authenticity of the ballots and its implications on the integrity of the poll results must be conducted. Overwhelmed the long queues and machine problems, BEI members skipped using the UV lamps, while in some cases they pre-scanned the ballots before voting started. The unused UV lamps can only mean taxpayers money down the drain. Remember that the PCOS machines supposedly have built-in scanners to check the authenticity of the ballots but problems during the printing forced Comelec to purchase the P30-million UV lamps. Thus, accountability must fall on Comelec officials for undermining one of the important security features of the automated polls.

6. Probe and account the number of disenfranchised voters, specifically first-time voters, as well as those discouraged by the disorderly process last May 10, and those whose ballots were permanently rejected by the PCOS machines. Various estimates from different groups peg the number of disenfranchised from 2.5 million to 5 million.

A probe on the numerous reported cases of disenfranchisement of first-time voters must be held. Some of these first-time voters are among those who availed of the extended voter-registration period ordered by the Supreme Court in December last year. A credible accounting on the actual number of disenfranchised voters must also be conducted, including those who were forced to go home because of the disorderly and slow voting process. Furthermore, Comelec must account the actual total number of rejected ballots and reexamine the reasons for the rejection. Some BEI members, for instance, due to lack of sufficient training, made voters give their thumb marks first before shading their ballot, which could cause ambiguous mark on the ballot and thus be rejected by the PCOS machine. To have credible results, such review must look into the actual rejected ballots and not simply rely on the accounting or report of the BEI. The reason is that the BEI may have wrongly reported the reason for the rejection of the ballots (i.e. reported as double shading instead of as ambiguous mark, etc.)

7. Probe reports and account number of malfunctioning PCOS machines

While Smartmatic claims that the official number of malfunctioning machines remain below industry standards, an examination and accounting of the various reported cases of malfunctioning PCOS machines such as those that failed to boot, read memory cards, transmit or print results, etc must be held. The reasons for their malfunctions must be conducted as well to determine the extent of hardware problems and therefore the degree of Smartmatic-TIM’s accountability. Interviews on BEI members and Smartmatic technicians who handled the malfunctioning PCOS machines may be carried out by Comelec and independent IT experts.

Kontra Daya – Justo Lucban

arnold — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:05:55 +0000

Kontra Daya – Carlos Garcia

arnold — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:04:05 +0000