By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The May 10 elections have officially began. As expected, the first five hours were far from smooth.
2010 Elections: Violence, Glitches Mar First Five Hours of the Automated Elections
Tags: 2010 elections
2010 Elections: Voting Made More Difficult
Automation and computerization are supposed to make life easier. It is supposed to speed up processes by minimizing human intervention. After all, machines are more efficient, more precise, and do not tire easily compared to humans. However, this is not the case with the first Philippine Automated Election System.
News in Pictures: Defective Equipment, Slow Election Process Greet Voters in Abra
Bangued, ABRA — In other precincts, people are complaining of the very slow process — from checking the names of the voters to submitting the ballot to the PCOS machine. Some even went home because they cannot handle the extreme heat. At Precinct #7, BEIs manually collected the ballots. The PCOS machine cannot process the ballots due to defective CF card. The BEI said, they are still waiting for the replacement CF cards to arrive from Manila. A voter told Bulatlat in an interview that the glitches might disenfranchise the votes.
PR: AES Watch Sets Up Citizens’ Election Monitor at U.P. Campus
Election watchdog AES Watch has set up a web-based Citizens’ Election Monitor. Citizens are invited to serve as volunteer reporters in their respective locations and report incidents related to the automated polls to the AES Watch website.
News in Pictures: Hundreds of Voters Line Up Outside Maguindanao Poll Precinct
MAGUINDANAO — Hundreds of people line up outside Buldon Elementary School since early morning to vote. While no untoward incident occurred, it’s a bit chaotic here as voters jostle to enter the voting precincts. “Magulo pero masaya,” says Kabiba Tomawis, a voter.
PR: Poll Watchdog Condemns Intensified Harassment vs. Progressive Groups on Eve of Election Day
On the eve of election day, Southern Tagalog regional poll-watchdog Kontra Daya, Kontra Karahasan received reports of election-related violence against militant groups in the region. In Los Baños, Laguna, at around 12:30 mn, 3 members of Kabataan Partylist, a member of Bayan Muna Partylist and Barangay Human Rights Officer Virgilio Tandang were arrested and physically injured by alleged Makati police officers while in a mass-action of residents against the alleged vote-buying and flying-voter scheme of a mayoral candidate.
PR: KMU to Turn Unions, Federations into Pollwatch Machineries
Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno today said it will turn its unions and federations into machineries for guarding against election fraud. KMU said it will mobilize around 50,000 workers nationwide which it trained as poll watchers. Its six major national federations will serve as coordinating centers for reports on electoral fraud and harassment.
PR: Biggest Foreign Mission to Visit Pampanga, Abra, Other Election Hot Spots
Lubao, Pampanga, the hometown of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, will be one of the destinations of the biggest international mission to observe the 2010 elections. Composed of delegates from Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Hongkong, Taiwan, France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, the People’s International Observers Mission (PIOM) has officially started.
PR: KMU Calls for Vigilance and Action Against Arroyo’s Machinations to Stay in Power
Technical glitches which hounded the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in tests that were administered to these are part of a long series of problems that have occurred in the process of holding the first-ever automated elections in the country. By itself, but especially when seen together with the other problems that have occurred earlier, this failure seriously undermines the credibility of the May 10 elections.
PR: Kontra Daya Hits Comelec Junking of Disqualification Cases vs Mikey
The Kontra Daya campaign group denounced the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for dismissing the disqualification cases filed against presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, who is the first nominee of Ang Galing Pinoy Partylist (AG).
PR: Pagbabago! Calls for Vigilance, Action vs Poll Failure, Massive Fraud
Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Jose Melo must reserve his smile until after the elections. Pagbabago! People’s Movement for Change issued the statement as it called for increased public vigilance despite repeated assurances from poll officials that the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines are now running perfectly and that elections will push through on Monday.