Automated Elections Accomplished?

Reports of various PCOS glitches during the elections show that Murphy was still able to do some damage, but by the end of the day, Comelec was still able to overcome the majority of problems. As international congratulations came in, perhaps we can already say it wrapped up this automation thriller with a success?

After all, pulling off an automated election would be a major accomplishment in any developed nation. Considering this is the Philippines with its less then stellar infrastructure, getting all 50 million people (or 75% thereof) to cast their vote electronically is surely something to be proud of.

Today Is Election Day

The great test of Philippine democracy is currently underway, and hopefully things will go smoothly. In a country where election violence is not uncommon, the body count as polls opened already stood at 4. Against the backdrop of possible violence, ballot box stuffing, fraud, and other voting irregularities, any election in the Philippines is an exciting event. This one, however, is bound to be a down right thriller. It is the first election that is fully automated.

Election Holiday Madness

Not only is there free fiesta during election time, there might even be extra holidays as well! Besides the election day holiday on Monday May 10, rumours are now going around that May 11 will also be declared a public holiday.

Alibi is the Weakest Defense After All

In my last post titled Business As Usual I linked to an article in the Inquirer where former justice secretary Franklin Drilon was quoted as saying “Alibi is the weakest defense”, referring to Justice Secretary Alberto Agra's April 16 decision to clear two members of the Ampatuan clan in the Maguindanao massacre. Today, after assessing new evidence, it looks like Agra agrees.

Justice For The Environment

A friend of mine forwarded some good news. The new and highly anticipated Supreme Court Rules of Procedures for Environmental Cases was launched today. These rules aim to facilitate and expedite the resolution of cases concerning the environment, and is the first of its kind in the world.

Holiday Surprise!

Yesterday Malacanang announced that May 3 will be a non-working holiday. After many years in the country, the concept of holidays in this country perplexes me. To this very day I still cannot explain the difference between "a non working holiday" and a regular holiday.

Going Nuclear

On April 26, 1986 at 01:23:43, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine suffered a cataclysmic melt down. To this day, it is considered the worst nuclear power plant disaster to have ever occurred, and it is the only registered level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

On the eve of the Chernobyl remembrance day, I came across an article in the BusinessMirror where Acting Energy Secretary Jose Ibazeta was quoted as saying:

"There’s nothing wrong with nuke [plants] except claims that it may be in an earthquake [fault line]. And so far, after all the tremors we have had in the past 20 years, the pavement of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant did not even crack,” said Ibazeta, adding there should be no fear of having nuclear energy.

Business as Usual

A good friend of mine lamented today that her countrymen have such short term memories. Major issues like the Maguindanao massacre hit front page news one day, only to be relegated to the horoscope section the very next. I was wondering what she was on about, until I saw an article about Justice Secretary Alberto Agra having cleared two members of the Ampatuan clan of all charges. These are direct family members to Andal Ampatuan Jr. who himself is charged with the massacre of 57 people, including 32 media workers.