Unofficial canvass ng PPCRV para sa party-lists (Macky Macaspac)

Progressive party-lists slammed the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) indefinite suspension of the canvass of votes for party-lists, calling it “unnecessary,” “suspicious,” and casting only further doubt on the credibility of the elections.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes ordered the party-list canvass suspended on the first day of the national canvass until further notice, saying that several party-lists objected to the inclusion of votes cast for 12 party-lists disqualified by the Supreme Court and the poll body.

But according to Bayan Muna Rep. Colmenares, “We never asked for a suspension of the canvassing of party-list votes.”

The lawmaker said that Comelec merely had to abide by its own decision, which has been decided with finality and without an appeal or motion for reconsideration.

“The fact remains that these groups were disqualified by both the high court and Comelec and remained disqualified due to their failure to appeal. The indefinite stall will deny representation to sectors for at least a month,” said Colmenares.

The 12 party-lists disqualified from the race are: A-Ipra, Abang Lingkod, Anad, Atong Paglam, Kap, Senior Citizens, Smart, 1st Kabagis, Bantay, Cocofed, Binhi and Ang Galing Pinoy.

‘Elementary mathematics’

“There is no need for the Comelec to stop the party-list count. The Comelec can simply subtract the votes cast for the disqualified groups from the total party-list votes. This is elementary mathematics,” Katribu Party-list spokesperson Kakay Tolentino meanwhile said.

Tolentino said that Comelec’s move may be aimed towards rigging the outcome of the party-list elections, easing out progressive party-lists that truly represent marginalized sectors.

Katribu noted widespread electoral anomalies. For instance, several areas populated by indigenous groups like Cordillera and Caraga have experienced a delay in transmission of votes. 99% of PCOS machines in Palawan were also unable to function as well as in several other areas across Metro Manila. In Baguio and Compostela Valley, failure of elections has been declared because of switched ballots.

“[The disdain and nonchalance of Comelec and the Aquino administration] regarding these anomalies is insulting and a serious infringement and violation of the right of the people to suffrage,” said Tolentino.

Meanwhile, Lito Bais of the farmers’ group Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), a supporter of Anakpawis Party-list, also said that Comelec is only using the disqualification case against the 12 party-lists to justify the suspension of the party-list canvassing.

“We are worried that the longer the poll body delays the canvassing, the more that the party-list results would be highly susceptible to tampering,” Bais, a farmer from Hacienda Luisita, said.

Bais called on the Filipino people to be vigilant against these so-called “maneuvers” by the Aquino administration. “They are hell bent to reduce, or worse, deny, progressives [who continue to uphold a pro-people agenda] in Congress,” he said.

With reports from Jovianne Figueroa

Sira-sirang PCOS machines. Mahahabang pila. Nawawalang pangalan sa opisyal na listahan ng botante. Nawawalang signal. Mali-maling quick counts.

Ito ang naging eksena ng eleksiyon kahapon, Mayo 13. Hindi pa kasama rito ang mga insidente ng pandarahas, panggigipit, at iba pang iregularidad, mula sa botohan hanggang sa pagsasara ng botohan, pagpapadala ng resulta ng boto sa presinto hanggang sa canvassing ng  Commission on Elections (Comelec) sa lokal at pambansang antas.

Sa ilang nasaklawang mga lugar sa Metro Manila at karatig na bayan, nasaksihan ng istap at mga volunteer ng Pinoy Weekly ang mga problemang ito. Sa Twitter feed mula sa hashtag na #PWvote2013, naiulat din natin ang pagmonitor ng independiyenteng election watchdogs tulad Automated Election System Watch (@AESWatch_PH), Kontra Daya (@kontradaya) at National Movement for Free Elections (@Namfrel), gayundin ang ulat ng iba pang miyembro ng alternative media tulad ng Bulatlat.com, Tudla, Kodao, Davao Today, at iba pa.

Mga palpak na PCOS machines, “napakaliit na bilang” lang daw, sabi ng Comelec? (Macky Macaspac)

Pumasok rin mula rin sa mga probinsiya ang mga ulat ng independiyenteng mga grupo na nagbabantay sa halalan. Sa pamamagitan ng mga ulat na ito naipakita ang hitsura ng halalan na batbat ng iregularidad at problema.

Mahigit isang oras matapos magsara ng botohan, inanunsiyo ng Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), opisyal na citizen arm ng Comelec sa halalan, ang partial and unofficial results mula sa 1,418 presinto. Sa resultang ito, nakita na mahigit 14 milyon ang nakuhang boto ng kandidato sa pagkasenador may pinakamataas na boto, si Grace Poe.

Agad ang reaksiyon ng election watchdogs, na tinukoy ang statistical improbability ng pagkakaroon ng mahigit 14 milyong boto.

“(T)he PPCRV-KBP transparency server flashed on national television a numerically improbable total of around 10 million votes for the top senatorial spot while reporting only a total of 1,418 precincts. The error is significant, as a maximum of 1,000 voters per precinct should only yield a total of around 1,418,000 maximum votes,” pahayag ng Kontra Daya.

Binawi ng PPCRV ang naturang bilang, at sinabing may formatting error lang daw umano, at naayos na nila ang naturang problema. Iniulat ng Kontra Daya na inayos din agad ng Smartmatic ang source code sa bahagi nila bilang tugon sa paglabas ng napakalaking boto na di makatotohanan.

Nang i-adjust ang boto; humigit-kumulang 4.8 milyong boto na ang nakuha ni Poe matapos ang adjustment. Pero hindi rin sapat na ipinaliwanag ng PPCRV kung paano nakuha ang figure na ito.

Matatandaang nangyari na rin ito noong eleksiyong 2010, nang umabot sa isang punto na umabot sa 153 milyon ang total registered voters sa canvassing server — na mahigit pa sa populasyon ng Pilipinas noon. Mabilis umanong inayos ng Smartmatic ang source code.

Kahina-hinala para sa Kontra Daya ang biglang pag-aayos ng Smartmatic sa source code na ginagamit sa pagbilang at pagproseso ng mga boto. Anila, nakakapangambang akses ang Smartmatic sa source code, at puwede nitong bagu-baguhin ang source code. Sa kabila ito ng kawalan ng totoong source code review ng canvassing and consolidation server (CCS).

“(T)he public can never know what Smartmatic’s system for tallying and canvassing votes really is. It appears that they can also change the source code on the spot, which makes the whole election system a questionable and problematic exercise,” sabi pa ng Kontra Daya.

PPCRV command center sa Pope Pius XII Catholic Center (Macky Macaspac)

Samantala, nakakadagdag ng paghihinala ang presensisya ng isang opisyal ng Smartmatic sa data center ng PPCRV sa Pope Pius Center sa Manila bago naganap ang maling tally noong hapon ng Mayo 13, sabi ng AES Watch.

Sinabi ni Ernie del Rosario, IT expert ng AES Watch at dating IT director ng Comelec, na nakababahala ang presensiya noong hapon na iyon sa PPCRV ni Albert Castro Rico, na global service direct ng Smartmatic sa Asya Pasipiko. Siya rin umano ang project manager ng foreign technology supplier sa automated elections sa Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) noong 2008, at isa sa mga pumirma sa kontrata para sa poll automation sa pagitan ng Comelec at Smartmatic.

Sinang-ayunan ni Nelson Celis, co-convenor ng AES Watch at dating pangulo ng Philippine Computer Society, si Del Rosario. Aniya,“Smartmatic has no business dealing with a citizens’ arm that should exercise independence especially from a foreigner. Mr. Castro should explain what he was doing there.”

“There is no other reason I know why Smartmatic’s top operations man was at the PPCRV server – is PPCRV using Smartmatic’s CCS (consolidated canvassing system)?” sabi pa ni Celis.

Sinabi ni Del Rosario na anumang interbensiyon ng isang dayuhang kompanya sa operasyon ng civic arm ng Comelec sa eleksiyon ay kahina-hinala at dapat seryosong imbestigahan. Dating pinuno si Del Rosario ng Comelec Technical Working Group sa Poll Automation noong 2008 na nagbitiw dahil sa di-pagkakasunduo sa mga opisyal ng Comelec hinggil sa istandard ng kalidad ng automated elections na dapat ipatupad.

Sa press conference ng PPCRV ngayong araw, sinabi ni Henrietta de Villa ng PPCRV na hindi dapat umano maging isyu ang presensiya ni Rico ng Smartmatic sa kanilang data center. Dapat daw na nandoon talaga ang Smartmatic para obserbahan ang proseso. Sinabi naman ni Ana De Villa Singson, media director ng PPCRV, na matatagpuan din daw sa mismong data center nila ang transparency server ng Smartmatic.

Sa mga ulat sa midya at sa mga pahayag ng PPCRV, tila sinasabi nilang hindi dapat maging isyu ang naging problema sa maling tally. Sinabi naman ng Comelec na “tiny fraction” lamang ng 78,000 PCOS machines sa parehong bilang ng polling precincts ang nasira. Sinabi ni Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes na din naman daw aabot sa 200 ang nasira.

Pero mahihinuha sa eksenang nasaksihan ng Pinoy Weekly, ng election watchdog groups at kahit ng midya na higit pa sa “tiny fraction” ang problema ng katatapos-lamang na eleksiyon.

May ulat ni Macky Macaspac

Slideshow: Mga larawan nina Boy Bagwis, Pher Pasion, Darius Galang, KR Guda, Macky Macaspac, King Catoy, Ilang-Ilang Quijano, Soliman A. Santos at Jovianne Figueroa

PCOS machines, atbp. ngayong halalan: Kailangang bantayan. (PW File Photo)

May makabuluhang pagbabago bang magaganap matapos ang halalan? Hindi tayo umaasa. Gayunman, pinahahalagahan natin ang halalan bilang demokratikong ehersisyong nilalahukan ng mga mamamayan — mga mamamayang gustong marinig ang boses, gustong makilahok sa pulitika, gusto ng makabuluhang pagbabago.

Tulad ng nakaraang halalan, sasaklawin ng Pinoy Weekly ang iba’t ibang lugar para imonitor ang mga botohan — lalo na’t inaasahang magkakaroon ng maraming  kalituhan, lokohan, at (posibleng) dayaan.

Gamit ang hashtag na #PWvote2013  iuulat ng mga mamamahayag ng Pinoy Weekly ang mga nasaksihang eksena sa botohan ngayong Mayo 13, 2013.

Peace advocates agree that the Aquino administration must continue to pursue peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. (Jovianne Figueroa)

“A government instituted for peace and welfare of the people should be the last to give up on any measure intended for a just and lasting peace.”

Thus said Minnie Anne Calub of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP), in a forum on the peace process.

Recently, however, various officials from the Government of the Philippines (GPH) have been expressing GPH’s intent to halt the peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NDFP) and resort to a “new approach” which they deem would be more productive than continuing the peace negotiations.

This has aroused great dismay from different Christian organizations and peace advocates in the country.

GPH chief negotiatior Alexander Padilla, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda all hinted about this “new approach” which involves “localized talks” under the framework of National Internal Peace and Security Plan (NIPSP) Oplan Bayanihan.

Various peace advocates, however, view this “new approach” as a betrayal of the previously signed agreements between GPH and NDFP like the Hague Joint Declaration of 1992.

As according to Rey Casambre of Philippine Peace Center, “This means that the Aquino government is running away from the GPH commitments and from the filipino people hoping that the peace talks would lead to just and lasting peace.”

Norma Dollaga from Pilgrims of Peace also expressed her growing disillusion with the government track on negotiating peace with the rebels. “If GPH will not honor the agreements that they have made thus far in peace talks with the NDF, how can they be trusted to honor subsequent major agreements especially in systemic reforms needed to deal a just and lasting peace?” she said.

Said Casambre about the localized peace talks under the “new approach”: “How can localized talks solve problems that are national in nature?” He added that economic policies are not made by provinces and regions, and must be examined and reformed in a national scale. This reforms, in turn are prerequisites to achieving genuine peace.

Bishop Elmer Bolocon from the Ecumenical Bishop’s Forum added that the Oplan Bayanihan framework is just an excuse for the government to solve the armed conflict through taking arms as well.

“Kahit na sinasabi ng pamahalaan na pro-human rights ang Oplan Bayanihan mukhang hindi yon ang nagaganap. (Even though the government says that Oplan Bayanihan is pro-human rights, it doesn’t look that way),” said Bolocon.

Oplan Bayanihan is a counterinsurgency program by the Aquino administration that runs from 2011 to 2016. It aims to “win peace” through non-combat strategies and providing social services to conflicted areas.

Human rights groups such as Karapatan, however, strongly criticized Oplan Bayanihan as a mere continuation of previous counter-insurgency programs of past administrations that resulted to massive human rights violations.

Roadblocks to peace

In a statement during the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) media forum, GPH’s Padilla said the presumed “death” of the peace process between the GPH and NDFP is the result of “endless roadblocks thrown by the NDF.”

Part of these “roadblocks” include the so-called precondition set by the NDFP to release their 14 NDFP consultants protected under Joint Agreement of Security and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) before they come back to the table.

Peace advocates, however, clarified that the assertions made by NDFP such as the release of political prisoners are not a precondition. It is stated in The Hague Declaration that both parties, including the GPH shall make steps to build confidence on the peace process – the release of political prisoners, especially the 14 NDFP consultants, being only one step among many.

Dollaga said that it is not actually the NDFP “putting up the roadblocks.” She said they believe that the Aquino administration does not adhere to previously agreed upon pacts between the two parties.

This, in addition to the government’s insistence on pushing for their “new approach” kills the peace process and hinders peace altogether, Dollaga opined.

Genuine, lasting peace

Government officials also pointed out the NDFP’s alleged refusal to agree on a ceasefire before the start of formal talks. This after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last year signed a mutual ceasefire with GPH.

“Is the NDFP absolutely opposed to a ceasefire? Actually, no. The NDFP even proposed a truce which is stronger, more permanent and more productive than a ceasefire. Ang mas tanungin natin: Bakit ayaw ng GPH ’yung truce (The real question is: Why doesn’t GPH want a truce?),”  said Casambre.

He added that even though a ceasefire did happen between MILF and GPH, the reasons for the armed conflicts are not being addresed by the final agreements.

Casambre said that the Filipino people “do not just want a final negotiated peace agreement.” What we want, he said, is a final peace agreement that will result to a permanent peace, and one that addresses the very roots of the armed conflict.

“For a government that wants to walk the matuwid na daan (straight path), that’s not good enough. They should be making every effort to address the root causes [of the armed conflict],” said Sr. Pat Fox from the Religious Discernment of the Philippines.

“We pray for peace, but not a peace which includes a ceasefire. It’s not peace until the root causes of poverty, the root causes of the unrest are addressed. So we ask the government to take seriously the responsibility and continue the peace talks,” she concluded.

Maraming problema? Tinutulungan ng isang technician ang mga miyembro ng Board of Election Inspectors sa Buhangin Central Elementary School sa Davao City na ipasok sa PCOS machine ang CF card. (Marilou Aguirre-Tuburan/davaotoday.com)

Nagkakaisa ang mga eksperto sa Information Technology (IT) mula sa grupong Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch): Pasikat lang at di naaayon sa batas ang ginawang turnover ng SysTest Labs Inc. (SLI) (Colorado-based) ng election source code (na pag-aari ng Dominion) sa Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Matapos ito ng press conference ng Comelec na ipinakita ang naturang turnover, matapos ang malawakang panawagan sa IT community at election watchdogs na gawing mas transparent ang automated election system, na siyang sistema ng pagbotong ipapatupad sa botohan sa Mayo 13.

Wala umano masyadong naging silbi ang naturang turnover dahil marami pa ring di nasasagot na kuwestiyon kaugnay ng automated elections at ng source code na gagamitin sa halalan, ayon sa mga IT experts ng AES Watch.

Tanong din nila: Bakit ilang araw lang matapos ng pagsampa ng reklamo ng ilang mga mamamayan, kabilang  ang tumatakbong senador na si Sen. Richard Gordon, saka nilabas bigla ang source code?

Duda si Prop. Nelson Celis, tagapagsalita ng AES Watch, na may mapapala ang publiko sa pagpapakita raw ng pinakahuling “PR stunt” na ito ng Comelec.

“Photo-ops (photo opportunities) lang ba sa midya ang source code? Parehong source code ba ito na nasa firmware ng PCOS (na gagamitin sa botohan)? O ‘chopseuy source code’ ito na mula pa noong 2010 at 2011 (eleksiyon) – na hindi natesting – at gagamitin ngayong 2013? May karapatan ang mga mamamayan na malaman ang terms and conditions ng kasunduang Comelec-Dominion-Smartmatic-SLI at kung anong source code ang nasa CD (na binigay sa turnover),” sabi ni Celis, na hinirang bilang Most Outstanding Electronics Engineer sa IT noong 2012.

Sinabi pa ni Celis na makatadhana sa batas na dapat maraming beses na irebyu ng mga eksperto itong source code. Dahil di ito nagawa bago ang botohan sa Mayo 13, maaari pa ring managot ang Comelec sa di-pagtupad sa batas.

Nakasaad sa Sec. 11.5 ng Republic Act 9369, o ang Poll Automation Law, na kailangang masigurong  “the certification that the source code reviewed is one and same as that used by the equipment.”

Hindi rin inilathala ng Comelec ang hash code ng PCOS na naka-escrow sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, gayundin ang election management system (EMS) at canvassing and consolidation system (CCS), ayon pa kay Celis, na eksperto sa IT na tumulong sa pagbuo ng modernong batas sa halalan noong 2007.

“Niloko ng Comelec ang mga mamamayan noong 2010 sa usapin ng source code. Ngayon, gusto nila uli tayo lokohin,” ani Celis.

Sinabi naman ni Ernie del Rosario, dating Comelec IT director, na walang paraan para makumpirma na iyung source code ng PCOS na inilabas ng Comelec ay siyang naka-embed sa mahigit 80,000 PCOS machines na nakadeploy sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa para sa halalan sa Lunes.

Sinabi naman ni Pablo Manalastas, IT fellow ng Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), na “hindi naman masyado kailangan ng utak para makapag-conclude na para pakitang-tao lang ang mga media release na ito (hinggil sa source code). Wala tayong totoong source code na available ngayong 2013. Naisahan na naman tayo.”

“Nananatili ang mga bug (o problema sa software) ng binary program ng 2010 sa PCOS binary program na gagamitin sa halalan sa Mayo 13, kasama pa ang mga bug sa binary program ng halalan sa ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindana) noong 2011 na di natesting at nagamit,” sabi ni Manalastas, na isang guro ng IT sa UP at Ateneo.

Ipinaliwanag pa ni Manalastas na ang bersiyon na ipinakitang source code ay ang bersiyon ng PCOS computer program ng Domininion na ginamit noon pang 2010. Kasama rin dito, na may kaunting modipikasyon lamang, ang code na ginamit noong 2011 ARMM elections.

“Pero hindi pa naayos ang mga bug na hiniling ng Comelec sa Smartmatic bilang kondisyon sa pagbili ng PCOS sa ilalim ng OTP provision ng kontratang 2009,” paliwanag pa ni Manalastas.

Mahigit 40 na bug ang hiniling ng Comelec na ayusin ng Smartmatic. Pero hindi umano naatugunan ng Dominion ang pag-aayos ng mga ito dahil sa legal na sigalot sa pagitan ng Smartmatic at Dominion sa Court of Delaware sa US.

Sinabi pa ni Manalastas na para matupad ng Comelec ang RA 9369, kailangang makakuha ito ng lisensiya mula sa Dominion para magrebyu ng sinumang pampulitikang partido o grupo ang source code at magpanukala ng pag-aayos ng bugs sa Dominion EMS at Dominion PCOS.

“Ito lang ang legal na paraan para makapagrebyu ng source code ng Dominion ang mga mamamayang Pilipino, sa pamamagitan ng interesadong mga partido-pulitikal,” sabi pa ni Manalastas.

Pero ang tanging lisensiyang ginagamit ngayon ng Smartmatic mula sa Dominion ay iyung kasama na sa 2009 license na nagbibigay ng karapatan sa Comelec na gumamit ng binary programs ng Dominion EMS at Dominion PCOS para sa eleksiyong 2010 lang.

“Naniniwala akong (halos nawala na) ang pag-asa natin para sa isang malinis, matapat, tumpak at seguradong kompiyuterisadong halalan ngayong 2013,” sabi pa ni Manalastas.

Members of various election watchdog and civil society groups wear black armbands to bring attention to the lack of transparency and accountability in the coming election. (Ace Ilagan)

Three civil society groups and 34 individuals led by lawyer Harry Roque  Jr. filed a complaint before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) against the Philippine government on the use of Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines that violates the people’s right to suffrage during the 2010 elections and the forthcoming 2013 elections.

A press conference organized by the Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) was held at the University of the Philippines, Diliman for the signing and submitting of the petition to UNHRC in Switzerland.

According to Evita Jimenez, executive director of Center for People Empowerment in Governance or CenPEG and convener of AES Watch, the coming elections is an “illegal election” that will violate every people’s right to suffrage.

“Itong eleksiyon na ito ay gagamit ng isang sistema na sisikaping bilangi nang ating mga boto sa isang paraan na kuwestiyonable (This election will use a system that will count our votes in a way that is questionable),”Jimenez said.

The said groups cited the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) lack transparency in the source code used for the PCOS machines, as well as the digital signatures that are requirements under the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.

The source codes as well as the digital signatures are said to be essential information that will determine the reliability of the machines to be used on May 13.

Additionally, the groups also cited the expiry of the license in 2012 of the softwares given to the Philippines via Smartmatic for the automated elections released by Dominion Voting Systems, Inc.

Lawyer Harry Roque Jr: We have no recourse but to file the complaint before the UNHRC. (Ace Ilagan)

Rene Azurin, newspaper columnist and author of “Hacking our Democracy,” said that many Filipino are still uninformed bout the violations to their basic and democratic rights by the election system.

Meanwhile, Renato Reyes Jr., of election watchdog Kontra-Daya and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), lamented the fact that “election is privatized and foreign-controlled.”

Lawyer Harry Roque, for his part, said their is a high possibility that manipulation of election results will be prevalent in the coming election.

Roque said that  the law states that public and private keys must be in the hands of not just one entity, which is the private company Smartmatic.

“Ibig sabihin po, kapag ikaw ay nasa loob ng Smartmatic, puwede mong pasukin ang kahit anong server, puwede mong palitan ang resulta.Ganoon lang po kasi kadali iyon kapag hawak mo ang public and private keys (This means that if you are inside Smartmatic, you can access any server, you can change the results. That’s how easy it is if you have the public and private keys),” he explained.
This compromises the principle of “secrecy in voting, public in counting,” said Roque.

The petition, Roque said, asks for the UNHRC to declare that the use of PCOS machines is a violation of the rights of the electorate.

“Kaya po namin isinumite na ito sa UN ay dahil wala na pong pag-asa rito sa Pilipinas na magkaroon ng deklarasyon na ang paggamit ng PCOS ay isang paglabag doon sa karapatang pantao sa isang malinis at accurate na election (The reason we forwarded the complaint to UN is because there is no more hope here in our country that the use of PCOS machines will be declared as a violation of the right of the people to a clean and accurate election),” Roque added.

“Sahod itaas, presyo ibaba” pa rin ang isa sa pangunahing mga panawagan ng mga manggagawa sa Mayo Uno ngayong taon. (Macky Macaspac)

Sinabi ni Pangulong Aquino na dapat daw magdiwang ang sektor ng paggawa sa Mayo 1, Pandaigdigang Araw ng Paggawa, dahil sa “good job” na ginawa ng administrasyon at naturang sektor. Pero ang sagot ng mga manggagawa: mas masidhing protesta at pagkondena.

Humigit-kumulang 30,000 katao, mula sa iba’t ibang unyon, pederasyon at organisasyong masa ang lumahok sa protestang pinangunahan ng Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) sa Maynila noong Mayo 1. Muli nilang pinuntirya ang administrasyong Aquino sa mga programa at polisiya nitong “kontra-manggagawa”—kasama na ang pagtanggi na magbigay ng umento sa sahod sa araw ng mga manggagawa.

“Konsistent siya (Pangulong Aquino) sa pagbasura sa panawagang dagdag-sahod,” sabi ni Roger Soluta, pangkalahatang kalihim ng KMU.

Noong nakaraang taon, tumanggi rin si Aquino sa umento, at sa halip nagdeklara ng dagdag na P30.00 na Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). Pero ginagamit umano ng administrasyon ang dagdag na COLA bilang dahilan para di magdagdag ng sahod ngayong Mayo 1. Ayon sa batas, di raw puwede magdagdag ng sahod higit sa isang beses sa loob ng isang taon–maliban na lamang kung may supervening event, o ekstraordinaryong kaganapang magbibigay katwiran sa dagdag-sahod—para ibigay ang umento.

“Ano pa bang supervening event ang hinahanap ng gobyernong ito, gayung kitang-kita na ang sahod ng manggagawa ay napakalayo sa living wage,” sabi ni Roger Soluta, pangkalahatang kalihim ng KMU.

Sinabi ni Soluta na hindi na kasya ang sahod ng mga manggagawa sa nagtataasang presyo ng mga bilihin. Dagdag pa ni Soluta, “black mail” ang ginagawa ni Aquino sa pagsabi niyang magreresulta sa malawakang tanggalan ang anumang dagdag-sahod.

Naunang sinabi ng Malakanyang na P3.1-Trilyon ang mawawala kung pagbibigyan ang hinihiling na P125 dagdag-sahod. Pero sinabi ni Ferdinand Gaite, pangulo ng Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage), na malilipat lamang ito sa kamay ng mga kawani at manggagawa, palayo sa kamay ng mga kapitalista na dambuhala na ang kita.

Ipinoprotesta rin ng KMU ang pagtanggi ni Aquino na ibasura ang iskemang kontraktuwalisasyon at kawalan ng kaseguruhan sa trabaho ng mga obrero. Mistulang nais ni Aquino na “malubos ang pagsasamantala sa mga manggagawa,” ani Soluta.

Kinondena din ng KMU ang paggamit ni Aquino sa non-wage benefits, dahil galing naman daw sa buwis at kontribusyon ng mga manggagawa ang mga ito. Hindi umano direktang makakapagbigay ginhawa ang non-wage benefits sa mga manggagawa sa harap ng nagtataasang presyo ng mga bilihin at serbisyo.

“Ang kailangan ng mga manggagawa, makabuluhang dagdag-sahod at seguridad sa trabaho. Ito ang kailangan ng pamilya ng manggagawa dahil tumataas ang singil sa kuryente, tubig at iba pang bayarin,” sabi ni Joms Salvador, pangkalahatang kalihim ng Gabriela.

Sinabi ni Salvador na ginagamit ng pangulo ang mag manggagawa at ang araw ng paggawa para pabanguhin ang imahe nito. “Ang kapal ng mukha niya, matagal ng walang ginagawa ang gobyerno para sa mga manggagawa,” aniya.

Sinabi naman ni kandidato sa pagkasenador ng Makabayan na si Teddy Casino na ipinakita ni Aquino ang “kawalang malasakit sa mga manggagawa.”

“Katiting na nga ang kahilingan nila, wala pa siyang itinira,” sabi ni Casino, tungkol sa patuloy na pagtanggi ni Aquino sa makabuluhang dagdag-sahod.

Martsa ng mga manggagawa patungong Mendiola. (Pher Pasion)

Sinabi pa ni Casino na hindi umano maasahan ang gobyerno ni Aquino na magtaguyod sa interes ng mga manggagawa, dahil “ang posisyon ng pangulo’y (laging) pabor sa malalaking employer, mga negosyante at sa mga dayuhang investor.”

“’Yung mga manggagawa, natin hindi man lang niya binigyan ng pagkilala at anumang pagmamalasakit,” sabi ni Casino, na tinaguriang tanging kandidato sa pagkasenador na nanggaling sa hanay ng kilusang manggagawa.

Samantala, sa misang idinaos sa Church of the Black Nazarene sa Quiapo alay sa mga manggagawa, pinasalamatan ni Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle ang mga manggagawa sa pagpapanday nito (manggagawa) ng lipunan.

“Salamat sa mga manggagawa, kung wala kayo, wala ang ating lipunan,” sabi ni Tagle, sa misang pinangunahan niya kasama ang 25 pang pari.

Ipinanawagan din ni Tagle na dapat umanong ipanguna ang dangal ng tao, ng mga manggagawa bago ang pagkamal ng tubo.

“Kahit nagbago pa ang classification ng manggagawa, ang dangal at karapatan nito’y hindi magbabago,” aniya. Idinagdag pa ni Tagle na kailangan ang sama-samang pagkilos ng mga manggagawa para sa kanilang karapatan at nanawagan sa internasyunal na mga institusyon na tugunan ang isyu ng mga manggagawa.

Slideshow: Larawan nina Boy Bagwis, Darius Galang, KR Guda, Christine Kaye Javier, Macky Macaspac, Pher Pasion, Soliman A. Santos and Emilie Van Limbergen  | Audio: Live recording ng pagkanta ni Ericson Acosta ng “Patay Na Ang Kabayo” sa programa sa Mayo Uno, 2013 sa Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila.

Artikulo ni Macky Macaspac, karagdagang panayam ni Christine Kaye Javier

One of 12 electoral alerts released by AES Watch on social media, to inform the public about the vulnerabilities of the upcoming elections.

Lack of security safeguards, legal disputes between the election’s technology providers, and constant initialization and transmission malfunctions will create credibility issues on the the upcoming 2013 automated elections, according to various election watchdogs.

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), a convener of the Automated Election System (AES) Watch, points out that legal and reliability problems will arise if the Commission of Elections (Comelec) pushes through with the automation of the May 2013 elections.

No source code review

One of the key problems pointed out by CenPEG is the lack of source code and digital signatures, both of which are safeguards mandated by the Automated Election System Law or Republic Act 9369.

According to RA 9369, the source code is the “human readable instructions that define what the computer equipment will do.”

CenPEG director Bobby Tuazon explains that if independent parties are not allowed to carefully study the program that makes the whole automated electoral system run, the absence of malicious codes and the integrity of the process cannot be ensured.

“Without the review of the source code, as specified under Section 12 of the AES Law, the voter is not assured that his vote for candidate A is indeed counted under candidate A. This can make cheating easier and untraceable in comparison to manual elections,” Tuazon said in an interview with Pinoy Weekly.

Tuazon also condemned the refusal of Comelec to affix digital signatures in the ballots which, according to the electoral body, is just an “additional expense.”

Comelec chairperson Sixto Brillantes, Jr. also recently stated that there has been no success in retrieving the source code from Dominion Voting Systems, thus, the lack of a source code review.

The problem arose from the break-up between between Smartmatic, the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) provider, and Dominion, the election technology provider. Dominion now holds no obligation to make its software application available to Smartmatic, and therefore to Comelec, because it has already terminated its contract last May 23, 2012. Also, the License Agreement between the two companies only covered the 2010, and not the 2013, elections.

Machine malfunctions

Meanwhile, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), another AES Watch convenor, also expressed distrust on the overall capacity of the PCOS machines to deliver this coming elections.

Last April 25, Namfrel national Chairman Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo wrote to Brillantes about the major glitches in the machines during the nationwide mock elections.

Based on reports from Namfrel and CenPEG, there were problems with the initialization of PCOS machines in Tondo and constant rejection of ballots after a few runs in University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) and EDSA Elementary School. There were also delays in the transmission of results in areas in Camarines Sur, and inability to transmit altogether in areas with unreliable network connections such as Tawi-Tawi and Dumaguete City.

AES Watch’s IT resource persons also reported only a 97% accuracy during the July 2012 mock elections, as against the 99.9995% accuracy mandated by the law. This low accuracy would result to “millions of votes being missed out from counting in an actual election,” according to CenPEG.

These errors and malicious bugs dating back to the 2010 elections could no longer be corrected, since Smartmatic has lost authorization and access to the program by Dominion, Tuazon added.

He repeatedly noted that the country is not yet ready  for an automated election, and slammed Comelec’s push for automation despite legal and credibility issues.

A river in Itogon, Benguet: Under threat from the construction of San Roque Dam. (Emilie Van Limbergen)

Cordillera Day has been a commemoration of those who gave their lives to protect the indigenous people in the Cordillera region in northern Luzon for years. Traditionally, the event takes place on April 24 in a specific village, organized by the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA). In the past few years, however, the organization decided to decentralize the event. All over the Cordillera region, indigenous people celebrated, remembered and protested.

Dalupirip is a small mountain village in Itogon, in the Benguet province. The village lies directly next to the mighty Agno River, which originates from the southern slopes of Mount Data. The river holds three dams, to use its hydropower in order to create electricity. The first one is located in Ambuklao in Bokod, the second one in Binga in Itogon, both of them part of the Benguet province. The third and most recently built dam is the San Roque Dam, which sits along the boundaries of Benguet with San Manuel and San Nicolas of the Pangasinan province. It is the biggest earthcore-rockfill dam in Asia.

Members of the indigenous community in Itogon dance the pattong during Cordillera Day — in resistance to “development aggression.” (Emilie Van Limbergen)

The dams make up a large part of the protest during Cordillera Day in Dalupirip. Norma Mo-oy is a citizen of the town. “The river is full of silt. When the dams hold the water, the silt has nowhere to go. Gold panning, the livelihood of a lot of residents of the area, has become impossible.”

Norma Mo-oy, member of the indigenous community in Itogon. (Emilie Van Limbergen)

But the silt is not the only problem. During rainy season, there is an excess of water and the dams are opened. Whole areas of the villages near the river are being flooded.“Some people received 75000 pesos per house that would be flooded. Some only received promises,” Norma adds.

Large scale mining is one of the biggest concerns during Cordillera Day. Virgilio Aniceto is the secretary-general of the indigenous people’s organization Kabenguetan Agkakaysa Ilaban ti Biag Daga ken Kinabaknang, or Kaiabang. He is also the fourth nominee of the indigenous people’s party Katribu in the upcoming election.

“Even before the Spanish colonized us, the people of the Cordillera region used to partake in small-scale mining. But now, for over a hundred years, US mining companies have been destroying the region, utilizing large-scale mining machines and using the resources for their own benefit,” Virgilio adds.

Virgilio Aniceto of Katribu Party-list. (Emilie Van Limbergen)

The mining companies, he says, are not taking into account the environmental consequences their large scale mining has on the area. Adds Virgilio: “We used to work with conventional tunneling, which would not harm the mountain. Since 1983, big bulldozers are being used. The waste ends up in the water. The whole river system is poisoned.”

Furthermore, mass poverty has increased, alongside human rights violations in the mining companies as well as in the villages surrounding the mining sites. Although the government claims the liberalization of the mining contracts will reduce poverty and increase the competitiveness of the Philippines, evidence shows the opposite has happened.

“The mining companies are driving the indigenous people away while they extract minerals and resources. Cordillera is one of the richest provinces in the Philippines in terms of resources, yet it is one of the poorest in terms of money. Most of what is recovered through mining is exported out of the province and out of the country,” Virgilio adds.

One solution Virgilio sees is a complete junking of Republic Act 7942, or the Mining Act of 1995. This act ensures the liberalization of the Philippine mining industry to foreign investors. They receive all of the revenue, but none of the risk.

“The whole system needs to change. There is need for a collective action. That’s why Cordillera Day is so important. It is the perfect moral boost, where organizations can come together and share information and support”, says Virgilio.

Emilie Van Limbergen is a journalism intern for Pinoy Weekly and a journalism student from Belgium.