News
Closely monitor May 28 special polls, group says
By JONALYN FORTUNO and PAULINE DYCOCO
WITH the upcoming special elections in 11 areas, a youth group is urging all sectors to continue monitoring the polls, especially in ensuring that all election returns (ERs) be accounted for.
“While these areas are now undergoing or are set to undergo special elections, we call on the public to remain vigilant against election fraud and violence,” Youth Vote Philippines said in a statement.
Maguindanao’s new gov wants special census: “physical count of people, one by one”
By CAROLYN ARGUILLAS
Mindanews
BULUAN, Maguindanao. – Governor-elect Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu is requesting the National Statistics Office (NSO) to have a special census for Maguindanao.
“I want a physical count ng mga tao (of people). One by one,” Mangudadatu said.
“Hindi naman ito (This is not about) vengeance,” he told MindaNews late Saturday afternoon in his brother’s residence. “Niloloko nila yung gobyerno eh (they’re fooling government),” he said.
Ismael Veloso Mastura, the reluctant candidate
By MINDANEWS
SHARIFF AGUAK , Maguindanao.– If Ismael “Dustin” Veloso Mastura, 39, had a choice, he would be happy running for vice mayor of Sultan Kudarat town. But fate would lead him to run for and win against the 68-year old warlord, Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr.
His uncle Tucao, who would have been proclaimed governor of Shariff Kabunsuan province in the 2007 elections but for a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court and the latter’s declaring its creation unconstitutional, had filed his candidacy for mayor of Sultan Kudarat town when Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who was running for Governor, sought the Masturas for a running mate.
Sulu holds generally peaceful polls; fistfights replace gunfights
By MINDANEWS
ZAMBOANGA CITY.—With two incidents of armed harassment and zero incident of armed fight, election day was generally peaceful in Sulu, according to the Commission on Elections and the Western Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The Provincial Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) composed of the AFP and the Philippine National Police and chaired by the Comelec, reported that an armed partisan group opened fire at civilians with small arms and mortar shells in barangay Tulay, in the town of Panglima Estino. No casualties were reported in the incident, which authorities said was only meant to harass voters. A company of Scout Rangers pursued the perpetrators.
Anonymous complaints to be filed before Comelec
By PAULINE DYCOCO and JONALYN FORTUNO
WITH the elections over, poll groups are now bracing themselves for a slew of poll-related complaints to be filed before the courts.
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) and the Citizens’ Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms (CCARE) are calling on witnesses to come forward and file anonymous complaints before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), a quasi-judicial body.
Special polls in five Samar villages
By LEYTE-SAMAR DAILY EXPRESS
TACLOBAN CITY.—The Commission on Elections in Eastern Visayas wants special elections held in at least five villages in Samar province where teachers failed to report for poll duty on May 10.
The barangays that failed to hold elections are Carolina and San Roque in Matuguinao town, and Mabini, San Antonio and Himalandrog in Calbayog City. The precincts in these villages have a total of 1,812 voters.
Ampatuan patriarch is out but other massacre suspects and their wives win top posts
By CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS
MindaNews
SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao. – The Ampatuan patriarch, Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr., lost his bid to become vice governor of Maguindanao but ten other clan members implicated in the November 23, 2009 massacre, won in Monday’s elections.
At least 12 prominent members of the clan are implicated in the massacre, six of them detained in Bicutan, Metro Manila (Ampatuan Sr. and Junior, mayor of Datu Unsay town; ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy; Datu Anwar, detained mayor of Shariff Aguak; and Sajid, former Vice Governor and OIC Governor; and the patriarch’s son in law, Datu Akmad M. Ampatuan) while six others are still at large (grandsons Saudi Jr., Bahnarin and Datu Anwar “Ipi” Ampatuan, Jr.; Kanor Datumanong Ampatuan , Datu Mama Ampatuan and Datu Norodin Ampatuan).
Personality, platform form basis for choosing president—SWS exit poll
MANY Filipinos who cast their votes last Monday say they chose their candidate for president based on the candidate’s platform (45 percent) and personality (46 percent), according to the exit poll done by the Social Weather Stations.
In fact, more than half had already decided whom to vote in earlier or February, the survey which polled 35,825 voters found. Fourteen percent said, however, they made their decision only on election day.
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Winning Sultan Kudarat candidate, son killed in ambush
By MINDANEWS
KIDAPAWAN CITY.– A winning candidate for the provincial board in Sultan Kudarat and his son were killed when shot by three armed men while they were on their way to the provincial canvassing center in the capital town of Isulan around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, police reports said.
Supt. Saiben Akmad, chief of the anti-vice and investigation division of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Police Office, identified the victims as Peter Peralta, candidate for provincial board member under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, and his son Feljavar.
Results of SWS exit poll on Senate bets
The TV5-SWS exit poll on the Votes for Senators, with partial sample of 35,825 voters from 731 out of 802 sampled voting centers encoded as of 9 p.m.of May 11:
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