Archive - News

By MIKHA FLORES REQUIRING candidates to regularly submit their statements of election contributions and expenses (SECE) during the campaign period will be an added burden for the Commission on Elections, Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Friday. “Maganda sana iyon pero ang laking abala pa sa amin (It is a good idea but it’s an added burden on

By MIKHA FLORES THE National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), one of the accredited citizens’ arms in the May 13 polls, has suggested a regular submission by candidates of  their statements of contributions and expenses during the campaign period, instead of filing only once after the elections. This is to avoid a situation where candidates

By MIKHA FLORES THE Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)  has distanced itself from the position taken by its chairman on the issue of the ‘Conscience Vote’ tarpaulin in Bacolod. Former Ambassador Henrietta ‘Tita’ De Villa believes the Diocese of Bacolod has the right to freedom of expression and is not violating any law by

TACLOBAN CITY— Aside from partisan or private armed groups, the army and police in Eastern Visayas are watching the intense rivalry among political clans in two provinces as an area of concern.

By MIKHA FLORES THE Commission on Elections has listed 75 poster violations one month after the campaign period for candidates for senator and party-list groups started on Feb 12. Comelec’s Law Department sent out 38 notices to 22 senatorial candidates and 36 notices to 21 party-lists. The poll body also sent a separate notice to Bishop

By MIKHA FLORES THE cancellation hearing of three party-list groups set for Friday will send the message that the Commission on Elections is strict in enforcing the rules on campaigning and serve as warning to local candidates ahead of the start of the campaign period in less than three weeks. Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said

By MIKHA FLORES COMMISSION on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr on Monday asked President Benigno Aquino III to immediately name the replacements for the two appointees who declined their appointment as commissioners, saying the vacancies are a taking a toll on the poll body’s early resolution of election cases. Aquino appointed former Justice Undersecretary Macabangkit Lanto

By MIKHA FLORES THE oversized tarpaulin bearing the names of senatorial and party-list candidates who were for and against the controversial Reproductive Health Bill will remain hanging outside a Bacolod church after the Supreme Court stopped the Commission on Elections from taking down the campaign material. The high court issued Tuesday a temporary restraining order

By MIKHA FLORES A Commission on Elections official who once blocked the confirmation of Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. is now vying for one of the two vacancies in the poll body. Planning Department Director Ferdinand Rafanan has submitted his application for Comelec Commissioner to President Benigno Aquino and told him he would spearhead anti-corruption

By JONATHAN DE SANTOS POLITICAL turncoatism, and possibly even the sharing of candidates among political parties, could be a thing of the past if Congress manages to pass by June 6 a bill strengthening political parties. But Congress has a very limited window of opportunity to do it, under the present term. “We have June

By MIKHA FLORES THE Commission on Elections’ negotiations with Dominion Voting Systems for the release of the source code for the automated machines to be used in the coming elections have gained little headway, but Chairman Sixto Brillantes is still hoping for a definitive outcome from the talks so the poll body can get past

By MIKHA FLORES THE Commission on Elections has asked the Catholic Church to serve as role model in following election laws by removing an oversized endorsement poster outside a Bacolod church. In a one-page letter dated Feb 27, Law Department Director Esmeralda Amora-Ladra asked Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra to lead by example and remove the