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Last of two parts MAGUINDANAO – If the ghosts of registrations past are to be exorcised and electoral reforms are to take root in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) or the future “new autonomous political entity,” apathy must give way to active participation of the citizenry to ensure the ill practices of the past are not allowed to pass this time, Rasol Mitmug, OIC Speaker of the ARMM’s Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) said.

MAGUINDANAO – The girl in black abaya waiting outside a voting registration center at the Datu Pendililang Piang Elementary School in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town on Wednesday afternoon looked 13 or 14 but claimed to be 19. “You’re in college,” we asked Baileng (not her real name). She shook her head. “High school?” She again shook her head. “Grade Six,” she replied, almost in a whisper.

LAMITAN CITY—The practice of underaged Muslims attempting to register as voters continues in the ongoing general registration of voters in Muslim Mindanao, but they won’t get away with it.

By MIKHAIL FRANZ E. FLORES Now that the K to 12 system of education is being enforced in the country and native languages have begun to be used as medium of instruction from kindergarten to Grade 3, deaf children will also get the chance to use their mother tongue: sign language.

By CONG B. CORRALES, VANESSA L. ALMEDA, WALTER I. BALANE and KARLOS MANLUPIG
VARIOUS groups of persons with disabilities (PWDs) based in Mindanao have criticized the Commission on Elections’ decision to cancel the planned special voter registrations for this sector this month.

By ARTHA KIRA PAREDES, Photos by MARIO IGNACIO IV THE driver of the taxi journalist Chit Estella was riding when she was killed last year blamed two buses that hit his cab along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, one with such impact it spun around.

By CARLO FIGUEROA
JOSE Rizal, the country’s national hero, avoided Chinese-made products like the plague. That is the observation one can make upon reading his letters that have been published by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

BY VERA FILES
Two decades after its creation by the Constitution, the Judicial and Bar Council remains an institution critics say is riddled with “systemic deficiencies” and even defects, and is badly in need of reforms.

By VERA FILES
The Judicial and Bar Council represents the first and crucial step in the judicial appointment process. Ultimately, however, the person responsible for appointments of all the country’s judges and justices is the President.

By VERA FILES
THE Judicial and Bar Council is now the focus of national attention as it begins the process of recommending a replacement for ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. The process, if done right, is expected to help restore public confidence in the High Tribunal.

FOR about four decades now, prostituted women have climbed ships docked at the ports of Davao. These women are called akyat barko girls, which means ship-climbing girls.

By LALA ORDENES THE conviction of Renato Corona, the first time in the country’s history a chief justice is removed from office by impeachment, has thrown the Supreme Court and even the Judicial and Bar Council into uncharted waters, forcing the High Tribunal to contradict itself and act against its own pronouncements.