By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL A boxing fight is not a political advertisement. This is what Sarangani representative and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao told the Commission on Elections Monday to defend the airing of his upcoming match with American boxer Timothy Bradley on Philippine television. Pacquiao, through his lawyers Antonio Carlos Bautista and Romulo Macalintal, said the April
By JAKE SORIANO OF the 54 million Filipinos registered to vote in the upcoming presidential elections, 318,013 have disabilities. The interactive map below shows the 10 provinces in the Philippines with the most number of registered voters with disabilities.
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL AFTER months of debate, the Commission on Elections has finally resolved to activate the on-screen verification (OSV) feature of vote-counting machines (VCMs) for the May 9 elections. Voters will be allowed a maximum of 15 seconds to verify whether or not their choices are accurately read by the VCMs. If there are
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL AFTER months of debate, the Commission on Elections has finally resolved to activate the on-screen verification (OSV) feature of vote-counting machines (VCMs) for the May 9 elections. Voters will be allowed a maximum of 15 seconds to verify whether or not their choices are accurately read by the VCMs. If there
THERE are about 54 million voters registered for this year’s presidential elections. Who are they? Where are they?
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL THE Commission on Elections has tripled the number of random manual audit (RMA) precincts compared to previous elections to boost public confidence on the accuracy of results, Commissioner Luie Tito Guia said Tuesday. From 234 precincts in 2013, a total of 715 precincts will be employed for the RMA this May,
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL A former lawmaker is facing criticism for his insensitive remarks on the alleged special treatment given to persons with disabilities (PWDs) in verifying their votes through the voice prompt feature of vote counting machines (VCMs). Former Biliran representative Glenn Chong questioned the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for allowing people with visual
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL A broad range of national issues, ranging from poverty to illegal drugs and political dynasties, was tackled in the first leg of presidential debates last Sunday. For one electoral reform advocate, though, it would have made sense if the candidates covered issues closer to home. Pressing concerns in Mindanao could have
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL IT is possible, but highly unlikely to rig the 2016 elections and use it to favor a certain candidate, given the security features of the automated election system (AES), says an information technology expert. Only when there is “insider cheating” or conspiracy among those controlling the system can electoral fraud take
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL AFTER a series of delays, the Commission on Elections has finally started printing nearly 57 million official ballots for the 2016 polls. Comelec Chair Andres Bautista led observers, poll watchdogs and members of the media in a walkthrough today at the National Printing Office, the government agency in charge of the
