By VERA Files SENIOR citizens and persons with disabilities became the darlings of the press when they cast their ballots for the first time in SM malls on Monday. In Batangas, the media fussed over Reymundo Chica and his wife Melanie, both with visual impairment, as they entered SM Lipa, one of the four pilot areas
By DARLENE CAY (UPDATED) THE Commission on Elections decided on Monday to suspend the proclamation of winners in areas where petitions have been filed against candidates who are considered nuisance, are unregistered voters or have been convicted. Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the move was needed because the poll body lacks time to resolve all
By DEXTER CABALZA LIGAYA Patañaga, 81, and her neighbor,Luzviminda Dularte, 75, showed up at the SM City Manila before 7 a.m., eager to vote at one of only four venues in the country designated by the Commission on Elections as accessible polling places (APP). But at that hour, the mall was letting in early birds
By ARTHA KIRA PAREDES COTABATO CITY— Election officers in Maguindanao say priority and fast lanes will be set aside for persons with disabilities, senior citizens and pregnant women as part of government’s move to make polling places “accessible” on election day on Monday. But the special lanes aren’t enough, they are the first to admit,
By MELISSA LUZ LOPEZ POLL watchdog Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms Inc (C-CARE) says one in every three barangays in Basilan are potential areas of concern in Monday’s elections and recommends an increase in the number of security personnel in those villages. C-CARE says unstable peace and order situations have been observed in 92
IT’S all systems go for the barangay polls. Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr on Friday announced that the electoral body is ready to conduct successful elections, and that all materials for October 28 have been deployed. “We’ve completed the preparations…we should be winding up on the final deployment,” he said. Deployment of materials
By DARLENE CAY THE Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas on Wednesday filed a motion for reconsideration after a local court denied its petition to declare as illegal the Commission on Elections’ directive requiring barangays to help fund the October 28 polls. The group, in its petition before the Manila Regional Trial Court, says the
(UPDATED) NO candidates in the upcoming barangay elections will be allowed to take part in relief operations in earthquake-ravaged Bohol, Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr warned on Wednesday. “The Commission on Elections is making sure that the distribution of relief will not be used for political purposes,” he said in a press briefing, adding that the
By DARLENE CAY THE Commission on Elections on Wednesday said it has packed and shipped 94.65 percent of the materials needed for the October 28 barangay polls. Comelec Commissioner Al Parreño, who heads the Committee on Deployment, said the distribution of paraphernalia is being implemented according to the plan. “Wala naman kaming nakikitang problema sa
By DARLENE CAY THE Commission on Elections has so far pooled a mere P102 million from barangays to augment funds for the October 28 elections, or only about a quarter of the amount the body poll would have collected if all the 42,028 barangays nationwide remitted their share. Only 17 percent or 6,981 villages turned