Joey de Venecia III and his Fight

Joey de Venecia III is one of 50 or so people aspiring for a Senate post. And for Filipinos voting as absentee voters starting April 10, Joey de Venecia III comes to mind as the main whistleblower in the anomalous ZTE-NBN scandal.

A few people think that Joey de Venecia III does not deserve a senate seat because he belonged to a traditional political family. Most though laud and admire him for what he did--he rose up to put a stop to anomalies in government transactions. Had he not come out from his comfort zone, we would not have known these illicit deals.

Joey de Venecia III will be judged in history as the man who rose up and stood for what is Right, Just and Honest.

If he wins this May 10, 2010 elections, Joey de Venecia III will be the first citizen to ever be elected straight to the Senate. And it looks like he will hack it.

Surveys show Joey de Venecia III landing in the Magic 12 of preferred senatoriables. And asking the masses of the people also gives us a more than bigger chance of him successfully winning in this elections.

The question that everybody is asking is this---will he continue the fight for honest and good governance in the halls of the Senate?

The most expensive and the Most Violent elections in Phil History

Two things mark this May 10, 2010---the most expensive and the most violent. Inspite of the financial and economic crisis that we are suffering, most candidates are spending more than 1 billion pesos already, of course, being led by who else but the country's real estate magnate, Senator Manny Villar of the Nacionalista party. Records show he already spent 2 billion at least, two months ahead of the elections.

Okey with me if most of these went to feed the hungry, clothe the oppressed with justice and warmed the bodies of the widows. But no. These monies went to advertising, media placement and media networks. So, who did Manny Villar helped but those already awash with cash.

Imagine, where will he get the money to regain 2 billion pesos? Probably, he'll tell us that he has business partners who share the costs with him. Okey, so who are these partners? May we know so that we'll know who will probably benefit under a Villar administration?

And this is, by far, the most violent elections ever in Philippine history. The Philippine National Police has reported ninety five people killed, the most was that gruesome massacre in Maguindanao.

Both issues, if you'll analyze them very closely, is a problem of supervision. In overspending, the Comelec and the BIR are responsible for monitoring them, but sadly, they don't have the muscle nor the personnel to actually implement the law.

These politically-motivated killings are also part of the problem of supervision. The 140,000 strong police force are still insufficient to counter more than 10,000 armed groups, since most of these cops are being utilized to fight criminal syndicates (and some being used as security guards of the rich and famous).

The real problem actually lies in what people think of their respective roles in Philippine society. If, for example, people, especially candidates for elective posts, exercise self-regulation, overspending will not be a problem at all, since most will expect others to follow the same rules of the game.

If people respect the very sanctity and importance of life, he will not kill nor even think of killing another in the name of Sanctus Politio.

Hence, the very problem lies in the frames of mind of people. If people have the proper frames of reference, then, there is no need for stricter monitoring nor supervising things.

Breaking News! Aquino-Villar tied for the presidential race, Pulse Asia

Liberal party bet Noynoy Aquino's lead has been whittled by Nacionalista party bet's Manny Villar. In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Villar only trails Aquino by just TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS, with just 37% of voters preferring Aquino over 35% for Villar's. 

This is what I have been saying all along---Aquino's lead would surely settle in a very realistic standing and I FEAR THAT THIS IS ALREADY "IT".

This Pulse Asia survey WILL REFLECT THE FINAL ELECTORAL RESULTS FOR THE MAY 10, 2010 ELECTIONS. AND THIS IS VERY DESTABILIZING, TO SAY THE LEAST.

This shows a POLARITY which is DETRIMENTAL to the security of this country. Why so?

It opens up the possibility of two major contending groups vying for power. This is a polarizing situation which  would surely be resolved NOT in a favorable democratic way BUT in a revolutionary way.

Jamming the May 10, 2010 elections

The United States just appointed a new envoy in place of Kristie Kenney. The new envoy says that the US government hopes for a clean and honest elections come May 10. It seems though that as days past, it is becoming extremely clear that this is becoming more unlikely. 

First, the Comelec is supposed to print the final ballots. Yesterday, the poll body says it could not because it needs to change the layout. Meaning, delay.

Second, the Comelec is supposed to conduct teachers' election seminars throughout the country and basing on their schedule, they would have at least completed 30% of the areas. Until now, they were not able to even cover 10%. Meaning, another delay.

Third, tranmission problems seems to plague these optical counting machines. They conducted one in Taguig and it took a while before the machine was able to transmit the results.

Meaning, another tragic delay.

And lastly, these cellphone jammers. 

Cellphone jammers are supposed to jam the transmission of GSM-based machines. Jammers can be as big as 3 feet and as small as a car key. And they can be bought for either 4 to 5,000 pesos.

Smartmatic-TIM says there's nothing to worry about since they have anti-jamming devices in place. The question is---how many? 

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) admitted that these jammers can surely affect these machines. If these machines are within 3 to 10 meters away, they can affect the transmission of signals.

These jammers can actually CHANGE the configuration of these machines, or alter the results of the transmissions.

Apologists of SMARTMATIC-TIM and COMELEC tried to ally fears from the public by saying that jammers should actually be within striking distance.


We all know that these jammers can actually be put under tables, right?

The What ifs of the May 10, 2010 elections

I was'nt able to update my blogs for a while, too busy to even think about what to write.

First, I don't have a topic in mind. I was thinking about the "revelation" by SMARTMATIC-TIM and the COMELEC that they expect only 65% of automated machines to work come May 10, an indirect admission that they intend to subject 35% of other areas of the country to manual counting.

If that's the case then, that's one helluva story. Such a scenario would create chaos and confusion. 

Imagine May 10, with 2,000 voters clustered in precincts, not knowing if their names are surely there. I've been studying the election statistics and found that that 50.3 million who registered were not "purged" by the Comelec, another indirect admission that the poll body allowed spurious votes or names in the official registry. I checked the National Statistical Coordination Board and if you look at their projection for 2010 (those who are allowed to vote because they have or will reach majority age of 18 years old), the figure is just nearly 49 million. So, there is about 1 million or so ballots extra.

And if my hunch is correct, the poll body will allow 40 million to vote if the administration bet or that pseudo-oppositionist masquerading as a poor man reaches strategic stalemate status with the rapper politician. If they don't catch up, then its back to the 38.7 million expected voters (actual votes).

So there, if 38.7 million voters will have the chance to actually cast their votes, that would actually be 387,000 precincts.


Anyway, what is worrisome is not the voting itself but the counting. Here in this country and in any other place in the world, the counting is the cake itself, not the icing. You'll know if those 17 weeks you spent campaigning were all worth your while. Counting is where the fraudulent and scheming leeches work their magic. 


So, you only have 65% of counting machines working, that is already a cause for any presidentiable or senatoriable to question the electoral results and go to the tribunal for relief. You ask---so what you're saying is, there will be that possibility of a no-proclamation scenario? Yes. 

Imagine a Villar screaming and crying foul and filing a case before the Supreme Court questioning the poll results. 


Imagine a Gilbert Teodoro not conceding and saying that there should never be a proclamation of the winner since the 35% of the results are not in.


And imagine a Noynoy crying to high heavens because of the poll violence in the provinces and chaos in Metro Manila due to massive disfranchisement of voters.

If this automation fails, its a triple whammy for the Filipino People, and the only people laughing all the way to the bank will definitely be the Smartmatic-TIM people who got 12 billion pesos from us. And obviously, that illegal squatter living in the banks of the Pasig City will definitely have her victory. 

Funny, no one's laughing.

Remember May 10

Do you know that the biggest statue ever built in remembrance of the Supremo Andres Bonifacio is in Cavite, not in Monumento, Caloocan? The Statue is the imposing figure at the pilgrimage site of the Supremo in Maragondon Cavite.

And the biggest Andres Bonifacio statue depicted the Supremo bound, like that mythical giant of Tagalog lore who held the ranges of Sierra Madre together by his two hands.

The pilgrimage site was the site where the Supremo and his brother Procopio were killed by Aguinaldo's men after being found guilty of alleged treason in a Kangaroo court in Cavite. The dastardly killing, which happened in May 10, 1897, capped the ilustrious career of the founder of the most revolutionary movement in Philippine history.

That incident marked a significant transition in the character of the revolutionary struggle. As what I wrote in previous entries, the leadership of the revolution changed hands, from Bonifacio who represented the displaced and non-propertied class to the class of gobernadorcillos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo.

Soon after the death of the Supremo, forces of Aguinaldo tried to change the character of the Katipunan, from a millenarian mass movement to one which emulated Western and South American models.

More than this though, Bonifacio's murder was one of the unresolved crime cases in history.

Until now, there has been no conclusive proof of the allegations of treason against the Supremo. It is I think, time for the National Historical Commission to do a thorough review of the case filed against the Supremo and correct the erroneous rendition made by the Aguinaldo faction against the True Supremo of the Filipino People.