Monday, May 17, 2010

P.A. Velasco proclaimed Congressman


At about 6:00pm of May 11, 2010 at the Capitol Session Hall where the provincial canvass was held, Comelec Provincial Election Supervisor Fernando Besino read the official election result for the congressional contest and proclaimed Atty. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, the new CONGRESSMAN OF MARINDUQUE.

Congressman Velasco's dear family flash the "V" sign. "V" stands for Viva, Victory, Velasco, and the number 2, Velasco's number in the official ballot.

VIVA MARINDUQUE!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

VELASCO DID IT; THE NANAY RETURNS

Following is my yesterday's blog that didn't get posted due to failed Internet connection the whole day:

Marinduque, May 11, 2010

Big surprises characterized Elections 2010 in Marinduque. The morning after the first automated polls in the country, word has gone around in all corners of the island that Atty. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), popularly known as “P.A.” won the congressional seat for Marinduque’s Lone District.

Final results of the elections has not been completed but Velasco is leading by a comfortable margin of 4,000 votes over lone opponent, former congressman Edmund Reyes, Jr.(Liberal). Election results show that Velasco decisively conquered the five municipalities of Sta. Cruz, Gasan, Mogpog, Torrijos and Buenavista, with Reyes taking the capital town of Boac by a 2-1 ratio.

No official proclamation has been undertaken by the Comelec as of 12:00 pm today (May 11), but Reyes’ mother, incumbent congresswoman Carmencita O. Reyes (Liberal guest candidate), is leading by 11,000 votes over closest rival, incumbent governor Jose Antonio N.Carrion. Wilfredo Red, former Sta. Cruz mayor is in third place.

Dr. Antonio Uy (Liberal), an incumbent councilor from the municipality of Sta. Cruz is winning the race for vice-governor, with incumbent board member Jasper Lim (Lakas), taking second place. Incumbent vice-governor Tomas Pizarro (NP) surprisingly garnered the lowest number of votes for said position. Pizarro won the biggest landslide victory during the elections in 2007.

As provincial board members in the second district of Marinduque, the following appeared headed for victory: Meily Aguirre, Harold Red, Eleuterio Raza, Jr., and Epifania Rosas. For the second district, Melecio Go, Allan Nepomuceno, Mark Seno and George Alino.

All of the mayors who ran under the Lakas-Kampi-CMD banner also appeared to have won the mayoralty race in their respective municipalities. These are Roberto Madla (Boac), Jing Madrigal (Buenavista), Senen Livelo (Mogpog), Percival Morales (Sta. Cruz), Gil Briones (Torrijos). Incumbent mayor of Gasan Victoria Lao-Lim is set to make history by being the very first mayor of the said town to be re-elected.

Comelec reported that out of 126,000 registered voters 104,000 Marinduque voters cast their ballots.

It was reported that in certain precints in Gasan, such as one in brgy. Cabugao the PCOS machine malfunctioned as the computer print out reflected zero votes for all the candidates upon transmission. It was observed, however, that the general conduct of elections here on the actual voting date has been smooth and orderly.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Atty. Allan "P.A." Velasco's "Pagbabago"

(Photo courtesy of Steve Javier)

Inspite of, or probably because of, crazed attacks leveled against him by his political enemies, Allan "P.A." Velasco's popularity continues to rise.

Marinduquenos' clamor for change seems to be at its height and all but appear ready to deliver those principled votes in his favor as surveys, web discussions, barangay buzzes and miting de avances consistently show.

By Monday, without the PCOS machine glitches and man-made earthquakes, Marinduquenos may well face a new and exciting chapter in their long political history with the grand entry of a new Representative to Congress, "Congressman Velasco"!

Friday, May 7, 2010

CCS Kit: Strike Two

And so it came to pass in peaceful Marinduque that a replacement machine, the Consolidation Canvassing System (CCS)kit (see previous post), arrived earlier today at the Provincial Session Hall; and it was opened under close scrutiny of the provincial election supervisor, with board of canvassers, candidates and legal representatives present; and lo and behold it was found that the contents of the kit were intended reportedly for far-away Zamboanga and therefore no connectivity testing could be undertaken; thus for the second time in 24 hours a new CCS kit had to be requested from Smartmatic.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

In Marinduque: One more Smartmatic Boo boo!


Provincial Election Supervisor, Fernando Becino has refused to acknowledge receipt of the official box containing election paraphernalia intended for the Provincial Board of Canvassers from the Smartmatic Supervisor here after discovering that the said box has been opened with its seal broken in violation of Comelec guidelines. “The integrity of the kit box has been violated”, Becino said.

In an emergency meeting called by Becino at 2:30pm today at the Capitol Session Hall attended by the concerned Smartmatic technicians, members of the Board of Election Inspectors, provincial candidates and lawyers, a certain Karen Semilla admitted having opened the kit box when it arrived on May 3.

Semilla, a locally hired Smartmatic technician, said she was ordered to receive the sealed box by a certain Jason from the same contracting company last May 3 but she went ahead to open it upon receipt. Breaking the plastic cover and opening the box she had in mind to check the items inside that included electronic gadgets and election paraphernalia, she said. She also claimed that the laptop unit inside was also not sealed in any manner.

Her admission was met with anger and strong opposition by all those present leaving the Comelec supervisor with no recourse but to ask the Smartmatic supervisor present, Marcelino Becina, to arrange for immediate replacement of the election kit box.

Meanwhile, as of this writing all PCOS machines have been delivered to all six municipal treasurers in Marinduque. Comelec provincial office is now awaiting the arrival of the reconfigured compact flashcards for distribution. The faulty memory cards have taken the country by storm in recent days.

CANDIDATES FORUM TONIGHT IN BOAC

Citizens Crime Watch Marinduque Chapter and Bantay Bayan Foundation, Inc. in cooperation with PPCRV will hold the Provincial Candidates Forum tonight, May 6, 2010, at the Moriones Arena in Boac at 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

The forum will serve as a venue for candidates to convey their platforms, programs and answer questions on issues. Expected to attend the forum are all provincial candidates including candidates running for provincial board members and mayors in the 1st District. (Mogpog, Boac Gasan).

The forum culminates with the signing of a covenant and reading of the manifesto by all the candidates.

Hosting the forum is Florenio Medina (Media, Mindoro) and Rodrigo Mascolino (PRRM-KASALIKAPA sa COOP), with Zenaida Luz, CCW Action Officer presenting the candidates.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Marinduque Elections: OMINOUS!

Election Power Issue and Marelco.

At the height of last year’s power outages when hearings conducted by the provincial council were held, in one such hearing it will be recalled that the source of many conflicting information being conveyed to the power stakeholders were sourced from Marelco itself.

But all had to do with the failed contract between Marelco and 3i Powergen, the supposed new power provider. Said contract stipulated that by February 2007, commercial operation of 3i Powergen in Marinduque should be in full swing, but was never realized and, never will be.

Marelco, has openly presented itself as a cooperative yet, to this day, has rejected the idea of registration with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), that would have enabled it to run as a stock-cooperative.

CDA registration would have qualified Marelco to be exempt from VAT charges effectively reducing the cost of electric bills that would be beneficial to all subscribers. Yet it wants to stay as a non-stock, non-profit enterprise existing under a Presidential Decree (PD 269 was issued during the Marcos administration. Marelco budget is approved by NEA and in 2009 the approved budget was P 280-million.)

Then it turned out that an amount of P 47-million VAT collected from subscribers, and continues to be collected, was never paid to the tax authorities. A claim was made during a public hearing at the capitol that the said millions were spent to rehabilitate the electrical installations damaged by typhoon “Reming” in December 2006, “a judgement call” according to Marelco.

Marelco as it turned out had no authority to use the money (placed at P 42-million), for that purpose. This fact was aggravated by a claim from concerned Marelco employees and conveyed during a hearing conducted by the Energy Regulatory Commission that in truth, financial assistance to the tune of P 32-million for the same purpose was allocated to the electric company by the National Electrification Administration.

Now in addition to VAT payables Marelco has accumulated millions of pesos in overdue power account with Napocor and current account for some P 10-Million.

But who really owns and/or controls Marelco?

No one’s willing to provide a categorical answer to this question because the culture of secrecy that has characterized this electric company has pervaded for three decades. What we know is the fact that electric companies under this category are subject to the whims and caprices of any government entity and/or political figures.

No less than the chair of the Energy Committee of Congress, Cong. Magsaysay stressed this point on the need for electric cooperatives to register under CDA. Marelco is not exempt from such political pressures and from the looks of it determined to keep the status quo. (It should be noted that Marelco manager, Eduardo Bueno is the husband of NEA administrator, Edita S. Bueno).

To see an end to it depends largely on the outcome of this year's (this Monday's) local elections in Marinduque, where, the miracle of an opportunity for all to see the light looms clearly. But how many of our poor people comprising about 50% of the population perceive these realities?

The result of the elections could lead to decisive moves to be undertaken by all power stakeholders for all of us to finally see the light. Least Marinduque will remain in darkness for a long, long while, swimming deeper still in a quagmire of probably deserved helplessness, further exploitation, higher power rates.

Election. Ominous signs around, Marelco gears up.

What do we see and hear?

Some Marelco bill collectors have gone around from house to house in interior barangays wearing yellow Reyes campaign T-shirts, actively campaigning for the Reyes tandem (Edmund Reyes for Congressman-Carmencita Reyes for Governor), who are known to control Marelco, and blaming Gov. Carrion for the recent brownouts because “sino ba ang ama ng lalawigan?”

After Marelco's assurance that no power outages would occur, especially from May 3rd when the PCOS machines are scheduled to be delivered to the local poll precincts until May 12th when the political exercise is assumed to have been completed, there are still unscheduled power outages being effected on a selective basis, it appears.

Marelco remains vague and cryptic to inquiries from callers with their responses ranging from “hindi pa dumadating ang lineman namin kaya hindi pa namin alam”, to “wala pa po si manager Bueno kaya hindi namin alam”, “sa Napocor po ang problema”, to “mga falling palapa (coconut fronds) in places in Gasan ang cause ng brownout”.

The last quote was from Bueno himself (April 27), one inconsistent with Napocor findings that the specific episode in question and conveyed to this blogger was traced to “tripping in the Ihatub area”.


By design?

Keen political observers maintain that brownouts occur in areas where opponents of the Reyes tandem are holding election campaign activities like concerts and meetings (Buenavista, Gasan), but not in areas where the Reyes party are holding theirs.

When the Lakas-Kampi-CMD miting de avance was held in Buenavista the other night two power interruptions occurred there lasting more than an hour each. Good thing the party had back-up generators. No brownout occurred in Boac, meanwhile.

Quote: “Matagal na namang alam ng mga tao na nagagamit ng mga pulitiko ang Marelco kung gusto nilang patayin ang ilaw sa alin mang areas na gustuhin”. Right or wrong?

“Contingency Measure”

During the meeting held on April 22 at the capitol, Bueno bragged about a contingency measure involving the deployment of more than a hundred of its linemen who’d be available “on call” in all barangays in the event of brownouts.

There seems good reason for one to be wary of such contingency measures in the event of brownouts caused by “falling palapa hitting power lines”. What other things if any, official or unofficial, are the diligent linemen supposed to undertake?

Power Outage in Gasan this Minute!

There's power outage in Gasan right now as I write this. Boac uninterrupted. Called up Marelco minutes ago to ask what was the cause of the brownout. The response was "hindi po namin alam", called up again and the response was "due to emergency shutdown in Bantad".

There are seriously increasing dots to connect on the hour, every hour now... read Warning Sign.

Marinduqueno, be vigilant. And be brave.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Earthquake Felt in Marinduque; Turin Shroud Authentic

By coincidence, an earthquake rocked Metro Manila and environs on April 30th at 12:46 a.m., exactly 30 hours to the minute after I posted that CNN Newsbreak Video on a possible earthquake hitting Manila (but this isn't yet the big one, of course).

The said tremor was also felt in Marinduque and in the following places in the metro: Valenzuela, Sucat, Pasay, Ermita, Manila, Makati, Cainta, Lucban (Quezon), Daet, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur. Read Marinduque Quake History

Also by coincidence, it was interesting to watch the news last night that said "Pope all but endorses the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin".

As our community theater group, Teatro Balangaw, successfuly mounted "Ang Kristo: Pasyon-dula (Passion Play)" in Tagalog last Holy Week in Marinduque in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Provincial Government of Marinduque, I was naturally interested as a Catholic (albeit not devout), on the Life of Christ, and chanced upon a Youtube video, "Shroud - new evidence - BBC Special".

Dated Sept. 6, 2009, I also posted that video here on April 15, 2010, as my "Postscript to Easter". This blogger wrote and directed the said Passion Play with a cast and staff of 120.

Today's Christian Science Monitor website reported thus:

"Pope Benedict says Shroud of Turin authentic burial robe of Jesus. Dismissing skeptics on Sunday when he visited the Shroud of Turin, Pope Benedict XVI said the burial cloth was none other than the same robe that once 'wrapped the remains' of Jesus Christ."

Item by AP said: "During a visit to the Shroud in the northern Italian city of Turin, Benedict didn't raise the scientific questions that surround the linen and whether it might be a medieval forgery. Instead, he delivered a powerful meditation on the faith that holds that the Shroud is indeed Christ's burial cloth.

"This is a burial cloth that wrapped the remains of a crucified man in full correspondence with what the Gospels tell us of Jesus," Benedict said. He said the relic — one of the most important in Christianity — should be seen as a photographic document of the "darkest mystery of faith" — that of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

"The 14-foot-long, 3.5-foot-wide (4.3-meter-long, 1 meter-wide) cloth has gone on public display for the first time since the 2000 Millennium celebrations and a subsequent 2002 restoration. Kept in a bulletproof, climate-controlled case in Turin's cathedral, it has drawn nearly 2 million reservations from pilgrims and tourists eager to spend three to five minutes viewing it.

"The Shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping from his hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen's fibers at the time of his resurrection."


I love coincidences...for

"Nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. Therefore take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him shall more be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him." - Jesus (Luke 8:17,18)