The Journal of The Jester-in-Exile

Forgot to mention: This blog is closed until the jester-in-exile finally has time for it again.

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:41:35 PDT

See you good folks in a couple of... err, maybe years.

The Dad has just left to give his verbal report to The Boss.

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:55:09 PDT

For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.

To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve.

- The Lamentations of Jeremiah III, xxxi - xxxvi (ESV)

***

GTG
February 22, 1955 - August 1, 2010Beloved husband, father, and friend

Requiescat in pacem, pater mei. See you soon.

Kodigong Panlaban sa Pandaraya: The Jester-in-Exile's Sample Ballot (A Sort-of Sticky Post)

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Thu, 06 May 2010 23:08:39 PDT

Hello folks, it's been ages.

Perhaps later I'm going to talk about why I have been -- and will be -- gone for quite a long while, but for now I have a promise to keep: my sample ballot.

Before I get into that, I have a rant.

I know that BPOs and ITOs cannot operate without their staff, but Jesus Christ on a rotten soapbox, why is there much talk that the call center agents being disallowed to go on leave to be able to vote?

A number of call center acquaintances have let me know that their requests for vacation leave to be able to vote have been denied. Why? Because their stupid-ass bosses say that voting is unimportant; the bosses say they aren't going to vote anyway, why should the staff have to; the bosses say that voting is a privilege, not a right

Or whatever nonsense.

You bosses, you forget that your company cannot operate in this country against the law. Preventing a voter from voting is an election offense.

Paging advocacy lawyers. Moolah-making time.

Now to the sample ballot I will prepare for Monday's use.

***
Some good guides, people: national candidates' profiles (thank you, Plurkistan), iKuwaderno's full list and numbers (comelec.gov.ph was slow today), list of Baguio City candidates.

Here we go.

President
[] (null)

Choices:
[] P#^&#$&#&-I%#^#$%#^!!! ANYONE EXCEPT Villar, Manuel jr. Bamba for many reasons -- similar to Komikero's, Lila Shahani's, and Tatay Schumey's, et cetera.

Vice-President
[] (null)

Choices
6. ROXAS, Manuel Araneta
8. YASAY, Perfecto Rivas

Senators
[] 1. ACOSTA, Jr., Nereus Olaivar
[] 5. BAUTISTA, Martin Donato
[] 7. BIAZON, Rozzano Rufino Bunoan
[] 19. GUINGONA, Teofisto III De Lara
[] 20. HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL, Ana Theresia Hontiveros
[] 23. LACSON, Alexander Ledesma
[] 25. LAO, Yasmin Busran
[] 28. LIM, Danilo Dela Paz
[] 38. OPLE, Susan Vasquez
[] 47. QUERUBIN, Ariel Oliva
[] 51. ROCO, Sonia Malasarte
[] 54. TAMANO, Adel Abbas

District Representative
[] YANGOT, Leandro

Mayor
[] HERNANDEZ, Guillermo

Vice-Mayor
[] DOMALSIN, Carol

Councilors
[] ACOSTA, Voltaire
[] ADUBE, Laurence
[] CARLOS, Richard
[] COSALAN, Isabelo jr.
[] DAOAS, Sonia
[] FANGONON, Fred
[] MARRERO, Joseph
[] OLARTE, Jose jr
[] PADILLA, Narciso
[] TABANDA, Betty Lourdes
[] TABORA-TUASON, Cynthia
[] RONDEZ, Perlita

Party-List Organization
[] (null)

Choices:
15. A TEACHER
89. ANG LADLAD
58. AKBAYAN
135. CIBAC

Man, this is harder that I thought. I'll get back to this and let you know of any changes.

Today, I Support Alexander "Pinoy" Lacson for Senator

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:03:33 PST

Better believe I will.

A paradox in Philippine politics is that the best people to put into government are few among those who are candidates; many of those who are campaigning today are no more than rabid dogs salivating for the power and the perks that come with the office.

It was a pleasure, therefore, to meet senatorial candidate Alex Lacson, an independent running as a guest candidate of the Liberal Party. After a couple of hours of taking the man's measure, I am convinced that Lacson is no politician -- and the type of person I would want to represent me in the legislature.

The jester-in-exile today declares his support for Alexander "Pinoy" Lacson... but we are getting ahead of the story.

***
Last January 25, I met up with Unca Juned to go to White Plains and meet up with Alex Lacson, whose media team set up a meet-and-greet at the candidate's home. I had some idea of the man -- I had read his book "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country"; an engaging little piece, it is -- but the cynical voice in my head kept on planting the seeds of doubt. Why would a decent fellow run for a seat in the dirtiest game in town?

When Juned and I got there, we saw that the upper-middle-class residence had quite a lot of people; among the mainstream media denizens were bloggers Pat Mangubat and Ding. Soon afterwards, Jane arrived; a little later, having gotten a little bit lost on the way, Roch drove up (BlogWatch was amply represented, I think). To my surprise and pleasure, old blogging buddy from Filipino Voices and OFW balikbayan Lester showed up as well. Sharp wits Kaffee and Chingbee attended the small event too. Lacson's wife, the pretty smart Pia, and one of his friends and volunteers Maggie welcomed us to the place.

We chatted a bit, caught up with each other, then eventually made our way to the chairs we were to occupy for the event. Jane found wifi, I didn't (Vivi-Dee wasn't sensitive enough to detect the one-bar signal that Jane's Mac sniffed), so we were unable to set up a live stream of the event, and I'm not sure if Janey was able to tweet snippets of the event.

Alex "Pinoy" Lacson's new media man Friday Jay opened the event by talking about why he personally believes in his principal, sharing anecdotes about how Lacson walks his talk. After a few minutes of that, the candidate shared his personal story.

Without giving the story away -- I believe strongly that you good folks should hear Alex tell his story himself -- the man has pulled himself up by the bootstraps... but without any smear of impropriety tainting the candidate acerbic wordsmith Schumey's cast his critical eye on (yes, Mister Villar, the word is getting out on you). Alex Lacson worked his ass off to get where he is right now, and as Lester later pointed out, he's done so to be able to give back.

Alex put three commitments to us, should he be elected: honesty and transparency in the use of public funds, simplicity in lifestyle, and humility in service. These three commitments were, to me, when he said them, to be no more than lip service -- until he outlined the concrete methods by which he will keep these commitments to the public.

When he told us that he was willing to have himself audited, his office continually audited, should he be elected, then and there I was wowed.

The man has a serious case of ethical standards.

Among many other characteristics that will make him a valuable addition to the Senate, one thing that sets Alex Lacson apart from many candidates is that he has concrete plans and programs to go with his advocacies; the candidate has a legislative agenda for all of the things that he wants to spearhead.

Lacson was clear about his limitations (no politician, this man is), and said that he wasn't an expert with regard to the myriad issues that face the country today, but what is clear to me is that the man believes in education, in human rights, in fighting discrimination, in grassroots empowerment, and other advocacies that I agres with him are good for the public at large. The lawyer that he is, Lacson is a little bit soft on the issue of HB5043, but nonetheless seems to be supportive of reproductive health and population management.

All in all, the man has my solid vote. Unlike Toots Ople, whose defense of Villar on the C5 and Taga scandal has given me a little pause (any more such shenanigans and I might just write a retraction on my support for her), Alex Lacson has my vote, without doubt or hesitation.

Today, that is.

***
Alexander "Pinoy" Lacson has my vote; also, it is clear that many others at the event were swayed to support him, too. His is a candidacy I can get behind.

So then, the sample ballot.

President
[] (null)

Vice-President
[] (null)

Senators
[] Alexander Lacson
[] Susan Ople
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)

District Representative
[] (null)

Mayor
[] (null)

Vice-Mayor
[] (null)

Councilors
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)

Party-List Organization
[] (null)

Good luck, Alex. Win or lose, as your idol John F. Kennedy said, "The people always get the government they deserve."

We're going to try to make sure we deserve a government with such as you in it.

Note of caution, though: marunong akong maningil, Alex.

Ricky, Your Resignation is Not Official Until the Pope Receives It

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:34:47 PST

From Ricky Carandang's blog post "Thou Shalt Not Vote For...", where he reacts on the ANC report that the Roman Catholic Church, through the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), has drafted guidelines for the faithful with regard to voting. According to Carandang, the CBCP is discouraging Catholics from voting for anyone supporting reproductive health.

The upshot is that Ricky has said publicly that he supposes that he is resigning from the Holy Mother Church.

Here's a snippet that I believe describes the conflict he found he cannot live with:

This afternoon I interiewed Fr. Melvin Castro, who heads the CBCP commission that drafted the guidelines and asked him why candidates who commit plunder and acts of corruption are not being condemned in the same way that reproductive health advocates are.

Castro said in effect that plunder and all of those corrupt acts are an offshoot of the lack of respect for the family and therefore not as bad in the heirarchy of catholic morality as family planning which is as he says, anti-family.

Flabbergasted, I asked if they were saying it was alright to vote for a crook as long as he doesn’t advocate modern family planning. His roundabout answer,—as I understand it is... in so many words –- yes.

Yup, he can't reconcile the Church's stand with his own belief that "thinking that stealing money from the poor (is) worse than wearing a condom."

Read more here.

Oh, and let's wait around and see what happens to Ricky. Will cowled men knock down his door and take him to the rack? Heh heh.

Today, I Support Susan "Toots" Ople for Senator

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:41:50 PST

Today at my tambayan I found myself in conversation with Eddie, one of the waiters there (it was a slow day for the shop). As is not unusual among people who work in the service industry, the fellow wanted a better job, preferably abroad.

Wanting to be an OFW isn't unusual for a lot of Filipinos; not until our own economy reaches the point where there is certain job security and salary scales that match the local cost of living will our people start to consider staying and using their skills locally.

The OFW life isn't easy, as any of our migrant workers will tell you; I myself had been an OFW twice in my life (and personally I'm glad they weren't long stints). Long before they get on the plane to their jobs, there are a lot of potential pitfalls; there are illegal recruiters, leeches in the POEA and the OWWA, shills in the DFA -- there is much yet to clean up here. Upon flying out to their jobs, OFWs are faced with the difficulties of a life abroad, and many still are the complaints about the lack of support by our own government with regarding to protecting our expatriate countrymen.

This is why we need someone like Toots Ople in the Senate. We need someone who has been working with OFWs, understands their needs, and has been consistent in championing their causes. We need someone like Toots in the legislature, one who will help hammer out legislation towards the upliftment of our OFWs' plight; likewise, we need someone like Toots who will help in working for the long-term goal of encouraging our people to stay and use their talents to help in our own progress. We can't export human capital forever and expect our country to grow technologically, economically, even politically.

Today, I support Susan "Toots" Ople's senatorial bid. I encourage you to do the same.

***
I've only encountered Toots in person twice (I think it was just twice, I'm not that sure) and only in passing, but I have seen her work in the papers, and thus far I must say that her efforts will make her a valuable member of the Senate. I have only had short but very insightful conversations with her, and what I have learned has convinced me that we need her in the Upper House. Her work has demonstrated her competence and dedication; I have little doubt that she will do a great job in the Senate.

Her campaign website is www.ople2010.com, but of greater interest to me as someone who believes in uplifting the OFW and the Filipino is the website of the organization she has been working for, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute. In my effort to get to know her personal beliefs better, I have been visiting her blog susanople.com, and there is very little that one will find unimpressive.

Friends, her work speaks for itself. Each of us has at least one OFW in the family; each of us has at least one friend working abroad. With Toots in the Senate, I am convinced we can have a strong chance of helping our families and friends gain a better life -- and one day bring them home to a better Philippines.

***
This is my first post to answer my little attempt to call for blogswarms, and it will not be the last. I will continue to write posts such as this one, and thus update my sample ballot for the 2010 automated elections below:

President
[] (null)

Vice-President
[] (null)

Senators
[] Susan Ople
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)

District Representative
[] (null)

Mayor
[] (null)

Vice-Mayor
[] (null)

Councilors
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)
[] (null)

Party-List Organization
[] (null)

I hope you start your own lists, folks. We have enough data to start making intelligent choices, and we have enough time to convince others to do the same.

Why We Should Draft Our Ballot Choices Now (or why we must debate and discuss until May 10, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:53:07 PST

(Personal disclaimer: any support or opposition to any candidate/ political party or movement during this campaign period will be written in this blog. I will not write any such matters on other advocacy blogs I guest on, such as Filipino Voices and BlogWatch. I will not disrespect these sites' organizers and my colleagues in them by tainting advocacy with obvious partisanship.)

This morning, friends, I was able to catch most of the "Kilalanin" forum of DZBB, via GMANews.tv"'s livestream of DZBB.

(Aside: may Rhea Santos na nga sila, may livestreaming pa. Kung may recording ng forum, ayna! Kalimutan na for life ang ibang network at maging kapusong totoo... basta di na rin natin maririnig ang boses ni Marian Rivera sa news.)

(Aside number two: if the network provides a recording of "Kilalanin" for public consumption and download, I will nominate GMA as the most public awareness-oriented network, in whatever forum that will give such an award. They are to my way of thinking already one up on ABS-CBNNews.com, with their "Leksyon sa Eleksyon" advocacy ads on primetime.)

Anyway, while listening to the radio broadcast online, I figured that through the efforts of both mainstream media and new media, the public is beginning to get enough data to be able to choose which candidates will have their little circles shaded on the ballots. As such, I am fairly convinced that now is now the time for all of us to get off the sidelines and start proclaiming our allegiances -- tentative if need be.

It's going to take balls to do this; see, anyone who says that he is supporting Candidate X or Politician Y is going to be a lightning rod for other people supporting other candidates. I know of quite a number of people who do not have any qualms about declaring their support for specific candidates, but I must say that most other people don't have the cojones to do so.

Let me try to persuade you good folks to do so, however. So, why should we declare who are those we are for?

1. Full disclosure promotes discussion, debate, and dissent; through such fire, choices are refined, even modified to the correct choice. I'm not saying that the candidate you're going to declare support for today should be the candidate you are going to vote for come May 10; everyone is free to change their mind, especially if we find out stuff about our candidates that will take away our approval of them.

Declaring who we are going to support is going to encourage our opposition to come by and tell us why we shouldn't support our candidates; no doubt there is going to be a lot of mudslinging, but sifting the grain from the chaff among the attacks against our candidates we just might glean new insights that could very well change our minds. Furthermore, declaring who we are for will promote our candidates' campaigns against those of the candidates we do not want elected; any mudslinging that happens will detract from the candidates doing the mudslinging. Finally, good and logical arguments that make us think twice about voting about our candidates or those of others will give us more data to make the right and informed choice come the second Monday of May this year.

Here's a concrete f'rinstance: if Kevin Ray Chua (whom I greatly admire for his involvement in national issues out of his own free will, even before reaching voting age), who supports Mar Roxas' vice-presidential bid and has been consistent in his declarations of support for the politician, turns around and declares on his blog that he has learned of matters that led him to change his mind, and shares with the rest of us these same matters, we can then weigh his reasons and weigh Roxas's candidacy even better than on our own. On the other hand, if his support for Roxas remains unwavering despite the mudslinging against his candidate -- and for that matter, against the young man -- then we can have a better sense that Roxas is a candidate we should consider seriously, and have good reasons to reject those throwing all the mud.

2. Openly declared choices now promotes transparency during the campaign period, during the elections, and after. While it is likely that the online buzz is only a small indicator of actual popular sentiment, consistency in online buzz will help defeat any machinations designed to manufacture a victory for candidates who will not truly be the choice of the people. Visibility is key.

I believe that this will hold true between now and long afterwards; if a blogger declares that today he is supporting Candidate X, then after due reflection supports Politician Y because of new information that has helped change his mind, such declarations of affiliation and changes in affiliations will aid in our personal measures of how successful we have been in protecting our votes.

Not that there is much statistical value, but online measures will be useful in helping all of us gain a sense of whether or not our votes have been Garci'd to someone else. Think about this: a post saying "Today, I support [insert name here]" can be counted among others saying the same thing; we can measure these via online tools, similar to the means illustrated by blogger Jorge Cosgayon on his post Using Google’s tools to track the 2010 Elections. Following the trends from today up until E-Day will help fight spinmeisters who want to make us believe that their principals did no hanky-panky.

3. Corollary to #2, we will have more sources of data to validate survey results, whether commissioned by candidates themselves or by independent polling firms. If there's a principle that engineers and law enforcers both agree with, separate data sets pointing to the same results (or in legal parlance, circumstantial evidence pointing to the same outcome) leads to more solid conclusions. With such disparate data sources indicating similar results will give us radar to penetrate through the fog of war (if you'll pardon the reference to Command and Conquer), and will aid us in our efforts towards clean elections and promoting our candidates.

Let's put it this way: if we can correlate all survey results from reputable firms (my former staff would say, "banggain natin ang data ng Pulse Asia saka SWS"), and measure them against informal sources (i.e., commissioned by politicians or made by them themselves) and against online buzz (taking due care to filter out obviously spurious data), it is unlikely that a candidate can catch up from too far behind without arousing valid suspicion.

Are these good enough reasons for us to begin to have the guts to start open declarations of support? I hope so. Elections are not carnivals we hold every three years or so; elections are important reaffirmations of the existence of our democracy, and thus deserve our utmost attention and care.

Therefore, folks, I urge you to write posts that begin with the title "Today, I Support [insert name here]", or posts that begin with "Today, I Do NOT Support [insert name here]". We can help our colleagues in the professional media along, and in the end help ourselves, by providing this sort of information to our readers. Let's call these little blogswarms as the cloud computing efforts in support of Filipino democracy. Let's write these posts for all the candidates we must have an interest in: national, local, party-list.

Today, friends, I commit to you that I will do exactly as I say. My next post will begin with such a title.

I hope -- that is, I pray -- that you guys consider doing the same.

Leave the Gun, Take the Affertitti: The Jester-in-Exile Samples Gusto Italiano

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:51:04 PST

The other night, I went to Santa Rosa, Laguna, to visit old friends Jojo and Tess, friends from Voice of the South. When I got there, I found myself being dragged to a party -- not unwillingly, of course -- and there met Tess' cousin Vlady and their nieces Bono and Madon (pretty smart young women, they are), Jojo's Turkish friend Sam (a fellow enthusiast of history and knows far more about local history than many Filipinos), and their Italian friend Franco, an affable man from Firenze. I found myself at an al fresco table outside an Italian restaurant: Gusto Italiano.

Franco, dressed as the chef he is, is Gusto Italiano's proprietor and pizza maker, and it was a fine night to enjoy his sinfully delicious creations with a bottle of red wine from his excellent cellar. I do not doubt that Franco's countryman, the master engineer Leonardo da Vinci, would have found the food to his liking; heck, the food of Gusto Italiano would be the perfect complement to Don Vito Corleone's glass of vino.

Let's take a little stroll through Gusto Italiano, courtesy of the trusty cellphone camera, shall we?

***

Gusto Italiano!

Tess taking us in.

Outside looking in

The buffet table and salad bar.

The salad bar: all you can eat for PhP 199.

The buffet: all you can eat for PhP 299.

Dessert: if you still have room after getting stuffed.

The pizza oven.

Where pizza for the gods is made in Gusto Italiano!

Old school rules.

Madon's buffet sampler -- and with this little taster she was full. No kidding.

Affertitti -- great with vino.

A Bruschetta plate. If Apollonia knew how to make this as good as Franco does, I'd have to shoot Don Michael for her. Heh heh.

The Napoletana. So damn good, I might help someone sleep with the fishes for it.

The Marguerite. Luca Brasi might have had some of this before rolling out his mattress.

Pepperoni. Lord have mercy.

Olive oil with spices -- this hot virgin makes this slice of pizza heaven really sinful.

Entering the consiglieri's upstairs room

Whatta wine rack!

From the corner, watching the bar.

From the bar, watching the corner.

A bottle of Merlot from Franco's wine rack -- he has even better than this good stuff.

Franco Martelloti, the don of Gusto Italiano. Heh heh.

***
Gusto Italiano's running a pasta promo right now, with servings good for two (imagine that, servings made for two, and large to boot), coming with bread and potato croquette. Look at how reasonable the prices are:

Spaghetti Aglio Olio (oil and garlic) PhP 130
Linguine Aglio Olio Vongole (oil, garlic, and clams) PhP 155
Fettucine Pomodoro (tomato) PhP 165
Spaghetti Carbonara PhP 215
Penne Arrabiata (spicy tomato) PhP 165
Penne Puttanesca PhP 185
Italian Lasagna PhP 265
Four-Cheese Gnocchi (potato-based) PhP 245
Ravioli Pomodoro PhP 195
Spaghetti Scoglio (seafood) PhP 185
Fettucine Funghi Porcini (italian mushroom) PhP 215
Lingune Pesto PhP 185

No kidding, folks. They're making an us an offer we can't refuse.

***
Franco's place Gusto Italiano is located at Stall #5, Paseo de Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, Laguna -- it's the Italian place between Yellow Cab and Cabalen. The restaurant can be called at phone numbers (+6349) 837-2700, (+6349) 502-7571, (+63921) 712-8091. I'm probably going to send them an email (their email address is fastaurant@yahoo.com to tell them how pleased I was with the evening -- this post is a little tribute to start with.

Let's have pizza and pasta there, shall we? And some of the buffet.

And the vino, let's not forget the vino.

For Plurklakbayan folks who want good food out of the metro, Franco's got this little treat for us online folk:

Penne gorgonzola. It's not on the menu, and you need to be in on our little secret.

For PhP 300, we get a plate of penne gorgozola AND a glass of delicious red wine of Franco's own selection... IF you know the password. Here's a little hint: jester, to Franco. Yes, folks, you're getting something special for one helluva good deal... but you gotta be in the know.

We can have our food and wine in the consiglieri's upstairs room. Now, if you good folks wil excuse me, Tom Hagen and I need to have a little chat about business. Heh heh.

Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:29:48 PST

We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.
- Anton Chekov

(Photo from NASA.)

Just So You Know, Attila the Hun Called Himself "The Scourge of God."

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:35:56 PST

From Inquirer.Net story Pacquiao: I had a talk with God:

"In my 31 years here on earth, God appeared to me once and told me to have unconditional faith in Him... I was not yet very popular and world champion when our God appeared to me and assured me of strength and power,” he said.

Well, now. Which deity is this, pray tell us, Manny? Does your church know about this apparition?

HELL, NO.

Albayanons are In Need. Let's Help.

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:59:21 PST

From Inquirer.Net story Remaining villagers start fleeing Mayon danger zone:

Just over 9,200 families or nearly 44,400 people had already taken shelter in the evacuation centers since Mayon started belching ash, steam and lava last week.

If the alert level is raised to five, meaning that an eruption is in progress, another 16,000 villagers living beyond the danger zone would also have to be evacuated as a precautionary measure, (Albay governor Joey) Salceda said.

Folks, the Filipinos need help, just like when Ondoy and Pepeng swept through the country. We did a lot of good then; let's do what we can now. I know it's the holidays and our thoughts are on home and hearth, but do let's think about those who need cheer even more than we do.

Accepting donations to help out our Albayanons is:

Citizens Disaster Response Center
72-A Times St, West Triangle, Quezon City
Tel. (+632) 929-9820

I hope we all can do a little something. We all know we can.

(Thanks to Plurker cheftonio for the contact information.)

formspring.me

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:13:52 PST

Ask me anything, but don't expect anything serious. http://formspring.me/jesterinexile

Kafagway's Candidates: 79 People Contesting 15 Seats

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:03:41 PST

If you Kafagway kids haven't read today's Midland, you might have missed the report on the candidates running for city government positions. So, then, find the list below.

Sure you can leave comments, Kafagway kids, if you like, about the candidates. A caveat, however: I'm not in the mood to approve anonymous comments on candidates. If you want a good idea of what I consider anonymous, check out El Hombre Komikero's take on what anonymity is; I'm in fair agreement with him. Discussion, however, is welcome; we all want the best for the city, don't we?

Okay, then. The list.

(Source: Baguio Midland Courier, Sunday, December 20, 2009)

Candidates for congressman (9 for 1 seat):

Avila, Edgar (PMP)
Balisong, Rocky Tomas (NP) -- incumbent councilor
Bautista jr., Reinaldo (Ind) -- incumbent mayor
Bello III, Dwight (Ind)
Quilala, Rabindranath (PDP)
Yangot jr., Leandro (LP)
Yaranon, Braulio (LDP)
Vergara, Bernardo (Lakas-Kampi)

Candidates for mayor (10 for 1 seat):

Domogan, Mauricio (Lakas-Kampi) -- incumbent congressman
Labo, Ramon (Ind)
Barcelo, Ruben (Ind)
Busacay-Lazo, Erlinda (Ind)
Hernandez, Guillermo (Ind)
Mandapat, Julius (Ind)
Puzon, Peter (Ind)
Sembrano, Elaine (Ind) -- incumbent councilor
Molintas, Jose (LP)
Go, Marquez (PMP)

Candidates for vice-mayor (3 for 1 seat):

Farinas, Daniel (NP) -- incumbent vice-mayor
Olowan, Faustino (LP/PDSP)
Domalsin, Carol (LDP)

Candidates for councilor (57 for 12 seats):

Acosta, Voltaire
Adube, Laurence
Aliping, Nicasio -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Alladiw, Arthur
Antolin, Gerardo
Aquino, Odell
Araos, Anthony
Asiatico, Carlos
Bagbagen, Fred -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Balajadia, Erdolfo -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Beltran, Edgar
Bilog, Edison
Carino, Richard -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Carlos, Richard
Clemente, Emmanuel
Cortes jr., Antonio
Cosalan jr, Isabelo -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Coteng, Robin
Dangatan, Patrick
Daoas, Sonia
Datuin, Elmer
David, Roi
Del Cerna, Wilfredo
Delson, Rafael
Diaz, Reynaldo
Dumawing jr, George
Duque, Edgardo
Fangonon, Fred
Fianza, Peter
Gandeza, Roney
Gapuz, Edilberto
Gumnad, Pablito
Lardizabal, Orlando
Macadangdang, Benjamin
Marrero, Joseph
Mascarinas, Antolin
Maskay, Mabini
Mazo, Alan
Ocampo, Roberto
Olarte jr, Jose
Ortega, Alexander
Palaganas, Nicasio -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Padilla, Narciso
Panagan, Rufino
Paragas, Rodolfo
Perez, Ronado
Pilando, Lorenzo
Quilop, Arturo
Reyes, Alberto
Rondez, Perlita -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Tabanda, Betty Lourdes -- incumbent, seeking re-election
Tabora-Tuason, Cynthia
Teliaken, Lourdes
Tenefrancia, Edilberto
Wasan, Rafael
Weygan, Philian
Zarate, Richard

Apologies for the lack of party affiliations for the candidates for those aspiring for city council. The information wasn't on the paper. Oh, and any misspellings would be the Midland's fault; I copied the names verbatim.

***
Off the top of my head, I'd say the list has just affirmed my belief to shun Nacionalistas and Lakas-Kampi politicians in general. Lord knows that there's already much that's been said about the candidates by other people; heck, Baguio is a small town, and the people here have long memories.

I may change my mind after (if and when) I listen to what the candidates have to say for themselves (yes, the candidate might just be a good man in NP or PaLaKa clothing). Who knows?

It's not too early to start making our May 2010 lists, and checking them twice.

Political Parody in the Digital Age: Akala Mo Lang Pala

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:57:07 PST

UPDATE 12/22/2009, about half an hour or so later: The video IS available. It was simply a PLDT MyDSL problem. Yay for customer service representatives who are of absolutely no help whatsoever.

UPDATE 12/22/2009: The video is no longer available, for some reason. I will visit the channel again to see if the author has changed the upload or has completely removed it. Pity, too, as parody is protected speech and has long been a part of political history.

This video is sourced from the YouTube channel of corruptcankissmyass:

Well. Someone certainly is vehemently opposed to Manny Villar.

***
Watching out for parodies and spoofs of political ads will be fun. Let's go and find them, shall we?

A Quick Look at the Websites of Presidential Parties. Bleh.

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:55:21 PST

(UPDATE: A small correction below.)

Contesting the presidential and vice-presidential seats are the following political parties: Ang Kapatiran, Bagumbayan party, Bangon Pilipinas, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, Lakas-Kampi-CMD, the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, and Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino

Following on my first post on Blogwatch.ph, I've decided to take a look at these parties websites.

All of my screen caps were made today, and I decided to explore the websites for what I believe to be vital for such sites: party platform, planned legislation, list of national candidates, contact information, and a volunteer link. Nope, I won't talk about aesthetics. Pangit na kung pangit.

Ang Kapatiran

By far, Ang Kapatiran has the least helmsman-oriented website (http://www.angkapatiranparty.com). It presents all of its candidates with equal emphasis. I couldn't see a link to a platform of governance and proposed program of legislation; all I could see was an About blurb. Unusual for a political website was the presence of the advertisements. I mean, really -- ads? LOL.

Oh, and by the way? They are not on the voter's list I'm preparing for me. Anti-RH platform? Well, screw you, JC and company.

Bagumbayan

Bagumbayan's website (http://www.bagumbayan-vnp.com) looks more like a corporate blurb than anything else. The About page is full of buzzwords. Even more odd is that their presidential candidate Richard Gordon has very little in the way of exposure (what there is of it here), and their vice presidential candidate Bayani Fernando (thanks for the correction, OneTamad) has none. No platforms or planned legislation. Also, there are no contact details, just a Donate link.

Now why would I donate to a movement whose office address I don't know at all, would someone please explain; I certainly don't want my campaign going to a villa in San Francisco.

Bangon Pilipinas

Two words: Brother Eddie. Absolutely no mention of their senatorial candidates. About, Donate, and Volunteer links that don't work. No platform or planned legislation.

Rather useful for us cyberdenizens, don't you think?

Kilusang Bagong Lipunan

'Nuff said about the KBL.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD

Two words: Mwahahahahahahaha. Instead of showcasing their standard-bearers Gibo Teodoro and Edu Manzano, and their senatorial slate, they highlight GMA. They have a link to their constitution, a link to a membership form, and a contact information page.

The website makes you think that it's a Gloria Forever website.

Liberal Party

The Liberal Party's website has a platform (finally, one party does), but aside from mentions of top candidates Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas (with a little bit of emphasis on veep candidate Roxas, it seems), there are no other front-page mentions of their slate. There is a Join page and a contact information page.

All in all, the LP website has all the elements we need to learn about to consider voting for them, except one tiny detail: who the effing hell are the Liberals that we will be voting for? It isn't a party-list organization, is it?

Nacionalista Party

Oh, yeah. Manny Villar's backup website. No platform or legislative agenda, just a History page and an About Us page. No mention of the other NP candidates. Contact information on the Feedback page, and no volunteer information beyond that on the FAQ page.

Yep, the only Nacionalista we can vote for is Manny. Oh well.

Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino

'Nuff said about the PMP.

***
Pardon me while I cringe. Yet another reflection of stone-age politics, eh?

Note to self: Google searches are not too useful for Pinoy voters.

Filipino politicians. Bleh.

COMELEC Sez: The Temple of the Votes of the People is Reserved Only For Believers in the Bible and the Qu'ran

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:01:45 PST

During a press conference right after taking his oath, Melo said the Comelec needs to change its tainted image.

"Let's stop being called the raiders of the temple of the votes of the people. Let us be called the re-builders of the temple of the votes of the people," Melo said.

He hopes to uplift the image of the Comelec by being an example himself.

"I will just behave properly" and be open to media, he said when asked by reporters how he intends to become an example.

- From Inquirer.net story Melo is Comelec chairman, first posted March 25, 2008 and updated three times afterwards

Whatever gains Comelec Chairman Jose Melo has had in restoring faith in the Commission on Elections have just suffered several broadsides, low and to the waterline, in just a few days. Today, we'll focus on one: the denial of party-list organization Ang Ladlad's plea for inclusion in the 2010 electoral exercise.

***
The decision denying Ang Ladlad's participation in the elections released last Thursday, affirming the original decision made November 11, 2009 puts Chairman Melo squarely to blame for this ludicrous and idiotic decision, with his tie-breaking vote against Ang Ladlad.

This is the legal justification used by Comelec Second Division Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph (possibly members of a recent offshoot of Australopithecus philippinensis): that Ang Ladlad violates Section 6 of RA 7941, The Party-List Law, specifically:

Sec. 6. Removal and/or Cancellation of Registration. - The COMELEC may motu proprio or upon verified complaint of any interested party, remove or cancel, after due notice and hearing, the registration of any national, regional or sectoral party, organization or coalition on any of the following grounds:
xxx
It violates or fails to comply with laws, rules or regulations relating to elections;

It declares untruthful statements in its petition;

xxx

This is what the November 11 decision says:

Despite the foregoing, however, this Petition is dismissible on moral grounds. Petitioner defines the Filipino Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community, thus:

"xxx a marginalized and under-represented sector that is particularly disadvantaged because of their sexual orientation and gender identity."

and proceeded to define sexual orientation as that which:

"xxx refer to a person's capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different qender, of the same gender, or more than one gender."

This definition of the LGBT sector makes it crystal clear that petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs. In Romans 1:26, 27, Paul wrote:

"For this cause God gave them up into vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet".

In the Koran, the hereunder verses are pertinent:

"For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women "ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." (7.81). "And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!" (7:84) "He said: "0 my Lord! Help Thou me against people who do mischief!""(29:30)."

As correctly pointed out by the Law Department in its Comment dated October 2, 2008:

"The 'ANG LADLAD' apparently advocates sexual immorality as indicated in the Petition's par. 6F: 'Consensual partnerships or relationships by gays and lesbians who are already of age." It is further indicated in par. 24 of the Petition which waves for the record: In 2007, Men Having Sex with Men or MSMs in the Philippines were estimated at 670,000." (Genesis 19 is the history of Sodom and Gomorrah).

Laws are deemed incorporated in every contract, permit, license, relationship or accreditation. Hence, pertinent provisions of the Civil Code and the Revised Penal Code are deemed part of the requirement to be complied with for accreditation.

ANG LADLAD collides with Art. 694 of the Civil Code which defines nuisance as 'Any act, omission, establishment, business, condition of property, or anything else which xxx (3) shocks, defies; or disregards decency or morality xxx'

It also collides with Art. 1306 of the Civil Code: 'The contracting parties may establish such stipulations, clauses, terms and conditions as they may deem convenient, provided they are not contrary to law, morals, qood customs, public order or public policy. Art. 1409 of the Civil Code provides that 'Contracts whose cause, object or purpose is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy' are inexistent and void from the beginning.

Finally, to safeguard the morality of the Filipino community, the Revised Penal Code, as amended, penalizes 'Immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibition and indecent shows' as follows:

"Art. 201. Immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and indecent shows. - The penalty of prision mayor or a fine ranging from six thousand to twelve thousand pesos, or both such imprisonment and fine, shall be imposed upon:

(1) Those who shall publicly expound or proclaim doctrines openly contrary to public morals;

(2) (a) the authors of obscene literature, published with their knowledge in any form; the editors publishing such literature; and the owners/operators of the establishment selling the same;

(b) Those who, in theaters, fairs, cinematographs or any other place, exhibit, indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows, whether live or in film, which are prescribed by virtue hereof, shall include those which (1) glorify criminals or condone crimes;

(2) serve no other purpose but to satisfy the market for violence, lust or pornography; (3) offend any race or religion; (4) tend to abet traffic in and use of prohibited drugs; and (5) are contrary to law, public order, morals and good customs, established policies, lawful orders, decrees and edicts;

(3) Those who shall sell, give away or exhibit films, prints, engravings, sculpture or literature which are offensive to morals. (As amended by PD Nos. 960 and 969)."

Petitioner should be denied accreditation not only for advocating immoral doctrines but likewise for not being truthful when it said that it "or any of its nominees/party-list representatives have not violated or failed to comply with laws, rules, or regulations relating to the elections".

Not content with their tenuous logic, the COMELEC said:

Furthermore, should this Commission grant the petition, we will be exposing our youth to an environment that does not conform to the teachings of our faith. Lehman Strauss, a famous bible teacher and writer in the U.S.A said in one article that "older practicing homosexuals are a threat to the youth". As an agency of the government, ours too is the State's avowed duty under Section 13, Article II of the Constitution to protect our youth from moral and spiritual degradation.

All hail the new Torquemadists.

***

Here are the issues I would raise in reply.

That the COMELEC erred in the decision, by claiming that granting Ang Ladlad's petition is tantamount to bringing about "an environment that does not conform to the teachings of our faith," a claim tantamount to professing the existence of a State-established religion, of which our laws must be subservient to, which is violative of Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution, and thus the decision is unconstitutional;

That even if such a claim had constitutional basis, the COMELEC erred in the decision by claiming without evidence and factual basis that Ang Ladlad "apparently advocates sexual immorality", citing sources that are not legally persuasive and therefore must not be given credence, and showing no evidence whatsoever that homosexuals and homosexual behavior pose a clear and present danger to the general public;

That even if such sources can be found to be legally persuasive, they do not reflect the objective reality that is that the LGBT community in the Philippines are no less Filipino than the non-LGBT sector and therefore must not enjoy any diminution in rights, and that to use these sources in the Philippine context is to perpetrate the discrimination of a part of the Filipino people, which is violative of Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution, which guarantees that no Filipino will be denied equal protection of the laws, and therefore making the decision unconstitutional.

Okay, so I'm not a lawyer. Whatever, man. The point is that the decision is, so blatantly and self-evidently, flawed, that even a non-lawyer like me can put such arguments across.

(A note to those who love justice and law as much as I do: sadly, the Philippines is not a signatory to the United Nations draft declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, and therefore we cannot claim that we are bound by international law or treaty.)

***
Let's make it real clear and real simple, folks.

The COMELEC had no basis in law to deny Ang Ladlad's petition. They denied Ang Ladlad anyway, using justifications that promote intolerance and bigotry, justifications that have no place in our democracy.

Shame. Shame, indeed. Writers and historians, lawyers and citizens, remember these names: Jose Melo, Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Elias Yusoph. Remember their names and remember how cavalierly they denied our fellow citizens the right to participate in our democratic processes.

***
Yes, folks, I'm back, although I'm off my groove, it seems. We'll might talk about it later.

Right now, we have pea-brains to fry.

Two Cents

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:45:44 PDT

Another short post.

Plurker Gareon urged me to turn a plurk thread into a post.

Here it is. Context: what we should be doing/ looking at with regard to directing our efforts post-Pepeng/Parma. Pardon the lack of links; I have to go back out, and you'll find them as stories on GMA.tv anyway (the website has thus far been the most useful for some folks I know).

1. Baguio City doesn't need too much by way of relief -- for now, that is -- but we do need the accessibility of Kennon Road, Marcos Highway, Naguilian Road, and Halsema Highway. This will normalize food and fuel supply.

2. La Trinidad and surrounding towns will surely appreciate heavy equipment to clear the roads of mud, to get what remains of the veggie harvest out to market.

3. Pangasinan, with all its flooding, will need lots of relief, especially clean drinking water and medical support (disease prevention and such). PAGASA predicts dry weather for the next three days; perhaps we should hold off some of the clothes (but sure, we'll need the clean sheets) for the moment and focus on water, food, toiletries, and preventive medicines. Let's not forget to take a look at La Union, too.

4. Region 1 and Region 2 towns lying on Cordilleran foothills need to be checked and reported on, as well as those beside the rivers and feeders. Power's out iut iny NLuzon towns after a lot of poles got knocked down, and we also need to check on the food and clean water supply of farming villages if their irrigation dikes have breached.

5. Folks, use the previous days' reports -- especially on flooding, dike breaching, and whatnot -- from Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and so on to get an idea of what information to demand from mainstream media. There's not too many reporters, so we'll need to help them out and let them know where they should point their cameras at.

Later, folks.

Vultures, Too

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:46:52 PDT

(UPDATE: Folks, still hoping your your links and eyewitness accounts to corroborate the leads below.)

Another quick post, folks.

The vultures everywhere are coming all out in force. Here are some of the things we've seen online:

1. Government officials allegedly not distributing relief goods in Provident Village Marikina because no media to cover their distribution.

2. Citizen apparently being told by SSS person that no funds are available for calamity loan.

3. DSWD allegedly repacking ABS-CBN relief goods in Pasig, reducing package contents.

4. Relief goods apparently being acquired by residents of a gated community for P1000 (sort of like shopping and delivery).

5. Taxi cabs doing "kontrata" (Metro Manila cabbies, what else is new).

6. Syrofoam care packages and plastic bags of relief goods with politicians's names.

7. Looters in Provident Village, Marikina.

8. On Plurk, a volunteer reported that some people are throwing stones at vehicles making their way to areas of greater need.

9. On Twitter, a comment saying "The politics on relief operations -- reports of donors being stopped, being told of the need to ask permits from barangay captains before distributing goods daw."

10. On Twitter, a comment saying "Unconfirmed via friend: 1 Valenzuela barangay not given relief goods because barangay captain is an enemy of the mayor."

11. On Twitter, a report that Customs personnel seizing relief goods from international organizations despite presidential directive.

12. On Twitter, reports of some top adminstration officials and possible presidential candidates stopping relief efforts/ seizing relief goods of non-governmentt organizations for the purpose of getting photo-ops and PR material.

13. On Plurk, a report of donations given to an entertainment giant not being distributed. They are awaiting for the availability of their stars first, presumably to capture the stars' distribution of said relief goods on camera.

Well, let's help our friends in the media use the information as leads to blow these people out of the water, so to speak.

Here's what we'll do:

1. Leave a comment, preferably not anonymous (dapat may bayag ka, 'tol).

Tell us what you know and a link to the original Plurk message/ Twitter message/ Facebook message/ blog post/ and so on.

Eyewitness accounts/ personal stories are best, and avoid sharing replurks and retweets.

Photos will be excellent, especially if you can tell us who and where they were taken.

2. I'll continue updating this post.

Don't worry about messages on the same topic from different people; multiple eyewitness accounts are good for verification.

3. There is no 3. Let's just hope mainstream media uses our leads.

***
Let's go.

Relief goods labeling

Manny and Cynthia Villar plastic bag being passed around in Plurk

Manny Villar styrofoam package being passed around in Plurk

Relief good claim stub -- allegedly, one cannot claim relief goods without such a ticket

(Updating ongoing -- thanks, cyberPinoys.)

Fight the Vultures!

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:54:43 PDT

Folks, a quick post.

Looting in Marikina only shows that during times like these, vultures come out and prey on the public.

That said, doubtless there'll be unscrupulous individuals who will try to cash in on the disaster, especially on critical items like food and bottled water, cooking fuel, medicines, and transportation fares.

This post is an attempt to give direction to whom to ask help from.

Price watch, folks, and despite the battering we got from Ondoy, let's not be cowed.

***
For complaints regarding food and bottled water costs: report to the Department of Trade and Industry. Click this consumer complaint link to file a complaint online.

For complaints regarding LPG and other cooking fuel costs: report to the Department of Energy. Click their contact details here to find at least one person who will attend to us (I hope).

For complaints regarding the cost of medicines: report to the Department of Health. They have provided Health Emergency Management Service hotlines (+632) 711-1101 and (+632) 743-0538. With any luck we can depend on the Bureau of Food and Drugs; find from the BFAD contact information someone willing to talk to us. (So sorry folks, best I could do at short notice.)

For complaints regarding transportation fares: contact the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board. Click on the LTFRB complaint form to file a complaint online.

***
Also, do make the effort to furnish a copy to the media; it will be useful for the public to know these things. From the previous post, maybe these numbers can be of some help.

ABS-CBN Typhoon Ondoy Hotline: (+632-4163641)

Jam 88.3: (+632- 6318803) or SMS at JAM (space) 883 (space) your message to 2968

GMA Kapuso Helpline: (+632-9811950-59)

***
Finally, the top coordinators have to know about any and all attempts to fleece the public during disasters. Again from the previous post, contact the NDCC -- with hopes they can deploy the police and whoever else can respond.

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) (+632-9125668, +632-9111406, +632-9115061, +632-9122665) Help hotlines: (+65 734-2118, 734-2120) ndcchelpdesk@gmail.com

It will also be useful to contact your local disaster coordinating council and your local government officials.

***
Still keeping an online eye on the country, folks. Let's help however way we can.

Typhoon Ondoy Help List

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:15:49 PDT

I am indebted to Ade, Bong, Dementia, Manolo, and so many others on Plurk and Twitter. This is their work, and I'm lifting from them to make this little post to help out.

***
Online Information
All calls for help, please help us by filling out information here at the Rescue InfoHub Center.

Ondoy situation map (Metro Manila)

Sahana Disaster Management System (http://sahana.kahelos.org) needs IT volunteers. Email sahana@kahelos.org.

***
Rescue Operations

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) (+632-9125668, +632-9111406, +632-9115061, +632-9122665) Help hotlines: (+65 734-2118, 734-2120) ndcchelpdesk@gmail.com

Philippine Coast Guard (+632-5276136)

Philippine Air Force (+63908-1126976, +632-8535023)

Metro Manila Development Authority (136)

Marikina City Rescue (+632-6462436, +632-6462423, +632920-9072902)

Pasig Rescue Emergency Number (+632-6310099)

Quezon City Rescue (161)

San Juan City Hall Command Post (+632-4681697)

Bureau of Fire Protection Region III (Central Luzon) Hotline: (+63245-9634376)

Senator Dick Gordon (+639178997898, +63938-444BOYS, +632-9342118, +632-4338528)

Senator Manny Villar (+639174226800. +639172414864, +639276751981)

***
Civil Society/ Media

Philippine National Red Cross (143, +632-5270000)

Philippine National Red Cross Rizal Chapter operations center hotline: (+632-6350922, +632-6347824)

Go to GMA Facebook page & post complete addresses and names of people in need of immediate help.

ABS-CBN Typhoon Ondoy Hotline: (+632-4163641)

Jam 88.3: (+632- 6318803) or SMS at JAM (space) 883 (space) your message to 2968

GMA Kapuso Helpline: (+632-9811950-59)

***
Rubber Boat, 4×4 Trucks, Chopper Requests

NCRPO (+632-8383203, +632-8383354)

Private citizens who would like to lend their motor boats for rescue please call emergency nos: +632-9125668, +632-9111406, +632-9122665, +632-9115061)

You can also text (+632917-4226800 or +632927-6751981) for rescue dump trucks.

For those who are able to lend 4×4 trucks for rescue: Please send truck to Greenhills Shoppng Center Unimart Grocery to await deployment, Tel No. (+632920-9072902).

Petron & San Miguel Corporation are lending choppers for rescue operations, call/text: (+632917-8140655) ask for Lydia Ragasa

***
Power Supply

Meralco (+63917-5592824, 16211, +63920-9292824) If you want service cut off to your area to prevent fires and electrocution.

***
Relief Aid and Donations: Businesses/ Commercial Establishments

Aranaz Stores in Rockwell & Greenbelt is accepting donations of any kind for Payatas communities affected by Ondoy

Binalot at Greenbelt 1, call Tetchie Bundalian at (+632922-8573277)

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be accepting canned goods, water, clothes, blankets, towels, medicine, and emergency supplies (no cash) in all our branches on behalf of the victims of Typhoon Ondoy starting today until Friday. Your generosity will be much appreciated during this difficult time for our brothersand sisters in need.

Luca stores (Rockwell, Shang-rila, Eastwood, or GA towers): Send your old clothes & donations (no cash pls).

Manor Superclub, Eastwood City will accept goods and other emergency items starting Sunday at 10 am.

Ministop IBARRA (Espana cor. Blumentritt, Sampaloc Manila) is also accepting relief goods, food (non-perishable goods only), clothing, medicines, beds, pillows, blankets, emergency supplies to help Typhoon Ondoy victims.

Moonshine boutique in Rockwell also accepting relief good to help Ondoy victims in Marikina and Cainta.

Papemelroti stores in 91 Roces Ave. / Ali Mall Cubao / SM City North EDSA / SM Fairview / SM Megamall / Glorietta 3 in Makati / SM Centerpoint / SM Southmall are accepting relief goods (canned goods / milk / bottled water / clothes – NO CASH pls.)

PowerPlant Mall accepting donations for ABS-CBN foundation. Dropoff at admin office, P1 level.

R.O.X. – Recreational Outdoor eXchange is accepting donation for relief good for Typhoon Ondoy victims. You can bring it in the store located in B1 building Bonifacio High St., Tel. No. (+632-8564638/39)

Team Manila stores in Trinoma, Mall of Asia, Jupiter Bel-Air and Rockwell shall be accepting relief goods (Canned Goods, Ready-to-drink Milk,Bottled Water and Clothes) for distribution by Veritas.

Whitespace 2314 Chino Roces Ave Ext as a Makati drop-off for relief goods.

***
Relief Aid and Donations: Government/ Civil Society Organizations/ Other Groups

Victory Fort is opening its doors to those affected by the typhoon. Call 813-FORT.

ABS-CBN through Banco de Oro account number 56300-20111 account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Incorporation

Akbayan’s taking donations, call 433-69-33/433-68-31 to donate or volunteer.

Citizens Disaster Response Center (CDRC): Relief goods for typhoon victims being accepted at 72-A Times St., West Triangle, QC. Tel (+632-9299820/22)

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan is accepting donations @ AGS Bldg Annex, 446 EDSA Guadalupe Viejo. Contact Vina Vargas at (+632917-8081247)

Luzon Relief: Donations can be brought to RENAISSANCE FITNESS CENTER, 2nd Floor, Bramante Building, Renaissance Towers Ortigas, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City starting MONDAY (Sept.28) / 9am – 7pm Contact Person: Warren Habaluyas (+632929-8713488) or email at luzonrelief@gmail.com.

Move for Chiz is asking for volunteers and donations at Bay Park Tent, along Roxas Blvd., beside Max Restaurant and Diamond Hotel in Manila, or at Gilas Minipark at Unang Hakbang St., Gilas Q.C.

NoyMar relief Operations: Clare Amador (+639285205508) or Jana Vicente at +639285205499). Drop off for relief donations is at Balay Expo Center across Farmers Market Cubao.

Operation Rainbow (Zac Faelnar Camara) at Ayala Alabang Village needs Canned Goods, Ready-To-Eat Food, Bottled Water, Ready-To-Drink Milk/ Juice, Clothing, Blankets, contact (+632-4687991)

Philippine Army Gym inside Fort Bonifacio or GHQ Gym in Camp Aguinaldo are now distributing donations for Ondoy Victims.

Philippine National Red Cross' different ways to donate here.

Red Cross Load Donations: Right now the easiest way to make donations from the seat of your chair is via mobile phone load. The Red Cross Rescue and Relief Operations. Text: RED[space]AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart)

Relief Efforts for Pasig at Valle Verde 1 Village Park, contact (+632916-4945000, +632917-5273616)

Sagip Kapamilya hotlines (+632-4132667, +632-4160387) #13 Examiner St. West Triangle, QC. and Scout Mayoran, cor. Morato, near Alex III.

Tulong Bayan hotlines for donations and volunteers are (+632908-6579998) Marilyn, (+632939-3633436) Jenn (+632-9137122, +632-9136254 & +632-9133306).

TXTPower now accepts donations via SmartMoney 5577514418667103, GCash 09179751092 and Paypal http://is.gd/3GvuN

World Vision partners with Phil Coast Guard and kind individuals for relief distribution to 3k families. Call (+632-3747618 local 242) or text (+632917-8623209) to help.

Worldvision Foundation is also accepting donations/volunteers to pack relief goods in QC. For $-donations, BPI:USDacct #4254-0050-08

***
Relief Aid and Donations: Religious/ Schools & Universities

Assumption College San Lorenzo is now accepting donations. Please drop them off at the AC guardhouse.

Ateneo de Manila University is now accepting donations for the victims of Ondoy. Relief operations now centralized at COVERED COURTS. For those stranded/those who need help: To all students who need help or know of people who need help. Please text the name, location, and contact number to (+6329088877166). ATENEO, which is now an open shelter, accepts refugees. Call (+632917-8952792)

Caritas Manila Office at Jesus St., Pandacan Manila near Nagtahan Bridge (+632-5639298, +632-5639308)

CFC Center Ortigas is now open for donations in cash or kind. Call (+632-7270682 to 87) or text (+632922-2542819)

Hillsborough Village Chapel – Water, blankets, shoes, and clothes may be sent to Hillsborough Village Chapel in Muntinlupa City. These will go to families whose houses were washed out in the nearby sitios.

La Salle Greenhills for Greenhills/Mandaluyong/San Juan Area, if you want to help out with the rescue and relief operations, you can drop off your donations (clothes, food, etc..) at LSGH Gate 2 or volunteer from 9am to receive, sort, repack the donations.

Our Lady of Pentecost Parish (+632-4342397, +632-9290665) per Gabe Mercado, donations are very much welcome. The Parish is located at 12 F. Dela Rosa corner C. Salvador Sts., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Playschool International in Better Living is open to receive relief goods. Feel free to drop it there for your convenience. No Cash Pls.

Radio Veritas at Veritas Tower West Ave. Cor EDSA (+632-9257931-40)

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan Task Force Noah, a disaster response arm of the Jesuits, is accepting donations. Please drop it off sa Ateneo Cervini Dorm.

Xavier School in San Juan is now accepting donations, please bring to Multipurpose Center (MPC).

***
Relief Aid and Donations: Private Citizens

Donations of heavy duty flashlights needed for rescue operations in Cainta area. Contact Cielo at (+632918-8824356)

MAKATI: 5729 Calasanz St., Olympia Makati City or call for pick up at (+632-5017405 or +632-7290530) c/o Omel Santos

SOUTH: Accepting relief goods in SOUTH AREA. Please contact Anne at (+632915-2854240)

Karen Ang: 3 Kagandahan corner Kabutihan Streets, Kawilihan Village, Pasig (+630920-9520900)

Katipunan Avenue. Contact Erica Paredes at (+632917-4741930) — they need bread, packed juice, sandwich filling (tuna, chicken, anything) You can help her make them, deliver the sandwiches to her house, or help her distribute! Call for more details.

Miriam Quiambao drop off point: One Orchard Road Building in Eastwood, or message http://www.twitter.com/miriamq for more details.

ORCA: Ondoy Relief Collection Aid -- click for more details.

***
Cellular Services

People Tracker (using your phones, get your friends and family to turn on their FINDERSERVICE for you)

FINDERSERVICE. For Smart, text "wis [your name] [your mobile]" to 386.
FINDERSERVICE. For Globe, text "find [your name] [your mobile]" to 7000.

***
Other News and Announcements

NDCC Situation Reports

Sept 26, 2009, 6pm: ndcc sitrep no 3 on the effects of ts ondoy as of 26 sept 2009, 6pm

Sept 27, 2009, 1am: ndcc sitrep no 4 on the effects of ts ondoy as of sept. 27, 2009, 1am

Sept 27, 2009, 12nn: situation_report_on_the_effects_of_tropical_storm_ondoy_6

CHED, DEPED: Classes at all levels in Metro Manila & Rizal province have been suspended Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 28-29.

MRT and LRT are open 24 hours today. MRT fare is temporararily P10.

UP Diliman Chancellor Cao to All Deans: “If there are faculty, staff, students stranded in your colleges, let them spend the night. Alumni Hostel and University Hotel are already full. Eateries in the Shopping Center are also open. Thanks much.”

***
Medical Reminders

For all those who’ve come into contact with floodwater, please take your leptospirosis prophylaxis ASAP: 2 capsules doxycycline 100mg. Single dose. Just once. Take with food and avoid taking with dairy products. DO NOT GIVE to children or pregnant women, or those who are allergic. For children and pregnant women, look for alternates via your family doctor. Thanks! (Source: Pao Pei Salvan/ Dr. Jae Salvan.)

Drink bottled water or boil your water for at least three minutes. Water-borned diseases are highly prevalent during and after typhoons. (Source: DOH)

***
I'll be trying to be of more support, in whatever way I can, even if it's just spreading the word. Thanks to all you good people.

Oh, and let's not forget, we have incoming. Whatever we're doing, we gotta do it faster.

Thanks, all.

Wasting Time on the LTO RFID Non-Issue (or, ranting about the driving public being misled by supposedly-principled legislators)

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:47:20 PDT

(I didn't plan to write about this -- I intended to leave my ranting on Plurk -- but after an email from an engineering colleague from a past life asking me about this and pointing out the obvious errors being bandied about in the media, the same colleague urging me to write about it, here is this little rant. Enjoy at your own risk.))

So, there in the news is the little tempest in a teacup about the LTO's plan to install radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers on vehicles. The project is supposedly part of a 2003 build-operate-own (BOO) contract with Stradcom. Bayan Muna party-list representative Teddy Casiño and Gabriela party-list representative Liza Maza figure prominently in news talking about opposition to the plan.

Usually, I don't pay much attention to these people, but then it seems that they've used the RFID issue as another bogeyman. Not that I trust the current administration, mind you, but clearly these people are misleading the public. Their disingenuous statements do not reflect the truth about the technology.

In other words, ginagago na tayong mga taumbayan. It's bad enough that the Queen of the Enchanted Kingdom does that, but for the supposed principled opposition to do the same shows what little regard all these politicians have for the citizenry. Magsama-sama na ang mga manloloko; we are not all tech-illiterate.

So, Representatives Maza and Casiño, here's us doing your homework for you. It's one thing to be uninformed and saying so, but it's another thing entirely to be misleading us with misinformation based on deliberate stupidity.

***
Representative Maza said "This technology raises fears that it might be used to violate the right to privacy of individuals. The LTO’s microchips might, in turn, be used as ‘spychips’ for the government’s surveillance operations on those critical of the current administration... Apparently, the LTO will act like a 'Big Brother.' It can be used as a spying device, since radio waves from a microchip will identify all information about the vehicle in real-time basis."

Nakakahiya. Soundbites instead of fact. Shooting one's mouth off without doing one's homework.

So then, RFID 101.

Radio frequency identification is employed via fairly ubiquitous gadgets. You have them in stores attached to products, often with the intent of preventing shoplifting, some of them already replacing barcodes for price checks (after all, stuff like clothes won't do well to have bar code stickers stapled to them). You have them attached to vehicles that ply the expressway, as a means of automating toll payments -- these ones are usually the active RFID boxes, take note, and not the same technology as the passive RFID tags that the LTO tags will be. You have them tracking manufacturing parts boxes on the shop floor, as a means of efficiently segregating and shipping them to where their supposed to go.

How does do RFID systems -- specifically, passive RFID systems such as the LTO vehicle sticker -- work? Check out the basics; this article is also a must-read for more detail.

It's simple, really. Note the absence in the block diagram of listening devices, cameras, and suchlike.

There are several concepts that need to be made clear (and which Maza does not seem to understand; sabagay, one does not learn engineering concepts by chanting slogans on the street).

- The RFID vehicle tag to be deployed by the LTO is a passive device -- it has no integrated power source and thus cannot send out radio waves that provide information about the vehicle on a real-time basis. The RFID vehicle tag will only send information about the vehicle if queried by an RFID reader. To repeat, Representative Maza, your protest against "spychips sending out radio waves containing information in real time" does not hold water. How can a device transmit RF signals on its own without a power source?

(Oh, right, scientific and physical laws are subservient to political ideology.)

- The read-out range of a passive RFID system is dependent on the power output and sensitivity of the RFID reader; the cheap-ass LTO passive RFID tag and its component reader will typically have a range of less than 10 meters -- and that's pushing it (Lomibao's claim of 20 meters notwithstanding). As such, Representative Maza, to be able to track vehicles with "spychips", you will have to place RFID readers spaced every tenth or twentieth of a distance between manhole covers, not to mention networking all of these RFID readers to the purported central monitoring systems. It would be far cheaper to install GPS locator systems should you want to track vehicles and their movements.

(Oh, right, one doesn't learn cost-benefit analysis by chanting slogans on the street.)

- The passive RFID chips will be of EEPROM technology containing data about vehicles that are already being made available by vehicle owners when registering them with the LTO; even then, these EEPROM chips of passive RFID tags are limited in the amount of data that they can hold, typically several hundred bits of data -- no different from that of the SIM of your cellphone. Your "spychips" have no capability of telling the reader anything beyond the owner's name, the license plate number, chassis number, engine number, date of registration, and suchlike that you write on the LTO vehicle registration form; they are incapable of telling the RFID reader who are the people inside your vehicle, if they are critics of the government, if they are armed and dangerous, or whatever else you're trying to scare the public with.

(Oh, right, Big Brother is all-powerful, no matter the technical limitations of the technology.)

How, then, are these RFID tags useful?

The automation of vehicle registration, for one, as a means of discouraging fixers is by far a public good that outweighs the one-time cost of 350 pesos per RFID tag. By making registration processes faster, the vehicle-owning public will find the services of fixers superfluous; no need for the harried vehicle owner to employ a fixer to speed things up if the RFID tag will make registration quick and easy. Surely a step in fighting grassroots corruption is a good thing?

RFID tags can also be used to catch scofflaws; running a red light with a CCTV and an RFID reader can and will result in a vehicle being tagged and flagged for violations of the law and later resulting in the vehicle being disallowed from plying the streets. Surely crime control is a good thing?

RFID tags can be a means to identify vehicles used in crimes or are involved in them. Think of the possibilities -- carjackers will have difficulties in fencing their wares, kidnappers and holdup gangs can be tracked and traced once their vehicles have been tagged and flagged, and so on. Surely law enforcement is a good thing?

Now, then, Representative Maza, what of your charge that RFID tags might violate the right to privacy?

Two words: kalokohan.

(Yes, that's two words -- the other one is in RF code.)

First, the information on the tags are data that you ALREADY provide the LTO. Invasion of privacy, really.

Second, in no way can passive RFID vehicle tags tell authorities of what goes on inside your car. You can drive your car up to Antipolo and have a screaming boinkfest with your passengers and the RFID vehicle tag won't know the difference. Certainly an invasion of privacy if the tag cannot do what you say it can.

Third, unless and until the government installs RFID readers convering on every single road on the 205,497 km road network -- we're talking of 205,497,000 meters worth of road, and therefore 20,549,700 RFID readers networked to automated monitoring stations -- your Big Brother bogeyman of tracking vehicles blah-blah-blah is no more possible under government budget at present than your capability to repeal or amend physical or natural laws -- I dare you, amend the law of gravity, sige nga.

Susme. All we ask from elected legislators is to serve the public, not to fool us.

***
Now, what of Representative Casiño's claim that "the tagging appears to be overpriced at P350 when RFID chips are already inexpensive, costing 20 [US] cents on the average or around P10 to 15 only"?

Eh kung nag-aral ka sana tungkol sa RFID technology, Teddy. RFID tags do not work without their counterpart RFID readers. Likewise, the RFID tags being EEPROMs, you should have factored the cost of EEPROM writers used to put information on the RFID tags. You also should have factored into the project cost the need for the database software and other automation costs. There are also training and maintenance costs involved in the use of RFID tags, something else you are glossing over.

That was a disingenuous statement, Mister Casiño. Ang RFID tag ay hindi trapo na pagkabili ay agad na puwede nang gamiting pamunas.

Not that you would be able to distinguish a trapo from an RFID tag, it would seem, let alone a Bayan Muna bumper sticker from one.

***
In any case, it will be a treat to watch the slings and arrows between the LTO and these legislators. The entertainment value of arguments between a party who is somewhat mistrusted and a party who refuses to listen to self-evident technical specifications is going to be no different from a Three Stooges pie-throwing vignette.

Heck, throw into fray the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers -- it's going to be fun to watch lawyers wrangle before the court arguments about a technology that's been tried and tested and already passed over worldwide.

And to think all this arguing involves spending our taxpayers' money. Heh.

Jingle Jingle

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:10:46 PDT

I heard about Wille Revillame being considered to be Manny Villar's veep.

After the facepalm and remembering Willie's TV antics (and that of scantily-clad women dancing for him), I had this brainwave:

(Sung to the tune of "Nobody" by whoever K-Pop girl group that is)
We want your Manny, your Papi for you!
We want your Manny, your Papi for you!
Tutulong sa inyo, aangatin kayo!
We want your Manny, your Papi, your Manny, your Papi!

(Voiceover) Si Manuel "Manny" Villar at si Willie "Papi" Revillame... Sila ang aangat sa inyo!

Errrr. Okay. facepalm

***
Excuse me while I throw up at this sort of campaigning.

The Automated Elections Exercise: Command and Conquer (that is, strategies to keep the polls clean)

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:06:32 PDT

(UPDATE September 16, 1:31 AM: Refer to Rom's post pointing out possible holes in my views on this issue. We can defer to her expertise, methinks, as I understand she has more in-depth information than I.)

(I have yet to successfully pester our friends from the PCIJ to share COMELEC Commissioner Armando Velasco's PowerPoint presentation on the conduct of automated elections in 2010, so a lot of the stuff in this post will be conjecture based on seminar notes and memory. With any luck, the presentation will be shared to all and sundry; with even more luck, the COMELEC and Smartmatic-TIM will provide to the public all the relevant data that will allow all of us a means for we ourselves to combat cheating come 2010. Here's a sample of what we should be looking at: the SAES 1800 technical datasheet.)

Commissioner Armando Velasco talking of automated elections in the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism seminar attended by the jester-in-exile last week

With the Supreme Court ruling in favor of automated elections, all systems now are go for the use of an automated system of elections instead of a manual system of elections. In this post, we're going to put forward how we understand the automated system, we'll be poking the holes in the system, and we'll be proposing countermeasures and counter-countermeasures that use technology and capabilities we already have.

Hey, that's what systems engineering and quality assurance is all about. Looking critically at Smartmatic-TIM's media kit will be a good start, I'm sure.

***
The first step in automated elections is registration. A lot of people have been taking for granted this step -- I hope that the COMELEC won't make it too hard for first-time voters, voters transferring their registrations, or voters reactivating their registrations to get this step done.

For the moment I'm going to gloss over the actual registration processes (they're here on the COMELEC website) and instead focus on this idea: that the registration is one of the weak links of automated elections.

See, it's a given that if one isn't on the list of voters, one won't be able to vote. Thus, it's going to be a priority for would-be cheaters to assail the voters' list.

Failure scenarios:

- Cheaters successfully deactivate registration of voters already on the list.

- Cheaters pad voters' lists with voters, real or imagined.

I've heard coffeeshop rumors saying that certain government agencies are going around certain places trying to get their hands into the list of voters. I won't put it past election operators to be trying to do the same thing.

Countermeasure: some means must be made to secure the voters' lists, and I think that the best way to do it is to make them public continuously from now until election day.

If the lists are public, then anyone will be able to cry foul if they find their neighborhood's voters' list padded by people already dead, abroad, or whatever else that disqualifies someone from voting (qualifications here). More to the point, we should ask COMELEC to support such watchdog activities by the public -- call it the crowd-sourced means of ensuring honest registration (hat tip to Marocharim for pointing out how strong this means can be).

What to watch out for come May 10, 2010 and the counting: cheating based on blocks of approximately 1000 votes each (that is, per precinct cluster).

***
The next step will be felt rather deeply on election day itself: the waiting at the precinct.

Let's assume for the moment that the voters' lists have been validated and guarded and are perfectly sound. On election day, we'll have 1000 voters lined up from 7 AM at each precinct equipped with a single machine.

I don't know yet how long each paper ballot will be, so I won't be able to provide valid assumptions on the time that will be spent on each ballot, but as Commissioner Velasco said at the PCIJ seminar, the precinct can hold ten voters at a time. Here's how the process flow will look like:

(UPDATE September 16, 12:08 AM: Thanks to the illimitable Rom, of whom I understand has some knowledge of the PCOS machine operation, I'm updating the post based on probably more accurate estimates.)

Seemingly, the primary bottleneck of this process is the machine reading of the ballot. According to the SAES 1800 technical datasheet, the machine has a scanning speed of approximately 12 inches per second, on both sides, with the ballot size of 8.5" wide. Let's assume a machine speed of 2 seconds, then, with all the candidates... no, better make it three.

Let's say it takes about [3 minutes] 15 seconds for the voter to be able to load the ballot into the machine. Let's assume another [two minutes] 15 seconds for the load-out process (signing and whatnot). That brings us to about [00:05:03] 00:00:33 time spent at the machine station without counting stand-around time. Call it a good minute for the station time in total, bringing us up to 00:01:03.

Let's say the fastest ballot fill-out takes ten minutes, what with having to think about and shade all desired candidates. We're now up to [00:15:03] 00:11:03 time spent.

Assuming a well-run precinct, without problems or errors and anything to slow down this quasi-production line, and a 7AM to 6PM election period without any breaks (that's 660 minutes worth), we can look at a worst-case maximum number of [44] 60 voters per precinct cluster. Mind you, this is worst-case. However, queueing theory and PERT-CPM strategies as used in manufacturing production lines can drive this number up to a little past [200] 400 voters for that election period; I doubt very much if the numbers of a time-and-motion study, in a sunny-day (always perfect) scenario will show that [300] 800 voters out of the 1000 per precinct cluster will be able to cast their votes.

Yes, the actual bottlenecks are the [load/unload speed of the machine] stand-around waiting time at the machine station and the time spent in filling up the ballots.

(UPDATE September 16, 1:31 AM: Plurker Gareon pointed me out to videos demonstrating Smartmatic machine operation. Here's one. I've been watching it for the purpose of getting more detail on failure modes and ideas on possible countermeasures. I mean, after all, if one has brain matter enough to detect failure modes, one has the ability to think of fixes -- or one is a lazy dumbass.)

(Aside: is that Jam on the couch in the video?)

Countermeasures:

- Allow voters to carry with them their list of candidates they want to vote for. With such a list in hand, filling out should be easy; in fact, if possible, find a way to encourage the preparation of such a list prior between the queue and the individual polling stations -- I'm thinking of a secure holding area where voters can make their list... secure, of course, so that vote buying and vote selling won't be an issue.

- Allot a maximum time spent in the polling station. Adjust alloted maximum time based on the capability of the voter to vote (i.e., literacy and disability issues).

- Increase voting hours. (Leche, kawawa na naman ang mga titser natin.) That said, there's very little way to get past the time issue without opening the precinct on time, and closing the precinct a little later. A 6PM precinct closure won't cut it, not for a thousand-voter precinct cluster, and with the rule that the voter himself has to put the ballot through the machine. 9PM sounds like a better cut-off; the COMELEC better secure the precincts with PNP and AFP, however, and they better provide food and snacks to the teachers. I think if precincts extend to such hours, media coverage that's especially watchful at such hours will provide some degree of deterrence to would-be cheaters.

(By the way, folks, these ideas aren't all that will be of use; do put in your ideas, won't you?)

Check out this Smartmatic-TIM presentation for how it'll work out.

***
On to the potential failures as discussed by Commissioner Velasco himself, he discussed three failure modes at the PCIJ seminar:

- Unable to read the ballot

- Able to read the ballot but unable to count the votes cast

- Able to read and count but unable to transmit (I'm assuming this is after the precinct closes)

The "unable to read the ballot" problem will be one of those problems that will be slowing down the voting process throughput. So is the proposed solution, which is to use another PCOS machine (obviously, it's going to add to the throughput load of another precinct cluster).

Here's what we should add to the use of "another PCOS machine" backup:

- Security of the ballots at site

- Security of the ballots during transport between precincts

I'd recommend that the backup reading be done instead at the municipal level (or even at the provincial level, if need be), as a means to ensure data integrity. Cheating can enter via this failure mode by the use of manufactured ballots.

The "able to read but unable to count the votes" is a failure mode whose details I don't know, so I don't have much to offer in the way of countermeasure. I also don't understand the proposed solution involved, so I won't speak of it today. (I may have to update this post later.) Off the top of my head, I'd support any measures be COMELEC to hold a manual confirmatory count.

The "able to read and count but unable to transmit votes" has to do with this data transmission:

If I understand correctly, the proposed primary solution is to use another PCOS machine to send data, using the flash memory storage device of the failed PCOS. Here are a few weak points in this failure mode solution:

- If there is any capability at all for the data to be edited by anybody at site or during transport, the votes are in danger. (We're talking editing the contents of the flash drive using a netbook. Not difficult to imagine.)

- If the capability to edit votes only belongs to the Smartmatic-TIM technician, the votes are in danger if the technician can be made to edit the votes.

- If there is no capability to edit votes, there is the possibility for the votes (maximum number, 1000 votes) of that specific precinct to be lost and the possibility of failure of elections to take place in that precinct.

Countermeasures:

- Ensure encryption of the data on board the flash memory device. 128-bit encryption is fine, but I'm hoping for 256-bit or higher (with computer speeds being what they are and the ability to crack codes and passwords by a dedicated geek).

- Security clearances for the Smartmatic-TIM technicians, violation of which puts them behind bars for life. I kid you not.

- Preparation for all precincts for manual counting if need be (if the flash drive is lost or stolen or whatnot). Now, I hope COMELEC does so; tough shit na lang, 'pre, if candidates are unable to prepare in the event of such failure.

Preparation for manual counting and recording for a failed precinct cluster (?) puts another layer of issues (such as providing means to count and record ballots manually) for the precinct. I did not feel satisfied with Commissioner Velasco's answer that there won't be much preparation on that score because there's little chance of failure -- see, only Nostradamus could predict which machines would fail and how.

On the other hand, the "failure to transmit" problem can perhaps be fought and made less likely to happen by doing a couple of things:

- Using landlines instead of GPRS as a means of transmitting the data

- Using Smart (maybe even Sun) instead of Globe cellular communications (because our friendly neighborhood terrorist New People's Army have a policy of bombing Globe cellsites, di ba?). Ganito na lang, use Globe in areas with high NPA concentrations, so that their candidates won't have their votes counted? Nyahahahaha joke lang... pero pakyu pa rin nila.

- If we have the money, use satellite data transmission, where landline or cellular communication is difficult (like where the NPA and MILF and Abu Sayyaf bomb places).

I also like the idea of crowd-sourced vote transmission -- texting/ calling/ emailing the count as a means of confirming the data to the other end -- but this mode is vulnerable. I think it's better to prepare.

Preparation is key. Yun yun.

***
I agree with Commissioner Velasco in the thinking that the speed of counting, transmission, and proclamation will be a major deterrent to cheating -- yup, by the time the Garcis are able to start doing what they do best, the proclamations have happened.

So then, further means of securing the vote:

- Everyone's got to keep a critical eye on the proclamations. With the public server, municipal, provincial, and national data available for all of us to look at, we can easily track any hanky-panky... unless there are operators at every single one of the 80,000 precinct clusters, each municipal and provincial center, and at the national level.

- Watch carefully any and all incidents of failure modes, especially if they result in the transport of the flash memory drives and manual counting.

- Urge the COMELEC to allow the public monitoring of election proceedings. NAMFREL and PPCRV may have little to do with the counting, but they could sure help in keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

Yun muna ha. Kain muna ako.

***
Hmmmm. Premature campaigning is now recognized by the courts, as reported on 24-Oras? We'll take a close look at this later, okay?

Pretty pala si Mariz Umali. La lang.

Later, folks. Maybe I'll add more to this post, pero let's not count on that, okay? Lots and lots of things are happening.

Travel Update (or, by all the gods I miss my Charley)

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:10:02 PDT

Remember Seav's Lakbayan?

I felt the need to update my previous results -- for some reason I thought that I may have improved them.

Boy, was I wrong.

***
My current results, folks.

My Lakbayan grade is B-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Still B-minus, but the coloring's better.

That's some consolation, at least.

***
Now more than ever I miss having Charley.

Charley and me in Bacolod, in better days

Where's that Plurk heartbreak emoticon when you need it?

Haaaaay.

Four Days, Subic and Back (yes, this post is just an aide-memoire)

noreply@blogger.com (Pierre Tito Galla) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:30:55 PDT

Hello, folks. Been a while, yes? Kuwento time.

Last Thursday, I found myself on a bus to Subic Holiday Villas to attend a four-day seminar by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, titled "Covering Automated Elections and Campaign Finance". The seminar was the second batch of several more sessions that the PCIJ was conducting.

It was fun.

I'm thinking that I'm going to be talking a lot about this seminar in the next few posts, about stuff I've learned and ideas have come to mind because of what I've learned. Heck, quite a lot of the stuff I'm going to be sharing will be from the PCIJ books we were given at the end of the seminar -- "News for Sale: The Corruption & Commercialization of the Philippine Media" (2004 edition) by Chay Florentino-Hofilena and "Cockfight, Horserace, Boxing Match (Why Elections are Covered as Sport): Lessons Learned from the 2004 Campaign Coverage" by Sheila Coronel, Yvonne Chua, and Isagani de Castro jr; yes, I've finished reading them, as well as Libertas' "Basic Guide to the Laws and Rules Governing Election Finance in the Philippines" -- to augment the stuff from my notes and from the large seminar hand-out.

Today, however, I'm just going to put stuff together, as a first step towards refreshing my memory... and maybe as a guide to what I can and should share in the posts to come, if you folks leave comments telling me what you think.

***
September 10, 2009: Day 1.

Welcomed by Malou Mangahas (executive director, PCIJ), Tita Valderama (training director, PCIJ), and Ed Lingao (multimedia content producer, PCIJ). First met with seminar roommates Dennis Jamito (senior reporter, Bombo Radyo) and Jay Llanto (researcher, Newsbreak). Saw fellow blogger Marocharim (check out his post of the seminar venue Silly Shootin’ Subic Stuff and Seminars). Met the other participants of the seminar soon after: Joey Aguilar (editor, Punto Central Luzon), Lei Alviz (news producer, GMA Network), Leslie Aquino (reporter, Manila Bulletin), Grace Asuncion (senior reporter, RPN 9), John Bayarong (stringer, Subic Times/ Agence France Presse), Nene Bundoc Ocampo (editor in chief, Punla - Pulso ng Madla), Sheila Crisostomo (reporter, The Philippine Star), Au Dagcutan (researcher, PCIJ), Carisa Manuel-Pancho (news desk editor, ABS-CBN News), John Roson (correspondent, Bandera), Jam Sisante (news producer, GMANews.TV). Interesting bunch of people, really; check out PCIJ's post Automation pains and paper cranes to listen to them offer their opinions on the upcoming elections in 2010. Carisa has a startling resemblance to one of the pretty classmates I had in college, but taller.

Totally bombed the little diagnostic quiz that was held.

Later met the seminar's youngest participant, Pax Andres of the College Editors' Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and The Work of Tarlac State University. The boys and I pretend to give the fellow a hard time haha.

Spent the evening arguing with Ed about media. Heh heh.

September 11, 2009:Day 2.

Session opens with Malou giving an overview of media, politics, and elections in Las Islas Filipinas.

After the coffee break, we listen to political analyst Angelito Banayo speak on spin. Lito's fascinating talk covered more than the (Aside: if you plan to ask me to talk on this in detail, forget it. The whole thing is off the record. No, I'm not sorry that it is.)

Then, lunch.

Ed's session is on the "mojo", the multimedia journalist. His laptops and flip cameras are to die for; maybe I'll pester him to get one of each for me haha.

After the coffee break, Atty. Luie Guia (trustee and immediate past president, Lawyers' League for Liberty Libertas/Lente) had a session on election laws. I knew that my knowledge of that topic was sketchy at best, having trashed the quiz on elections, so it's great that Luie made a lot of stuff clear.

After dinner, hanging out with the media people. Luie is a cool lawyer. Introduced Jam (she's cute, right, Marocharim? Nyahahahaha) to the concept of kuwelyo (concept only, did not demonstrate).

September 12, 2009:Day 3.

Sessions. Uncovering Campaign Finance: a live training blog from Subic, where Luie now focuses on the moolah of candidates.

After coffee, we listen to Commissioner Armando Velasco of the COMELEC talk about poll automation (see Covering Automated Elections: a live training blog from Subic). Despite the fact that we more or less gave Commissioner Velasco a fairly hard time in the Q&A, he was a good sport about it. I think that he had a mild case of "deer-in-headlights"-itis when asked about stuff related to COMELEC and blogs and cyberspace.

After lunch we listen to Malou talk about investigative reporting (see Probing Politics & Elections: a live training blog from Subic). Great stuff; I now think I have a means to measure how well an investigative report I'm watching or reading was conducted.

After coffee, Malou continues with do's and don'ts in election coverage (see Do’s and Don’ts in Elections: a live training blog from Subic). Hmmm. I'll get to the idea of watching the watchdogs later (a lot of it came from reading the News for Sale book as well).

Ending the session, we get split into groups to discuss journalism best practices with regard to covering elections. I get to join Sheila, Jay, and John.

After the discussion, we chill a little. I kill time by pestering Marocharim while he writes his Blogging/Journalism post. The seminar participants are brought out to dinner in a steak place in Subic. Tablemates Marocharim, Joey, Dennis, John, Pax, and myself nearly kill ourselves laughing -- I doubt if the boys will ever forget gabi-flavor cigarettes or swallowing chewed guava leaves, especially Joey.

After dinner, some of us go buy stuff in Duty Free. We then take a stroll in the gloomy weather before going back to the hotel. At the hotel, we have another little social session, where a lyrics translator demonstrates his karaoke singing prowess together with a pretty media person (yes, we think they is cute together teeheehee).

September 13, 2009: Day 4.

Workshop output time: check out How Will We Cover 2010? A live training blog from Subic. My stuff was a slide show, check out Group Four's stuff here; it's a blog! Teeheehee.

Before we end, a course evaluation. My results? Two words: facepalm. 'Nuff said.

A sort of graduation, where we sort of introduce each other for the last time. When Malou mentions that we talked about the concept of this seminar long long ago, I'm touched that she remembers. I introduce Au and mention her little quirks -- amazing how anyone can live without eating veggies, yes?

Back to rooms to finish packing, then back downstairs to wait for the ride. At the lobby, we give Pax another hard time. Here now is me keeping a promise:

One of the fellows thinks that Lei is dreamboat-pretty.The rest of the fellows agree, of course.
(I haven't yet decided whether or not to tell all and sundry that it's Pax who is the one who said he thinks Lei is pretty.)

We organize for the ride back. Leslie, who is beside me, and I watch Deep Impact on my Vivi D., which hibernates at the last fifteen minutes of the movie. Bleh.

We make a pitstop at a gas station. One of them pretty girls takes a step or two into the men's room. Accidentally daw nyahaha.

At the jump-off point, we try to con Leslie out of her chocolates, so that she wouldn't have a hard time carrying a large and heavy duffel. We couldn't get any.

Time apart from seminar people begins with me writing this post.

Just so you good folks know, I'm cringing. What the heck had I been doing in the midst of such brilliant company for the past few days?

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Later, folks. Will now make it home and start making paper sacks to wear over my head.