How many times have we heard of companies paying “homage” to government agencies or partners? Maybe TIM was forced into a situation wherein they needed to pay people that don’t actually need payment. This has been a recurring item in the news for the past decades. Just a plausible theory.

Here’s the article from Inquirer.net:

MANILA, Philippines — The Filipino partner has withdrawn from the consortium that won the bidding for next year’s computerized balloting, raising the possibility that elections will be conducted manually as before, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Monday.

“We may have to go manual,” Comelec Chair Jose Melo told reporters after a 10-minute meeting with officials of Total Information Management Corp. (TIM), the local counterpart of the consortium led by the Barbados-based Smartmatic International.

Melo said that TIM president Jose Mari Antuñez told him that TIM was pulling out of the partnership with Smartmatic, citing unspecified “irreconcilable differences.”

However, a source privy to the Comelec’s automation efforts said that lack of funds and unpreparedness prompted TIM’s withdrawal.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of compromising his role in the initiative, said that TIM needed an additional P300 million to meet its P700-million share as a partner.

“Unless TIM can raise the amount, the joint venture cannot push through and they cannot be issued the proper papers by the Securities and Exchange Commission,” the source said.

However, the source noted that TIM could easily enter into a loan to obtain this amount “since the contract is already a sure shot, which makes us wonder what ‘irreconcilable differences’ mean.”

The Philippine Daily Inquirer contacted TIM, but the company declined comment.

The Smartmatic-TIM group was awarded the contract after a month-long bidding process that saw seven election companies compete for the P11.3-billion project.

The group made a P7.2-billion bid and won the right to lease 82,200 counting machines that would allow the Comelec to complete the canvassing of votes in two days instead of weeks under the manual system.

Our dear 172 congressmen who voted in favor of House Resolution 1109, there are many things that we want to thank you for. Really.

We thank you for the well-lit billboards that banner your name and your smiling airbrushed mug for building that umpteenth new basketball court; we thank some of you who, across two congresses, thumbed down the impeachment complaint against the chief executive not once, not twice, not even thrice, but four times. Talo pa ninyo si Lionel Richie. We thank all of you for teaching us that, in spite of the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey that revealed that two thirds of the population is against Charter change, statistics do not accurately reflect reality, unless they are in your favor (that will teach us voters to believe in a survey that is statistically sound and quantitatively verifiable).

We also thank you for the respite we will get from the over-stimulated coverage of the sex scandal brouhaha that has kept the Senate, the Optical Media Board and dibidi vendors busy. Because now we know that the real lewd show will be played out, censorship and Senate-free, in the lower house. As noted constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ oh-so-delicately pointed out, the Charter change resolution is an invitation by the lower house to have us as they “violate the constitution.” In front of law-abiding citizens and little children, no less. Give Abner Afuag a jug of water, please.

Don’t all of you, from the Hahvaaahhdd graduate to the hoi polloi, realize that the sole purpose of this constituent assembly — as Speaker Prospero Nograles has oh-so-delicately put it several hundred times — is to study the lifting of restrictions of foreign ownership of land and corporation (um, because there has been a groundswell of disgruntled local landowners and local corporations demanding foreign ownership?) for economic progress (even if the NEDA chief says that another Cha-cha move will shock the economy? Pshaw! What does the economic chief know?)? Of course we believe this is the reason for the constituent assembly as much as we believe that the Chief Executive won the 2004 national elections.

But let’s not rest on our laurels, my dear 172 congressmen. We’ve got less than a year to go until the next elections and there are still a boatload of laws that deserve the midnight oil treatment. No, I am not referring to the right of reply bill (although those journalists will get what is coming to them soon enough). Neither am I referring to the anti-child pornography bill (can the children wait any longer?). What I’m talking about is legislation of consequence.

We have yet to scrape the bottom of pork barrel to draft laws that will uplift the status of the less-than-minimum wage earning Pinoy. Given this, you may want to consider adapting some of these international laws (that are still in existence, I may add) that will garner attention, prime time ratings and (sigh) taxpayer’s money.

In Thailand, it is illegal to leave your house if you are not wearing underwear, especially if you don’t want the crotch of your paints to smell like a urinal by the end of the day. In Australia, it is illegal to wear hot pink pants on Sunday mid afternoon unless you want the fashion police to come over and beat you senseless with a fur-covered nightstick. In France, a pig cannot be addressed as “Napoleon” by its owners, although the law is silent on whether you can call the pig “Josephine.” In Singapore, you cannot walk around naked in your own home because you might look in the mirror and turn yourself on. And, in Indonesia, the punishment for masturbation is decapitation (and a collective shudder runs down the spine of No Girlfriends Since Birth Charter Members around the world).

Aren’t these laws tear-jerking, knee-slapping, spittle-forming hilarious? Speaking frankly, we’d rather have these taken up in Congress instead of the one numbered 1109. (Well, except maybe for the Indonesian law. We would have NGSBs in stumps over that.)

My dear 172 congressmen, we — your electorate — can’t help but feel special. Just like special children. We feel that we are special because we just can’t seem to make the connection: we know that we elected all of you into office; we know that two thirds of us are adamant against Charter change; yet here we are, watching as the representatives we voted into office prepare to sexually harass our Constitution come July. It’s like somebody’s told us a bad joke and we don’t really get the punch line. Unless it’s all an inside joke.

Sometimes all we nine-to-fivers can do is shrug our shoulders as we recall the headlines that have marked this country’s political tragicomedy of errors for the past several years: from “Hello Garci” to missing fertilizer funds to IMPSA to “Jose Pidal” to jueteng to the Northrail project to the Venable contract to the NBN-ZTE deal to the bribery at Malacañang to extra-military excursions in posh hotels to extrajudicial killings. It’s not funny anymore.

So please, my dear 172 congressmen, hear the little whispers that we utter in between typing up reports and taking down orders and riding the MRT — please give us a fresh start. Please give us — without any doubt in our minds — presidential elections in 2010. We don’t need any more jokes. What we do need is a break. Really.

We realize that you are all a reasonable bunch of well-meaning fellows. After all, that’s the reason why we voted all of you into office. We are sure that you continue to have the best intentions for your district as you serve out your last year in office. And although we may not fully understand your reasons for adding your signature to House Bill 1109, we respect your desire to exercise this prerogative. If you truly feel that amending the Constitution prior to 2010 will benefit your constituency (and, by extension, your country) as a whole, then kindly make an effort to reach out to us and share the burden of your conviction.

But we — your electorate — are a reasonable bunch as well. And two thirds of us feel that amending the Constitution prior to next year’s elections is just another sequel to this ongoing tragicomedy. So please respect us as we exercise our prerogative to share with you our fervent disapproval of this bill.

For the two thirds out there who disapprove of the bill, I urge you to find out which of the congressmen in your district voted in favor of House Bill 1109. Their names appear in this website: http://www.thepoc.net/index.php/Politi-Ko/Politiko-News/Con-ass-resolution-endorsers-named.html. Twenty from the National Capital Region (NCR). Five from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Eleven from the Ilocos Region. Six from Cagayan Valley. Seventeen from Central Luzon. Thirteen from Calabarzon. Five from MIMAROPA. Ten from the Bicol Region. Fourteen from Western Visayas. Eleven from Central Visayas. Twelve from Eastern Visayas. Six from the Zamboanga Peninsula. Eight from Northern Mindanao. Eleven from the Davao Region. Four from SOCCSKARGEN. Seven from CARAGA. Six from ARMM. Five from party-lists.

My fellow electorate, let us exercise the same persistence at getting through to our congressmen as our congressmen exercised in getting this bill passed in the Lower House. Let us find a way to get in touch with them. Visit them. Text them. E-mail them. Snail-mail them. Send them smoke signals. Let us let them know that we — their constituents — believe that their actions should reflect our will. Let them know that we have just much a stake as they do in our shared political future, and maybe even more.

We appeal to you, our dear 172 congressmen, please do not push through with the constituent assembly in July. Because if we careen down this path, the ending to this political flashpoint might turn out like the latest film by Brillante Mendoza.

It may be award-winning, but it won’t be pretty.

* * *

For comments and suggestions, please text PM POGI to 2948 for Globe, Smart or Sun subscribers. Or e-mail ledesma.rj@gmail.com or visit www.rjledesma.net.

Source: Star

Cheers RJ!

In terms of geography, Escudero is the choice of the majority of Filipinos in Metro Manila. In Mindanao, both Erap and De Castro are the front runners (looks like star power works in the South). Senator Roxas, on the other hand, leads the race in Visayas. If we will take this information seriously, we’ve already identified the potential strongholds of the candidates and can also be used as strategy for the said candidates to do more work in the places where they are weak.

Here’s the full article from Inquirer.net:

2010 presidential race remains tight—poll

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:09:00 06/01/2009

Filed Under: Politics, Elections, Eleksyon 2010

MANILA, Philippines—If the presidential elections were held today, five contenders will have a tight race for the post as they would garner about the same percentages of Filipino votes, the Pulse Asia May 2009 survey said.

Filipinos would likely vote for Vice President Noli L. De Castro (18 percent), Senator Francis G. Escudero (17 percent), former President Joseph Estrada (15 percent), Senator Manuel B. Villar, Jr. (14 percent), and Senator Manuel A. Roxas II (13 percent), said Pulse Asia’s May 2009 Ulat ng Bayan national survey.

Other candidates got only 7 percent or less, namely Senators Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Manny Pangilinan, Justice Reynato Puno, Makati Mayor Jejomay Binay, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, religious leader Bro. Mike Vellarde, Bayani Fernando, and Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio.

Despite continued talks about a no-election scenario and uncertainties regarding the automation of the May 2010 elections, the level of public interest in the elections remains high as virtually all Filipinos have a preferred candidate in mind, said Pulse Asia.

However, Filipinos are still divided when it comes to their choice of their next president as shown by the results, it said.

In Metro Manila and the best-off Class ABC, Escudero topped the presidential bet with 26 percent. In Mindanao, Estrada and De Castro have almost the same voter preferences at above 20 percent, said the survey.

In the Visayas, the favored presidential candidates are Roxas (22 percent), Villar (20 percent), De Castro (18 percent), and Escudero (15 percent), while class E favors De Castro (25 percent), Estrada (19 percent), Escudero (15 percent) and Villar (13 percent).

The five presidential candidates currently leading at the national level also enjoy nearly the same levels of electoral support in the rest of Luzon and the most numerous Class D.

About one in three Filipinos is voting for his/her preferred presidential bet because of the candidate’s being helpful to others, particularly the poor and the overseas Filipino workers, said Pulse Asia.

One in 10 Filipinos chose a candidate based on his or her many accomplishments, followed by being clean or not corrupt, being a good person, and being a fighter among others.

Between February and May 2009, Roxas enjoyed 5 percentage-point improvement while Legarda had a 5 percentage-point erosion in terms of following.

The nationwide survey had 1,200 respondents from all over the country.

Will write more about this later on.

Hayden Kho and Katrina Halili are now in the Senate for their public hearing of the sex scandal issue. I was appalled after hearing how Hayden Kho described his relationship with Katrina. According to the Dr. Kho the relationship was all about “Drugs and sex, drugs and sex.” To which Katrina replied “Minahal ko si Hayden”. Man! This guy is literally burying his own coffin. By the way, the picture above is something I got from Facebook. Apparently some guy decided to splash water at Hayden Kho. Full details about the hearing after the break.

KHO ON AFFAIR WITH HALILI
‘Drugs, sex, drugs, sex’

By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:12:00 05/28/2009

Filed Under: Illegal drugs, Internet, Celebrities

MANILA, Philippines—“Drugs and sex, drugs and sex,” was how cosmetic surgeon Hayden Kho described his relationship with sexy actress Katrina Halili.

Hayden told the Senate committee hearing the sex video scandal that it was Halili who “influenced” him to use illegal drugs.

Kho, 29, admitted using “ecstasy” in August 2007 on the prodding of Halili.

Halili, who was also at the hearing, denied Kho’s allegation.

“Hindi po totoo na nagbibigay ako sa inyo ng drugs,” she said.

She said her relationship with Kho was beyond sexual.

“Minahal ko ho si Hayden,” the teary-eyed actress declared.

So… based on this it looks like Dr. Kho will be hinging his defense on his allegation that Katrina drugged him to have sex with her? Oh man. By the way, here’s the video of the water splashing fun.

He explained that unlike other politicians, Bayani has tremendous amounts of political will. As long as it is the right thing to do, Bayani will take whatever means necessary to achieve his objective. I think that’s the reason why a lot of people hate his guts - precisely because he gets the job done regardless of the cost.

I probed Manong Taxi Driver some more with questions and apparently he lives in Marikina. He relates that initially he was anti-BF, especially when part of his home was torn down because of a sidewalk clearing project. However, he says that he later on appreciates what happened because now what looked like a squatter’s area now has roads that can rival those of subdivisions.

“Ang maganda kay Bayani disciplina. Wala ako paki kung maging color pink ang manila basta may disciplina ang mga tao. Pwede tayo maging mini-Singapore niyan!” says Manong Taxi Driver.

While I strongly disagree with turning the entire city pink, I have to agree with one statement - Bayani CAN change this country. The question is if it will be for the better or for worse.

Interior chief eyes VP post in 2010

By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:08:00 05/26/2009

Filed Under: Eleksyon 2010, Elections, Politics

MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced on Thursday his plan to run for vice president in 2010.

Puno said he would seek the nomination of the administration coalition when it holds its convention.

“I will be seeking the nod and approval of the joint party as vice president… I would like to participate in the nomination proceedings,” Puno told reporters.

On Thursday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will preside over the merger of the administration parties Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats and Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KMP).

Pastor Sonny Oaman was the guest preacher for the recent service at Victory Greenhills. He delivered the message pretty well. It was like a steam engine building momentum, gathering strength, and then boom! Anyway, this post is an idea that I got from Pastor Larry. Basically I just write down my thoughts on the service to share with everyone what I learned. Details after the break.

Sunday Service Download
- Very energetic and passionate worship service led by Ganns. Had goosebumps when we started singing “You Reign”.
- I really got surprised when All-Stars took the stage for the offering performance. Whoa! These guys are insanely good.
- Funny moment when Pastor Dennis asked Jun to take pictures of the crowd. Really excited for the Victory Greenhills website. Hopefully it will launch 2nd week of June.
- “You are not students or businessmen who happened to be Christians, you are Christians who happened to be students or businessmen!”
- Power of Unity is really awesome. I see this a lot at the office. If people really unite to reach for one goal, it becomes reality. Impossible is nothing. Naks.
- Agree 100% that this country will only change if we all pitch in. Regardless of whoever is elected in 2010, we need to start rebuilding our nation in our own backyards first. Man, tinamaan ako dito. Have to think about how to fix my family, haha.
- Can’t wait for next week.

By the way, here’s the performance of All-Stars. They’re really good. Thinking about getting them to perform for the next event of Level Up.

WHAT IS IT?

Swine influenza is a common and sometimes fatal respiratory disease among pigs, first identified in 1930, that is caused by a Type A influenza virus. Normally the disease is specific only to pigs. But sometimes pigs can harbor more than one flu virus at one time, which enables the pathogens to mix genes. As a result, a new viral strain emerges that can cross the species barrier to humans, starting with people in contact with infected pigs. The latest threat is a strain of the H1N1 type of flu virus.

WHY THE ALARM?

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the virus can be contagious among humans in close contact and the outbreak has “pandemic potential,” meaning there is risk of a spread across regions or continents. In the past century, novel flu viruses have killed tens of millions of people and cost billions of dollars in economic costs. Worries about a new pandemic have focused in recent years on the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed around 250 people since 2003, mainly in Southeast Asia. But H5N1 is hard to transmit among humans, and its threat has been contained by culling infected poultry.

WHAT ABOUT THE UNKNOWNS?

Experts insist there is no certainty that a pandemic will happen or if so that it will be a mass killer. There are many unknowns about the new strain, especially how easily it spreads between people, how virulent it is or could become. Figuring this out will be the work of gene scientists and epidemiologists.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE MOST AFFECTED?

Mexico is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 103 confirmed and suspected deaths as of Monday and about 400 people hospitalized. In 10 other countries, there have been 57 confirmed or suspected cases, none of them fatal, among people returning from Mexico. The United States has had 20 confirmed cases, Canada six confirmed cases and Spain one case. Several countries from Colombia to New Zealand are investigating suspected cases.

HOW DOES THE VIRUS SPREAD?

Swine flu is thought to spread like typical flu, i.e. in viral particles expelled in coughs and sneezes that are then breathed in by someone nearby, or deposited on surfaces that are then touched by the hand and transmitted to the mouth, nose or eyes. People with the virus may be able to infect others beginning a day before symptoms develop, and up to seven days or more after becoming sick. Young children may be contagious for somewhat longer.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

Sudden fever above 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), cough, headache, aching joints, nasal congestion, general fatigue and lack of appetite. Some people who have contracted the virus report runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In past cases, swine flu has caused pneumonia and respiratory failure and worsened chronic medical conditions.

HAVE THERE BEEN OUTBREAKS IN THE PAST?

From December 2005 through February 2009, only 12 cases of swine flu were reported in the United States. In 1988 a pregnant woman died after contact with sick pigs. In 1976, swine flu at an US military base at Fort Dix, New Jersey killed one soldier. Four were hospitalized with pneumonia. At first, experts feared the strain was related to the Spanish Flu of 1918, which killed millions, but the strain never spread beyond the base.

WHAT TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends oseltamivir (marketed as Tamiflu) and zanamivir (marketed as Relenza) for treating or preventing infection. These drugs work by preventing the virus from reproducing. Most of the previously reported swine flu cases have recovered fully without requiring medical attention and without antiviral medicines.

IS THERE A SWINE FLU VACCINE?

There is a vaccine for pigs, but not for humans. It is unclear whether current “seasonal” vaccines, designed to combat smaller genetic shifts in major strains of flu virus that are in circulation, may provide a shield.

WHAT ARE THE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES?

Public health authorities in many countries have installed classic control measures, screening points of entry and isolating people suspected to have fallen ill. Mexico has ordered the closure of schools and cancelled public gatherings. Individuals can wear a face mask, avoid greeting someone with a kiss or a handshake, wash their hands frequently and clean commonly-touched surfaces such as telephones, door handles, tables and lift buttons.

CAN SWINE FLU BE CAUGHT FROM EATING PORK?

No. The virus is respiratory, and not transmitted by food. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 71 F (160 C) kills viruses and bacteria.

By the way, it is so refreshing to see that the news no longer talks about the idiotic sex scandal as much as it did a few days ago. I was so amazed that the Haydon Kho-Katrina Halili issue took precedence over the 1st confirmed case of Swine Flu in Philippines in some of the major broadsheets.