Loren: Senate work knows no party lines

RE-ELECTIONIST Senator Loren Legarda is ready to cross party lines once the 16th Congress is convened in July despite being targeted by a smear campaign allegedly by a fellow senator.

"Patuloy po tayong magtatrabaho. We will cross party lines, Team PNoy o UNA (United Nationalist Alliance), ano mang partido, baguhan man o datihan ay patuloy na sama-sama mag-trabaho," Legarda told reporters after her proclamation as senator-elect Thursday night.

PLDT Group statement regarding ‘delayed transmissions’ of election results

WITH respect to press reports that "weak signals" had caused delays in the transmission of election returns, we wish to state that the fixed and mobile networks of PLDT, Smart and Sun Cellular were fully functional throughout the electoral exercise.

Transmissions actually sent through our networks were promptly delivered to the Comelec and PPCRV servers in Manila.

Brillantes wants to sue poll automation critics

WITH his continued appeal left unheeded, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes is now looking to shut their critics by filing legal cases against them.

In an interview, the poll chief said he is now mulling over filing cases against those that continuously criticize them and their choice of re-using the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

Catholic vote had 'no effect' on re-electionist pro-RH lawmakers

THE victory of re-electionist congressmen who voted for the passage of the reproductive health (RH) law is a testament that there is no so-called Catholic vote exercised in the country, a pro-RH group said Thursday.   The Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), one of the core organizations which pushed for the enactment of the landmark legislation in Congress, said partial election results show that 94 percent of more than a hundred pro-RH re-electionists are winning in their respective districts and party-list system.  

US, Philippines launch health projects worth P8B

HEALTH Secretary Enrique Ona and United States to the Philippines Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. launched 13 projects that will help enhance the overall health of Filipino families under the US-Philippines bilateral health agreement.

The 13 projects, which amount to P7.96 billion (about US$194 million), will be implemented over a five-year period and will focus on 48 provinces nationwide.

Philippines issues new apology for Taiwan death

MANILA -- President Benigno Aquino III apologized anew Wednesday to Taiwan for the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel, after Taiwan rejected an earlier apology and started retaliating diplomatically.

Remittances climb to $5.6B in Q1

REMITTANCES from overseas Filipinos rose to $5.6 billion during the first quarter of this year, 6.2 percent higher compared to the same period in 2012, the central bank said Wednesday.

For March alone, personal remittances grew by 3.7 percent year-on-year to reach $1.9 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

Random manual audit results ‘so far, so good’

(UPDATED) Less than half of the legislative districts where a random manual audit (RMA) was conducted have sent results, and it's "so far, so good," Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Wednesday.

Brillantes said 110 of the 234 areas have reported results of its audit while the rest are expected to report within the day or at the latest Thursday.

Short honeymoon for Bam Aquino after proclamation

WHAT does presidential cousin Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV intends to do after he is proclaimed a winning senator?

"My agenda is to be on a vacation, be on a honeymoon with my wife. I'm actually not used to being with her every day because we have different schedules since the campaign started," Aquino, who is married to Timi, told reporters Wednesday.

Palace: 9-3 win an affirmation of Aquino’s reforms

MANILA (Updated, 12:33 p.m.) -- Malacañang expressed satisfaction on Tuesday over the conduct of the 2013 midterm elections and considered the results of the senatorial polls based on unofficial tallies as an affirmation of President Benigno Aquino III’s reforms.

In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that the Comelec and its "deputized agencies came together and did their utmost to ensure free, fair, and credible elections."

Official count: 9-3 for Team PNoy

MANILA (Updated 5:59 p.m.) -- Grace Poe-Llamanzares joined eight other administration candidates in the top 12 of the senatorial race, partial results of the official canvass by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) show Tuesday.

Poe received 391,906 votes based on the six certificates of canvass (COCs) submitted to the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBoC).

Militant youth cry ‘failure of election’

MEMBERS of Kabataan partylist held a picket in Quezon City on Tuesday, denouncing the technical glitches, election-related violence, and political infighting that allegedly hampered the organized facilitation of the 2013 midterm elections.

The group said Monday's election was a failure, citing reports of malfunctioning precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and bloated partial unofficial counts.

Poe won't run for higher public office

TOPPING the senatorial race is not a reliable launch pad for those seeking the vice presidency or presidency of the Philippines, surprise frontrunner Grace Poe said Tuesday.

"As what Senator Chiz (Francis Escudero) told me, being on top (of the senatorial elections) is not a guarantee that you will win because there had been candidates for president and vice president (who were previous topnotchers) and didn't make it," Poe said in a television interview.

Candidates dared to lead clean-up efforts

A DAY after Election Day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is challenging those who ran for public office to prove that they care for the voters by leading the clean-up efforts of their propaganda materials.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the first proof of the promises they made to the voters during the campaign is by removing their own campaign posters immediately.

Palace spokesperson among disenfranchised voters

DEPUTY presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was among those disenfranchised voters on Monday's midterm elections.

Valte, along with her mother, was among those who trooped to Palanan Elementary School in Makati City supposedly to cast her vote.

Aquino: I voted straight for Team PNoy

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said Monday that he voted straight for Team PNoy senatorial bets.

Emerging from Clustered Precinct 56 in Central Azucarera de Tarlac Elementary School in Tarlac City, the President expressed satisfaction because he was able to cast his vote faster.

Filipino clans, celebrities dominate midterm polls

MANILA (Updated 6:56 p.m.) — From Imelda Marcos to Manny Pacquiao, familiar names of Philippine political clans and celebrities dominated the ballots for Monday's congressional and local elections, which will gauge popular support for the president's anti-corruption drive and other reforms.

Despite scattered violence and fears of fraud, the polls were relatively peaceful as soldiers and police secured stations in potentially violent areas.

Bunye: Loan program for students

THIS is certainly great news for poor-but-deserving students.

While most of our local banks have been giving scholarships to our academically inclined youth, the recent move of the state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) should be given extra credit.

More than 50M voters expected to vote Monday

MANILA -- Some 52,014,648 registered voters are expected to troop to the 77,829 precincts nationwide to cast their votes today (Monday).

More than 18,000 posts are up for grabs, including 12 senators; 233 congressmen; 58 party-list representatives; 80 governors; 80 vice governors; 766 provincial board members; 143 city mayors; 143 city vice mayors; 1,598 city councilors; 1,491 municipal mayors; 1,491 municipal vice mayors; 11,932 municipal councilors; as well as one Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) governor; one regional vice governor; and 24 regional assemblymen.

4 Filipino peacekeepers held in Syria freed

MANILA (Updated) -- The Philippine government welcomed Sunday the release of four Filipino UN peacekeepers who were abducted last Tuesday in Al Jamla, Syria.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in a statement, said the peacekeepers were brought to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force’s (UNDOF’s) base in the Golan Heights, Camp Ziuoani, for medical check-up and stress debriefing.

Philippines, Taiwan ties fragile

MANILA — Malacañang expressed hope on Saturday that the relationship between the Philippines and Taiwan would not be affected by the recent shooting incident involving the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) resulting in the death of a Taiwanese fisherman.

In an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that investigation has been ongoing on the incident.

Palace urges public to be vigilant on election day

MALACANANG asked Saturday the public to be vigilant and to cooperate with authorities to ensure an orderly and peaceful election on Monday.    Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that the people must be aware of the liquor ban that will be implemented starting Sunday prior to Monday's polls.   The Official Gazette, a Palace website, is also posting an infographic so that the public will know the "do's" and "don'ts" on election day as government's public service and assistance to voters, she said.  

Voters urged to prepare list of candidates

ON THE eve of Election Day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) urged the more than 52 million registered voters to take time and complete their list of candidates whom they will vote for when they troop to their respective polling precincts.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes advised Filipinos to sit down this weekend, and start making their list of candidates so that they can vote easier and faster come Election Day, on May 13.

Erap offers advance congratulations to Grace Poe

IT'S a sure win for administration candidate Grace Poe-Llamanzares, so thinks former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, as he offered his advance congratulations for his goddaughter days before Monday's midterm elections.   "Sabi niya sakin congratulations, nag-aadvance. Sabi ko 'naku, ninong, hindi pa po sigurado.' Tapos sabi niya eh basta nandiyan naman si FPJ (He said to me congratulations, in advance. I told him 'Godfather, we are not sure yet.' Then, he said your father FPJ is just there)," Poe-Llamanzares told reporters at the sidelines of the Team PNoy’s miting de avance Friday night.

Pimentel wants to patch things up with Zubiri

TEAM PNoy candidate reelectionist Senator Aquilino Pimentel III is willing to patch things up with his political nemesis, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) bet former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri.   "Win or lose, we have to patch up because we still have a least common denominator, which is the development of Mindanao and of course, the sugar industry in Negros Occidental," Pimentel told reporters at the sidelines of the administration coalition's miting de avance Friday night.  

Escudero unaffected by INC snub

SENATOR Francis Escudero is confident that the non-endorsement of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) of his candidacy will have no effect on his re-election bid in Monday's elections.

"Mayroon rin naman mga sumuporta, mayroon hindi. Ginagalang ko kung anuman ang desisyon ng INC kung sino ang gusto nila ikampanya (There are those who support, and those who didn't. I respect whatever decision of the INC who they want to campaign)," Escudero told reporters at the sidelines of Team PNoy's miting de avance held at the Amoranto Stadium Friday.

De Lima ‘insulted’ by Mancao’s fake photo in broadsheet

FUGITIVE Cezar Mancao's photo holding a copy of a broadsheet while lining up in a fastfood outlet is fake, an irate Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Friday.

Mancao is a subject of a manhunt after escaping from his detention cell at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last May 2.

Soldiers warned anew vs partisanship

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday reminded anew military men not to be involved in partisan politics before and during the national and local elections on Monday.

"We will throw the books at them," AFP spokesman Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, referring to personnel who may be caught favoring candidates or political parties during the polls.

Rights group asks gov't to prosecute brain in Ortega's murder

A UNITED States-based human rights group urged Friday the Philippine government to ensure that those who planned and financed the killing of an environmental activist in 2011 are arrested and prosecuted.

This developed as Human Rights Watch welcomed the recent conviction of Marlon Recamata, who confessed for killing environmentalist and radio announcer Gerry Ortega on January 24, 2011 and implicated others on the crime.

Lou Veloso calls opponents in Manila ‘diablos’

A VICE mayoral candidate of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) in Manila on Thursday referred to their political opponents as "diablos" who want to rule in the country's capital.

"Bantayan po natin ng Maynila laban sa diablong gustong maghari dito (Let us protect Manila against the evil who wishes to rule here)," incumbent councilor Lou Veloso, LP's vice mayoral bet, said in his speech.