DOUBTS have been cast on the integrity and credibility of the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) voting machines sold to it by Smartmatic some years back.
Hacking into its computer systems has now been done twice, once in 2016 and another, more recently.
In a report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, it was stated that two hacker groups broke into and defaced the Comelec website less than two months before the polls in May 2016.
The breach was later dubbed "Comeleak," as the hackers were able to get the personal information of over 55 million registered voters.
The perpetrator of the hacking was arrested, charged and tried but was later acquitted in February 2020.
And now, just four months before the May 2022 elections, another hacking incident on Comelec's servers has occurred raising concerns about the integrity of the May elections among lawmakers and the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial candidates.
That is not all. One time, I advised mayoralty candidates to watch our for another hocus pocus of the Comelec's voting machines as he, his teammates vice mayor and councilors were all "massacred" at the polls due to the expertise of a former official of the Comelec regional office, who was hired by the 'winning' mayoral aspirant to manipulate the machines to favor him and his team. And the rest is dark history and may be repeated if the mayor candidate I have warned would not contest the cleanliness of the SD cards and, of course, the voting machines themselves.
I told him to petition the Comelec in Manila to scrutinize well the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines to assure it has no insertions of any kind that would give the other candidates undue advantage.
No matter how hard a candidate campaigns and spends, he is always at the losing end if the voting machines and the SD cards are "loaded" in favor of the moneyed candidates. E kasi, me laman na ang machines bago pa man ang halalan! Tsk, Tsk, tsk!
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If this anomaly is not stopped, there is the possibility of a mockery of the elections and the tech-savvy candidates will win (again) hands down.
It should not be the case if we hope for a fair, accurate and transparent holding of the elections and their results. So, let us clean the machines of any insertions before the elections. Yup!
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Clark's pandemic management measures. Clark Development Corporation (CDC) has issued directives, which are being implemented since January 15, 2022, that mandate everyone entering Clark must be fully vaccinated or must be Covid-negative. Checking is being done at Clark gates where vaccination cards or Covid-19 test results are being presented. Persons who had their first dose whose second dose is already scheduled are being allowed entry without the antigen of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results.
CDC has authorized managements of locator-firms inside Clark and operators/drivers of public utility vehicles to provide assistance in implementing the said imposition.
Unvaccinated individuals going directly to hospitals and other health facilities in Clark Freeport Zone shall be allowed entry. Every person with confirmed flight via Clark International Airport shall be allowed access upon presentation of airline ticket and passport.
CDC started the safety booster process last January 15 in light of the sudden increase in the number of Covid-19 infections in Clark after the December holiday season.
Eric Jimenez, head of the Communications Division, agrees with CDC President Manuel R. Gaerlan that the firm should ensure that all persons entering Clark are not potential carriers of the virus causing the pandemic.
Eric also observed that they are really concerned about the control of the viral infection, which is easy to understand, and each one is concerned about finding ways to help control the situation.
He also observed that personnel of locators within the Zone are helping by making the vaccination cards readily available for inspection. He also exhorts everyone to fully cooperate and help each other in the midst of these extraordinary situations.