KUMPLETOS RECADOS NA! ... sa failure of elections

nina DINDO MATINING, REY MARFIL, TINA MENDOZA, ROSE MIRANDA, JUN TADIOS at BOYET JADULCO (Abante)

http://abante.com.ph/issue/mar1910/news01.htm

Kumpleto na ang mga sangkap at lantad na rin ang mga senyales ng ‘failure of elections’ at pananatili ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa poder ng kapangyarihan dahil hindi ito mapapalitan sa Mayo 10 ng taong ito.

Ito ang pananaw ni Gabriela partylist Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan matapos bigyan ng Korte Suprema si Arroyo ng kapangyarihan na mag-appoint ng susunod na Chief Justice ng Korte Suprema ng bansa.

Ayon kay Ilagan, dahil sa desisyon ng Supreme Court, nakumpleto na umano ang lahat ng elemento sa pinangangambahang failure of election sa Mayo.

“It’s already complete. We’re just waiting the announcement of failure of election,” ani Ilagan sa panayam kahapon.

Ilan pa aniya sa mga ‘recado’ ng napipintong “failure of elections” ay ang pagtalaga ni Arroyo kay Gen. Delfin Bangit bilang bagong chief of staff ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Kasama na rin nito ang palpak o walang kasiguruhang automated election ang pagpasok ng mga pekeng partylist sa darating na halalan.

“Habang ang lahat ay naka-focus sa election, pinapwesto naman ni Presi­dent Arroyo. Ang susunod niya ay ang maging Prime Minister siya,” diin pa ni Ilagan.

Naniniwala naman si Anakpawis partylist Rep. Joel Maglunsod na sakaling magkagulo sa darating na eleksyon, tiyak umanong ang magiging unang kakampi ni Pangulong Arroyo ay ang Korte Suprema.

“Mukhang patungo tayo d’yan, kung magkakagulo o kaya ay may question about election results, no doubt ang SC ang unang kakampi ni President Arroyo,” pahayag ni Maglunsod.

Army chief: There’s no Oplan ‘August Moon’

by Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Inquirer Southern Luzon (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100319-259540/Army-chief-Theres-no-Oplan-August-Moon

CAMP ELIAS ANGELES, PILI, Camarines Sur—Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu Thursday dismissed speculation that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was mobilizing loyal generals under a military operation called “August Moon” to extend her term.

“There is no such thing as Oplan August Moon,” said the newly appointed Army chief of Ms Arroyo’s purported plan to put members of his Philippine Military Academy Class of 1978 in key military and police positions to keep her in office.

“We do not talk about it in the camps. In fact, I was shocked when the issue came out,” Mapagu said during a visit here to award medals of merit and promote soldiers for outstanding duty in the counterinsurgency campaign in the Bicol region.

The appointments of Mapagu and that of Gen. Delfin Bangit as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have drawn criticism amid concern about preparations for the country’s first automated balloting on May 10 and the possibility of a failure of elections.

What’s there to question?

The two generals belong to PMA Class of 1978, which adopted Ms Arroyo as an honorary member. Another classmate, Rear Adm. Feliciano Angue, was likewise recently named chief of the National Capital Region Command.

Their promotions were made just before the constitutional ban on presidential appointments took effect on March 10 to last until the end of Ms Arroyo’s term in June.

Foreigners welcome to observe May polls

By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star)

Link: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=557505

MACTAN, Cebu , Philippines – President Arroyo encouraged last Thursday foreign observers to come to the country and monitor the May 10 elections as she vowed that her greatest legacy would be ensuring honest and orderly polls.

Mrs. Arroyo told the meeting here of the Philippine Councilors League that “there is no more important legacy than to leave the nation with free and fair elections and a smooth transition to a new government.

“To protect the integrity of the vote and the election results, we encourage and welcome independent outside election observers to verify that elections are indeed free, clean and open and the results valid, free from any political interference,” the President said.

She said Filipinos deserve to have confidence “that their votes count and that our democracy works.”

“It is important to have independent verification, to give the people the confidence that the election works and the transition to a new government comes in smoothly,” she said.

She said: “For myself, I will be staying out of the election process. I will trust the Commission on Elections to ensure the new voting machines work, the votes are protected and counted and the results are delivered in rapid manner to the satisfaction of voters.”

Bongbong warns of civil war by Ryan Ponce Pacpaco

from Journal

Link: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/national/4931-bongbong-warns-of-civil-war.html

THE son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos yesterday warned of a civil war should massive cheating in the coming polls happen and the real winner in the presidential race will not be declared.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., a senatorial candidate of the Nacionalista Party (NP), said the people should be vigilant in ensuring that the real choice of the people would lead the country after June 30.

Marcos issued the warning amid speculations that the recent appointment of Gen. Delfin Bangit as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is connected to the purported massive election fraud scheme being readied by the administration.

The opposition lawmaker said the Commission on Elections, Philippine National Police and the AFP itself must ensure that the next president will be the real choice of the majority of Filipinos.

“It’s going to be chaos if voting in the May elections will be marred by widespread fraud. If in previous elections we saw only demonstrations and rallies, this time around, civil war could erupt,” Marcos warned.

He said the people will not allow a repeat of the massive cheating during the 2004 presidential election which the late opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. lost to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Poll cheating could trigger civil war

By Jomar Canlas Reporter James Konstantin Galvez and Ruben D. Manahan 4th (The Manila Times)
Link:http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/13185-poll-cheating-could-trigger-civil-war

Civil war could erupt if massive cheating would mark the May 10 elections.

The warning was made on Thursday by the only son a former president in reaction to allegations that the recent appointment of a new military chief by President Gloria Arroyo was part of the administration’s plans to cheat in the polls less than three months away.

“It’s going to be chaos if voting in the May elections will be marred by widespread fraud. If in previous elections we saw only demonstrations and rallies, this time around civil war could erupt,” Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte said.

One of the three children of Ferdinand Marcos, whose strongman rule was ended by a popular revolt in 1986, Bongbong called on the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ensure that the next president will be the real choice of the majority of Filipinos.

The May 10 balloting will pick the successor to the President, whose nine-year stay in the presidency ends on June 30.

Bangit: ‘Trust me, I’ll keep AFP politics-free’

by VICTOR REYES (Malaya)

http://www.malaya.com.ph/03102010/news6.html

INCOMING Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit vowed that he will not be a party to any cheating in the May national elections and the military establishment will remain insulated from any political activity during his term.

AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner quoted Bangit in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo yesterday as saying that he will not allow himself to be used by any interest groups in the polls.

Bangit is the 11th AFP chief to be appointed by President Arroyo since she assumed office in January 2001. He will take over the top AFP post today in rites to be presided by the President in Camp Aguinaldo.

His projected appointment was met with a lot of calls for the extension instead of retiring AFP chief Gen. Victor Ibrado, and his actual appointment with fears of poll cheating, failure of elections and military takeover.

President Arroyo announced Bangit’s appointment last Tuesday.

Bangit is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class 1978 that has adopted the President as an honorary member. He is described by many as "fiercely loyal" to the President.