Bautista files cybercrime rap vs estranged wife, lawyer

MANILA - Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista on Friday filed cybercrime charges against his estranged wife Patricia, her lawyer Lorna Kapunan and other John Does for allegedly accessing his emails.

Bautista sued his wife and lawyer for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act after allegedly going through messages on his iPad, among items that Patricia had retrieved after purportedly ransacking his personal belongings in their house in 2016.

The chairman's wife has used emails on the device as evidence in her allegation that Bautista had P1 billion in undeclared wealth.

Patricia claimed Sunday that she discovered bank and real property documents, and several passbooks under her husband's name that were not included in his 2016 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Bautista denied the allegation, saying his family will hold a press conference "in due time" to shed light on her accusations.

The Comelec chief said items Patricia had made public were taken from a locked cabinet in their house, which she allegedly forced open. He found this out upon returning from an official trip to the United States in November 2016.

He said his wife, with whom he has had marital troubles since 2013, barred him from entering their house at the time.

Bautista on Wednesday filed cases of grave coercion, qualified theft and robbery, and extortion against Patricia. 

The Comelec chief accused his estranged wife of extorting a P620-million settlement, but Patricia said she only sought P260 million.

-- Report from Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Comelec accepts Duterte's COC

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday announced that it has accepted the certificate of candidacy of Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

In a press briefing, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said the Comelec's full bench (en banc), voting 6-1, ''resolved to acknowledge and accept the COC for president of Rodrigo Duterte, being a ministerial function of the commission.''

Bautista clarified that the resolution ''is entirely without prejudice to the pending disqualification case'' filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor.

Castor earlier petitioned the Comelec to nullify Diño's COC and render Duterte's substitution for the latter invalid.



Castor argued that Duterte cannot substitute for Diño, PDP-Laban's erstwhile presidential bet, because he wrote in his COC for president that he is running for the position of Pasay City mayor.

The Comelec's first division is set to conduct a hearing on Castor's petition tomorrow, December 18.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

De Lima: I am here, I am ready

MANILA - Former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday said she is now ready to take on the tasks of a senator.

De Lima, accompanied by some members of her family, arrived at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Intramuros, Manila to file her certificate of candidacy. She is part of the senatorial slate of the ruling Liberal Party (LP).

De Lima said she would like to continue her advocacies when she was chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) under the Arroyo administration and when she was Department of Justice secretary under President Benigno Aquino III.

“Wala na pong urungan, tuloy na tuloy na po ako sa aking paglalakbay,” she said. “I am here and I am ready.”

De Lima said as senator, she would fight for the rule of law, fight corruption, and champion human rights. She said she would also like to simplify the justice system in the country.

“Panahon na para simplehan natin ang sistema ng pag-iimbestiga at pag-uusig ng mga tiwali, yung mga may kasalanan sa batas,” she said.

“Panahon na rin na meron tayong panibagong opensiba laban sa korupsyon sa pamamagitan ng pagpaptibay ng mga sistema ng proseso para di na po makapagtago at makapaggamit ng mga nakaw na yaman. At tungkol sa human rights, ipaglalaban natin ang mga karapatan ng mga bulnerableng mga sektor ng society.”

The justice secretary ranked 7th in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

In the Pulse Asia survey, she was also included in the list of probable winners, landing in the 9th to 14th places.

De Lima has been admired by some for her role in filing corruption charges against powerful individuals under President Benigno Aquino III’s “Daang Matuwid” program, but this has also earned her enemies who believe the administration is practicing selective justice.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Election checkpoints, gun ban start

MANILA -- Top officials from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Philippine National Police (PNP) visited security checkpoints in various areas in Metro Manila as the gun ban and election period for the barangay elections started Friday midnight.

The Comelec said signages for security checkpoints should be uniform in size and visible to motorists.

Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes explained why tighter security is needed in the barangay polls.

"Dahil barangay ito, mas personal ang labanan -- magkakapitbahay, magkakamag-anak. Kaya medyo binabantayan natin, saka ano ito manual... Dito kailangan natin tutukan ng konti, babalik na naman tayo sa dating gawi eh," he said.

Although the checkpoints caused traffic to stall in some areas, authorities appealed for patience.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo Jr. said, "Humihiling po tayo ng pag-unawa sa ating mga kababayan, sa inconvenience na madadala ng checkpoints at kooperasyon na rin po nila."

Some motorists, meanwhile, welcome the added security despite the inconvenience.

Checkpoints also immediately proved their worth after police in Pasay City helped a taxi driver who was being robbed by two men who posed as passengers.

"Nakita ko na may checkpoint tapos kinabig ko ng kaliwa tapos sinigaw ko holdap. Naglapitan ang mga pulis," said taxi driver Romeo Gala.

Confiscated from the robbers were a grenade and an ice pick. -- Report from Carolyn Bonquin, ABS-CBN News

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Vilma Santos cruising to landslide win

MANILA -- Actress and re-electionist Governor Vilma Santos is cruising to a landslide in Batangas province.

As of 6:35 a.m. on Tuesday, according to partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections transparency server, Santos got 657,478 votes against Marcos Mandanas' 41,478 votes.

Praxedes Bustamante, an independent candidate, only received 4,272 votes.

On Monday, Santos was accompanied by her family in casting her vote at Inosluban Elementary School in Lipa City.

Santos went to her precinct with her husband, Ralph Recto, and sons Luis Manzano and Christian Recto.

Actress Jennylyn Mercado, the girlfriend of Luis, also accompanied Santos.

Santos, dubbed as the local film industry's "Star for All Seasons," earlier credited her constituents for the "good name" she has earned as a public servant in Batangas.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Comelec picks areas for random poll audit

MANILA - The Commission on Elections has selected the 234 areas where the random manual audit (RMA) of the automated election system will be held on election day.

A requirement of the automated elections law, the RMA involves the manual counting of votes in the selected precincts to double check the results of the count of the precinct count optical scan machines.

"SEC 29. Random Manual Audit. - Where the AES is used, there shall be a random manual audit in one precinct per congressional district randomly chosen by the Commission in each province and city. Any difference between the automated and manual count will result in the determination of root cause and initiate a manual count for those precincts affected by the computer or procedural error."

Unlike the RMA in the 2010 elections where the 5 precincts per  district were chosen on election day through a manual raffle, the RMA precincts for 2013 are being chosen ahead of election day through an automated random selection procedure.

In addition, the RMA will only cover one precinct per district in 2013, instead of the 5 precincts per district in 2010.

The Comelec random manual audit committee is chaired by Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting chairperson Henrietta de Villa while National Statistics Office Administrator Carmelita Ericta and Comelec Internal Auditor Agnes Carreon are members.

Christian Robert Lim is the commissionner in charge of the RMA.

Using an ARSP laptop, De Villa initiated the ARSP to select the 234 cities and municipalities today. The process took only seconds.

After the list was generated, verified and signed, 8 copies were made and the laptop sealed.

The laptop will be reused on Sunday to choose the actual precincts that will be covered by the RMA.

Two sets of lists were generated today and will be generated Sunday---the priority list which will be the main list---and the contingency list of areas where the RMA will happen in case anything happens to prevent the audit in the precincts in the priority list.

De Villa said the 2-part selection is to ensure that the RMA teams who will conduct the audit will be able to preposition themselves at the precincts ahead of time.

The ARSP was developed by the RMAC. The software contains routine programs, functions and algorithms developed in visual studio environment and MySQL database system.

The same is subject to source code review by the political parties and accredited interest groups.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

SC stops extension of liquor ban during polls

MANILA – The Supreme Court has once again stopped the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from implementing a resolution, this time on the extension of the liquor ban.

In a press conference, SC spokesman Theodore Te said the high court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the five-day liquor ban – which is supposed to start tomorrow, May 9.

This means the liquor ban will only start May 12 until May 13.

The high court said the poll body acted without notifying affected parties. The Comelec was ordered to file its comment by tomorrow.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Filipinos in Europe urged to vote in May polls

MANILA - A network of Filipinos in Europe lauded the decision of the Commission on Elections to reinstate more than 200,000 overseas voters it delisted from the Overseas Absentee Voters list for failing to vote in the last two elections in 2007 and 2010.

The European Network of Filipino Diaspora (ENFiD) considers a victory the COMELEC's reinstatement of the 238,000 overseas voters who were removed from the Overseas Absentee Voters lists.

“Our task now in ENFiD is to pass the word around as widely as possible to all our contacts across Europe, first to tell them the good news, and then to encourage them to exercise their right to vote,” said ENFiD Chairman Gene Alcantara.

Alcantara was among the group from the global Filipino Diaspora Council or GFDC who called on the COMELEC to reconsider its decision on the disenfranchised overseas voters.

The group explained that without adequate notice and due process, the Comelec had unwittingly wasted the efforts of overseas groups, mainly the Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC), which relentlessly campaigned for absentee voting during the last 10 years.

Alcantara had promised COMELEC Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. that the ENFiD network, covering 50 countries, would do its very best to get overseas Filipinos in Europe to turn out to vote in May 2013 and to register for future national elections.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

LP bet in hot water over online contest

A senatorial candidate of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) slate is now under investigation for possible illegal campaign activities.

Commission on Elections Chairman Atty Sixto Brillantes said the candidate has been using social media accounts in Twitter and Facebook to give away prizes to lure voters.

"May pa contest, pag nanalo bibigyan ka ng iPad," he said.

The Comelec chairman refused to name the candidate and merely hopes that his pronouncement will serve as a warning.

"It will fall under illegal campaigning. Pwedeng pwede sya madisqualify," he said.

The game, he said, is a fill-in-the-blank type of contest where the voters would simply add a statement to the online question of "corruption is bad because...?"

This is similar to a promo posted on senatorial candidate Jamby Madrigal's Twitter account.

The promo, which was removed from Madrigal's official Facebook account as of 4 pm Tuesday, said a person can win a free iPad if they like Jamby's Facebook fan page and then complete the sentence "Corruption is bad because..."

Speaking to ANC, Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez confirmed receiving that the poll body's social media monitoring team received the image about the online contest but would not confirm if it was the same one being referred to by Brillantes.

Asked if the promo violates Comelec rules, he said: "Well it's not the vote for me aspect that would be problematic with this particular image. It's the idea that a contest or game is being staged in support of the candidate. Under the Omnibus Election Code, it is wrong to stage contests that will offer prizes to support a candidate. That is what this ad is purporting to do."

He said the contest is attached to a "fan page which is being maintained by the candidate."

Brillantes said the poll body is now studying the possibility of filing charges against the candidate.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Comelec junks Willie Revillame party-list group

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has rejected the applications of 32 party-list groups including I Wil Serve, a group linked to TV host Willie Revillame.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said the 32 groups did not appeal the denials of their party-list applications at the division level.

He said the denials have been affirmed by the en banc because of their failure to file a motion for reconsideration (MR) within 5 days.

"Denied sa division, hindi nagfile ng MR. Hindi in-announce before na nagfinal na pala ito. Mahigit isang buwan na ito. Hindi ko alam anong grounds basta in-affirm na lang namin."

Revillame earlier said I Wil Serve is an offshoot of his I Wil Serve foundation. The group reportedly represents the poor, elderly and women. Report by RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Youth voters told to register for 2013 polls

MANILA, Philippines - Young voters who registered and voted during the 2010 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections should register anew for the May 13, 2013 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said there is a prevailing misconception among SK members that they no longer have to register anew.

"We call on the leadership of Sanggunian Kabataan Federations nationwide and the National Youth Commission (NYC) to help us in encouraging the youth, especially the SK voters of 2010, to register," he said in a press statement.

He said voters' registration is open at Comelec offices until October 31, 2012; Mondays to Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registrants need only bring a valid ID when they register.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

'Frustrated' Arroyo pleads 'not guilty'

MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATE 4 - 9:25 a.m.) A "frustrated" former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo personally entered a plea of not guilty on charges of electoral sabotage at the Pasay City Regional Trial Court Thursday morning.

Arroyo, now second district representative of Pampanga, entered her plea before Judge Jesus Mupas at around 8:55 a.m., around 15 minutes after arriving at the court from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, where she has been detained since late last year after she was ordered arrested by Judge Jesus Mupas.

Her husband, Jose Miguel, and sons Juan Miguel, representative of the Ang Galing Pinoy party-list, and Diosdado, representative of Camarines Sur, were with her at her arraignment.

Arroyo's husband, who arrived with eldest son Mikey, ahead of the former president, told reporters his wife was "frustrated" over the "injustice" being done to her.

"There is no case against her," he said.

Diosdado accompanied his mother in the convoy from the VMMC and escorted her into the courtroom along with Arroyo's spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn.

Arroyo was in a cream coat and wore a neck brace.

After the arraignment, Arroyo lawyer Ferdinand Topacio told New5 that they had finished the "first step to clearing" her name and are "ready to go to trial."

The pretrial conference has been scheduled on April 19.

Arroyo returned to the VMMC soon after she was arraigned.

The case against Arroyo, filed by the Commission on Elections last November, has to do with alleged widespread cheating during the 2007 mid-term elections, when, among others, the senatorial slate of her administration managed a 0-12 sweep of Maguindanao province.

Her co-respondents are former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol. Arroyo's husband was excluded for lack of evidence.

Ampatuan is detained at the Camp Bagong Diwa jail in Taguig City along with others accused of the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan massacre in which 58 people, 32 of them media workers, were killed. Bedol is under the custody of the Comelec and Department of Justice.

Before the Comelec filed the charges, Arroyo had attempted to leave the country, ostensibly to seek treatment for a hormonal condition.

She managed to secure a temporary restraining order against her and her husband's inclusion in the government's travel watch list, which required them to seek clearance before leaving the country. However, she was stopped at the airport by immigration officials on orders of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

The electoral sabotage case practically rendered the TRO moot.

A group of Arroyo supporters, some from as far as Pampanga, had gathered near the Pasay City Hall as early as 6:30 a.m.

A media pool of two reporters, a photojournalist and one television cameraman has been allowed inside the courtroom to cover the arraignment.

On Wednessday, the National Capital Regional Police Office, announcing tight security measures, said media would be barred from the court and its immediate vicinity. (with a report from Clara Masinag, InterAksyon.com)

source: interaksyon.com