The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

Six of nine Philippine presidential candidates may face disqualification after their campaign materials have reportedly exceeded size limits and were allegedly posted in areas where these are disallowed.

Several campaign materials of Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III (Liberal Party), former president Joseph M. Ejercito Estrada (Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino-UNO), Senator Richard J. Gordon (Bagumbayan), Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), evangelist Eddie C. Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas), and Senator Manuel Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party) seem to violate campaign regulations, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson told reporters.

These candidates are facing possible disqualification for possible violation of rules covering campaign materials, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said, citing documentation collected by the body’s Education and Information Department (EID).

Campaign materials of vice presidential candidates Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and former Metro Manila Development Authority chief Bayani Fernando and senatorial aspirants Senator Lito Lapid, Atty. JV Bautista, and broadcaster Rey Langit were also found to have breached the poll body’s restrictions.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can appoint the next chief justice, the Supreme Court said in a decision Wednesday, amid legal questions on whether the president can pick Justice Reynato Puno’s successor within a period of two months before her term ends.

In a special meeting, nine justices—Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Roberto Abad, Martin Villarama, Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Arturo Brion, Jose Mendoza, Mariano del Castillo, and Diosdado Peralta—voted in favor of Mrs. Arroyo’s appointment of the next chief justice.

Only Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales gave a vote of dissent, while magistrates Eduardo Nachura and Presbitero Velasco Jr. said the case was premature.

Puno, Antonio Carpio, and Renato Corona inhibited themselves from voting. Carpio—the most senior magistrate—and Corona are the strongest contenders for the top judicial post.

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Presidential aspirants Senators Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar Jr. continued to engage in a neck and neck race, with the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showing the two to be statistically tied two months before the May 10 elections.

The SWS survey, commissioned by BusinessWorld newspaper, showed that while Aquino remains the top pick among presidential aspirants, Villar appeared to be catching up.

It said that while both Aquino and Villar lost ground, the cost was “more substantial” for Aquino, whose overall score was cut by six points to 36 percent.

Villar’s ratings dropped 1 percentage point to 34 percent, the survey added.

“The gap between the two falls within the ±2.2% margin of error used in the Feb. 24-28 survey, which used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 registered voters nationwide,” according to a report on BusinessWorld on Tuesday.

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Administration party standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro on Tuesday strongly denied being President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s lapdog, appealing once more to the public to look at his platforms and not his affiliations.

“Hindi ko na kailangang iharap ang sarili ko kanino man, sa ating mga kababayan kung ako ay magiging tuta lamang. Hindi ako ng tuta ng kahit na sino,” Teodoro told GMANews.TV after his interview with broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez on the special radio program “Ikaw Na Ba: The Presidential Interview” aired over dzBB on Tuesday morning.

(There is no need for me to face our countrymen if I’m just somebody’s lapdog. I am nobody’s lapdog.)

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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Sen. Jamby Madrigal and several other presidential candidates on Monday ganged up on Sen. Manny Villar for spending too much on political advertisements, which analysts have pinpointed as the main reason why Villar has been able to catch up with erstwhile frontrunner Sen. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.

In the “Inquirer First Edition: Presidential Debates” held at UP Diliman, Madrigal delivered harsh criticisms against Villar. The lady senator had filed a complaint for unethical conduct against the real estate tycoon in connection with the C-5 road extension project.

The ball started rolling when Madrigal was asked the question: “Political ads nowadays seem to cater to the lowest common denominator in society. From catchphrases to jingles, they seem to contain mainly rhetoric but no real substance. Do you think this type of campaigning, including political endorsements from movie celebrities, does this not contribute to the dumbing down of the Filipino voter?”

The sole female presidential candidate responded with a resounding, “I agree—completely.”

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MANILA, Philippines - The 23 members of the Philippine Senate incurred over P300-million in expenses in 2008, according to records from the Commission on Audit (COA).

Sen. Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan, a military rebel-turned-politician, emerged as the biggest spender among the 23 lawmakers.

In 2008, Honasan’s expenses reached P17.9 million. In 2007, when he returned to the Senate, his expenses from July-December 2007 amounted to P8.109 million.

The bulk of Honasan’s expenses from January-December 31, 2008 covered the salaries of his staff, which reached P9.6 million. The rest of the money were spent on travel, meetings, supplies and materials.

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Constitutionalist Fr. Joaqiun Bernas said on dzBB that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cannot appoint the next chief justice without violating the Constitution. Mrs. Arroyo cannot make any appointments within 60 days before her term expires on June 30 this year.

The current Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will be leaving the position on May 17, thus  making the position available. Fr. Bernas said that the next president will have enough time to appoint the successor of Chief Justice Puno. But he also points out that the Constitution allow only 90 days of vacancy and the next president should filed within that period.

Fr. Bernas added that any of the associate justice can take over the vacany in acting position.
However, Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) can only send the list of successor  on or after May 17 and it would be up to the next president’s decision.

But Pres. Arroyo’s election lawyer Romulo Macalintal argued that the constitution is not absolute on its prohibition to appoint any officials within two months.

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MANILA, Philippines— After several months of hiding, American Jason Ivler, suspect in the killing of the son and namesake of a Malacañang official, was arrested by joint operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police early Monday morning, officials said.

Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, Quezon City police district chief, said Ivler, however, resisted arrest and was wounded in a gunfight with authorities.

Ivler sustained four gunshot wounds: the stomach, chest, shoulder, and leg. He is currently being treated at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center.

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MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo poured a whopping P459 million worth of infrastructure projects in the second district of Pampanga, where she’s seeking a congressional seat in 2010, according to documents provided by Liberal Party senatorial candidate Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros.

Documents from the Department of Public Works and Highways as of Nov. 30, 2009 show that most of the projects involved construction or improvement of roads, drainages, and desilting and declogging of rivers.

It smacks of electioneering and should be a reason to disqualify the President from joining the congressional race, Hontiveros said. The lady lawmaker has filed a disqualification case against President Arroyo.

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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will see changes in political leadership in 2010, with an opposition president and vice-president likely to take over by noon of June 30, 2010.

However, the political transition is paved with a lot of uncertainty brought about by an untested poll automation technology and most voters still unfamiliar with the process.

Based on the October 22-30 Nationwide Survey on Election-related Probes, 61% of Filipinos had little or no knowledge about the Automated Election System (AES). Eighty percent of voters among the D and E socio-economic groups had little knowledge about it.

A plurality of 43% were undecided when asked whether the May 2010 automated elections will be “credible” for the citizenry. A total of 16% disagreed while 40% agreed that the automated polls will be credible.

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