The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

SURIGAO CITY — A total of 93 people aboard a passenger ferry that ran aground off Surigao City were rescued past noon Wednesday, a Coast Guard official said.

Philippine Coast Guard Commander Nestor Torre of Surigao City told GMANews.TV that 86 passengers and seven crew members of M/B Pilar were rescued by fishermen and PCG rescue team.

According to Torre, the ferry hit a shallow and rocky portion of the sea near coastal Barangay Bitaugan, some 8 nautical miles from Surigao City. He said initial investigation showed strong current and huge waves swept the wooden passenger vessel to shallow and rocky waters two hours after it left Del Carmen town port in the Siargao group of islands, heading for Surigao City. Torre said his office has released a list of all the names of the passengers and crew members who were rescued, adding all were out of danger. — Ben Serrano, GMANews.TV

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay is sure to be the new vice president. Mar Roxas a.k.a “Mr. Palengke” needs a magical power to overtake him, he says, for his closest rival to catch up with his numbers in the race for the second highest post in the country.

The sudden rise of Binay, said to be the dark horse in the vice presidential race, has stunned a nation that had seen Sen. Manuel Roxas II as the front runner since the start of the campaign until a week ago, when pre-election surveys showed the two tying for the first time.

On Thursday, three days after the elections, GMA Network’s partial and unofficial results showed Binay and Roxas still in dead heat — with Binay getting 13,374,107 votes as against Roxas’ 12,587,596 votes, a difference of about 800,000 votes.

“I am confident that I will win … I will be neck-and-neck [with Roxas], in the sense that there will be a one million [vote] gap or less between us,” Binay told GMA News Tuesday.In a press conference Wednesday, Binay tells reporters the only way he can lose is if his rivals cheat the election results. GMANews.TV

He said he is prepared to be the vice president of Sen. Benigno Aquino III, who is emerging as the clear winner in the presidential race with a lead of five million votes over former president Joseph Estrada, Binay’s running mate.

In his speeches, Estrada repeatedly says he is lucky to have Binay, “the best mayor,” as his running mate. Binay, in turn, showered Estrada with praises.

Regardless of whether his pro-poor image shared with Estrada or Escudero’s “Noy-Bi” endorsement fueled Binay’s take-off, the Makati City mayor seems poised to be Aquino’s vice president.

By: Mara Cordial

MANILA, Philippines - In the May 2010 Elections period, many rising critics bewailed the appointment of Renato Corona. One of which is the vice presidential front-runner Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay who is claiming that GMA’s act was indeed inappropriate.

“I sincerely believe that she should not have touched, legal or personal, the appointment of chief justice of the Supreme Court. For delicadeza, she should have left the appointment of the (next) chief justice to the next president,” Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said.

Another GMA’s critic was former President Joseph Estrada, through his spokesperson, also said that the appointment of Renato Corona as the new Chief Justice was in fact “ingenious.”

“How ingenious of President Arroyo to position her former chief of staff and spokesman as chief justice under an administration that is poised to investigate her administration’s anomalies,” Joseph Estrada’s spokesperson Margaux Salcedo said.

Last but not the least, though there are no clear statements yet, the reigning presidential candidate Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Simeon Aquino III, is now clamouring for GMA’s reconsideration on her Chief Justice appointment.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court (SC) hailed the decision of Mrs. Arroyo in choosing Corona as the next Chief Justice. According to SC spokesman Midas Gutierrez, the retiring Chief Justice Puno personally vouched for the integrity of Corona and chose him as his successor.

It’s definitely not yet Hologram, it’s just Augmented reality via virtual Presence!”, Jedi Master Yoda might have corrected. C0melec’s official canvassing of votes is still unfinished and yet another heat of “GMA7 vs ABS-CBN bangayan” sparks.  With the new  PCOS technology on counting our votes, you cannot expect the usual flat screen and LED boards behind Mike Enriquez or Ted Failon on delivering the “widest coverage for the 2010 Elections”.  Let us take a closer look of this issue.

What is a Hologram?

According to it’s discoverer, Dennis Gabor, he coined the term hologram from the Greek words holos, meaning “whole,” and gramma, meaning “message”.  For clarity, it is a method of producing a three-dimensional image of an object by recording on a photographic plate or film the pattern of interference formed by a split laser beam and then illuminating the pattern either with a laser or with ordinary light.(TheFreeDictionary.com)

GMA’s Hologram

Mike Enriquez claims that GMA-News’  “Hologram” technology  is the very first in our country. The same thing used by CNN for the 2008 US Presidential Elections coverage.  In his unique and confident voice, he explained that their “new” technology allows field reporters to appear on 3D images as if they were in the studio itself.  You can clearly see that Mike Enriquez is pretending that Howie Severino, GMANEWS.TV Editor In Chief (EIC),  from cyberspace is right in front of him.  Perhaps, calling it  “hologram” makes them more advanced than other network.

Abs-CBN’s Virtual presence

Few hours ago, TJ manotoc reports that ABS-CBN’s Digital Graphics provider, Orad Hi-Tec Systems, they used the same technology but the appropriate term is Virtual Presence. They added that GMA’s interview with Sen. Noynoy Aquino using a green room or Chroma set-up can never be considered as a hologram.  “We use appropriate terms for modern-day technology”, they might have joked.

Over-all, it was just a mis-use of a technical word. They can just call it Starwars effect.
Throughout the election coverage, we have seen the Touch screen monitors, 3D animation technology, Virtual Presence an a lot more. Indeed, using as much imagery is the “in-thing” for TV networks today. Let us just hope that the content of the news we consume are not just high-end but credible and un-biased. Let us remind them that we watch the 3D Movies to be entertained and the News to be informed.

MANILA, Philippines - Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita yesterday said the President can extend the term of generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and even the chief of staff.

Ermita said nothing would prevent President Arroyo from extending the term of outgoing AFP chief Gen. Victor Ibrado but she has not given any thought on the issue.

“In general and in principle, the President can extend the term of general officers and for that matter even the chief of staff. There’s nothing wrong when a president extends the term of a general officer or for that matter, the chief of staff,” he said.

Ermita, in a telephone interview, stressed that the issue on whether Ibrado’s term should be extended or not remains speculative.

“For one thing, I have no idea of the plans of the President. She has not discussed this matter with us,” Ermita said.

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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 - President Arroyo will appoint a new Chief Justice before she steps down in June despite objections from several quarters.

“What’s clear and what should be made clear is that the President will do what is required of her, not only by law, but by overriding national interest, and right now it’s clear that it is in the national interest not to have such an important position vacated for such a long period of time,” deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said.

He was referring to a scenario of a Supreme Court (SC) without a chief justice from Reynato Puno’s retirement on May 17 to the end of Mrs. Arroyo’s term on June 30.

“It seems to me that acting in the national interest would require that she make the proper action as far as recommending the next chief justice,” Olivar said of the President’s determination to appoint Puno’s replacement before her term ends.

He said that barring an unfavorable ruling from the SC, Mrs. Arroyo “will do what is needed for the national interest and required of her by her office.”

Olivar said those opposed to the President’s appointment of Puno’s replacement have politicized the issue.

He said the detractors should raise the matter to the SC to settle the issue once and for all.

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MANILA, Philippines—The ratings of former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Sen. Manny Villar are up in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on presidential candidates.

But Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is still the leading choice of Filipinos to succeed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The nationwide survey, conducted from Nov. 4 to 8, showed Aquino topping the list of three leaders vying to replace Ms Arroyo, with 59 percent of respondents choosing him.

Aquino was followed by Villar and Sen. Francis Escudero with 45 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

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Actor-singer Ogie Alcasid is “OK already” after figuring in a freak accident on Sept. 6 on the set of GMA-7’s Sunday noontime musical program “SOP” which he co-hosts with, among others, his girlfriend Regine Velasquez who administered first aid to him.

This is according to Ogie’s manager, Leo Dominguez, when sought for reaction on the matter by Manila Bulletin Online on Sept. 7.

“In fact, he is taping later for ‘Bubble Gang.’ He went to the doctor this morning,” said Domiguez, referring to Channel 7’s long-running gag show where Ogie is a primary mover.

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