The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

The specter of an “electronic Garci” was raised in a forum on Monday in which six of seven presidential candidates feared there would be glitches in the automated elections in May and some suggested going manual as an option.

Only Sen. Richard Gordon was confident the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would do its job.

But even the administration standard-bearer, Gilbert Teodoro Jr., decried “big logistical difficulties” in the Comelec’s implementation of the first nationwide computerized balloting.

Other presidential candidates present in the debate were Senators Benigno Aquino III and Jamby Madrigal, environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Councilor JC de los Reyes.

Sen. Manuel Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party, and former President Joseph Estrada were invited but failed to attend due to other engagements.

Perlas proposed a manual-count option in a hybrid balloting, noting that even Germany and the Netherlands scrapped automated elections last year after finding out that a high school student could hack the voting machines.

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Estrada a no-show, cites PDI’s ‘bias’ against him

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) Eight candidates showed up at the first ever presidential debate organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer held on Monday, a day before the start of the official campaign period.

In attendance were frontrunners Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar, administration bet Gilbert Teodoro, Senators Richard Gordon and Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, evangelist Eddie Villanueva, Nicanor Perlas and JC de los Reyes.

Former president Joseph Estrada did not attend the debate, citing “bias” against him by the paper.

The event is being held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman Quezon City.

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MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said she joined the Senate boycott last Wednesday to block alleged attempts to pass two controversial bills and not to show solidarity with Sen. Manuel Villar, who could have faced censure from his colleagues in the majority for the C-5 road controversy.

The two bills seek to reorganize the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

“I am chair of the economic affairs committee, and I was never consulted on either bill. I would certainly have protested a vote on the floor this afternoon, because they have worrisome provisions,” she said.

“For example, like the pending immigration bill, the Pagcor bill seeks to grant security of tenure to the head of office,” she said.

Santiago said that reorganizing the NTC would have far-reaching consequences, because the agency has control over importations of signal jammers that could disrupt the operations of poll automation machines, cell phones, radios, and other tools for telecommunications.

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MANILA, Philippines - Economic prospects seem rosier for the Philippines next year after a not-so-bad 2009, with resilient remittances and post-typhoon rebuilding efforts likely sustaining the momentum, according to New York-based think tank Global Source.

In an Oct. 27 country report titled “The Sun Also Rises,” the report also said the two leading candidates in the 2010 presidential elections based on the latest popularity surveys were acceptable to the business sector and could be expected to manage the economy competently.

The two are Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party and Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party.

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The Senate minority bloc walked out on the hearing of the Senate, acting as a committee of the whole, about the ethics complaint against opposition Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. after failing to delay proceedings by questioning the adoption of rules for the hearing.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano walked out of the hearing after Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ruled that the rules adopted by the committee last Monday were final.

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MANILA, Philippines — The Nacionalista Party (NP) is preparing to field a full slate, from president to senators, in 2010, its standard bearer, Senator Manuel Villar, said on Monday.

“Maglalabas kami ng full ticket sa 2010. Ang Nacionalista Party ay naghahanda na [We will come out with a full ticket in 2010. The Nacionalista Party is making preparations],” Villar, who is NP president, said at a press conference.

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