Hillary Clinton herself ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007-2008.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a press statement congratulating  Noynoy Aquino for winning the race for the Philippine presidency.

Clinton’s greetings follows that of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was himself only recently appointed to the post.

Clinton, who ran against then-Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, said that Filipinos “to carry forward the democratic traditions that his parents did so much to champion.”

Here is the full text of Clinton’s statement:

I join President Obama in congratulating President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, whom the Filipino people have chosen to lead their nation. The Philippines’ successful election exemplified the vitality of the country’s democratic institutions and should be a point of pride for Filipinos everywhere. The Filipino people now look to President-elect Aquino to carry forward the democratic traditions that his parents did so much to champion. The United States has long stood with the Philippines as a trusted ally and friend and we will continue to support the ongoing efforts of the Filipino people to build a secure and prosperous country.

Is change coming to US-Philippine relations under Aquino?

US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. immediately congratulated President-elect Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino Jr. and Vice President-elect Jejomar “Jojo” C. Binay  upon their proclamation today by a joint session of Congress.

The US is known to maintain economic, political, military and diplomatic interests in the Philippines, a former US colony.

Congratulating Aquino and Binay on their election victories, Thomas affirmed — in a statement released shortly after the proclamation ceremonies — what he described as “a long and deep relationship with the Philippines, a treaty ally whose soldiers have fought alongside ours in World War II and subsequent conflicts.”

“We look forward to working with the new Philippine government to deepen the unwavering friendship and partnership between our two nations, and to advance our common goals for the benefit of the Southeast Asia region and the world,” said Thomas, who recently assumed the post as top US diplomat in the Philippines.

Thomas earlier led the procession of foreign ambassadors who have congratulated Aquino ahead of the congressional canvass and proclamation.

Thomas also said that the US and the Philippines “share common values and common goals designed to make our world more secure and more prosperous”.

“We cooperate closely on regional security, counterterrorism, and in combating transnational crime, including the scourge of trafficking in persons. Our two governments work together to open markets, protect intellectual property rights, fight corruption, and encourage economic growth and development,” he added.

An undetermined number of US soldiers are currently stationed in parts of Mindanao where they are officially providing assistance to Philippine counterparts in operations against local bandits with purported links to Al Qaeda.

In his three-year stint in the Senate, Aquino were among the senators who have voiced support to calls for the review of the Visiting Forces Agreement which govern the entry and conduct of US military presence in the Philippines.

The US Congress, through committtees and senior members of both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives, has deplored human rights violations that marked the regime of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The US Congress has attached human rights preconditions to ertain portions of US military aid to the Philippines, including a stop to and investigation of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances documented by national and international organizations and by the United Nations special rapporteur on political killings.

Congress has yet to proclaim apparent president-elect Noynoy Aquino

Even as Noynoy Aquino waits for his proclamation by Congress as president-elect, more and more Filipinos are raising valid, legitimate concerns on the conduct of the elections and hopes for the new presidency, as we can see from this roundup.

• The unsung heroes of the elections, our public school teachers, have yet to be honored and paid for their services
• A think-tank asks Aquino not to entertain suggestions for new taxes
• More reports of fraud are trickling in, eating away at the supposed credibility of the election outcome at various levels
• Violence persists as a factor especially in places away from the media spotlight
• Warlordism continues to deny people the benefits of democracy
• Foreign observers from 11 countries are unimpressed by the conduct elections and presented their findings to Sen. Chiz Escudero
• The Ampatuans are keeping their political power
• The automated election system has so far fended off calls for review, criticisms from third parties, etc.
• The era of internet- and mobile-powered election coverage has arrived — but this report sadly ignored the stellar role of Blogwatch.ph while lumping bloggers (who don’t belong to media agencies) together with new media efforts of the big networks.
• The citizen coverage mounted by #juanvote included apolitical/non-political netizens such as gaming bloggers.

FYI: Voting extended to 7:00 pm, and May 11 not a holiday.

2:40 pm: Voting in Precinct No. 5564 at Bgy. Teachers Village East in Quezon City has been suspended due to overheated PCOS machine.

TIP: Send reports via email to report@juanvote.com

1:53 pm: Butuan City, Caraga: Cluster 42, PCOS machine stopped taking in ballots. BEIs temporarily stopped voting.

1:21 pm: Less than two hours before Overseas Absentee Voting ends in about a hundred Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide.

12:58 pm: After reported crashes, the official Commission on Elections website crawls back to life.

12:28 pm: Slow pace of voting being reported in many areas.

12:04 pm: A woman who died nine years ago is still in the List of Voters. Her name entry now bears a different photo and thumbmark! – Tandang Sora High School, Quezon City

12:00 noon: Robinsons Midtown mall in Ermita, Manila opens two hours later than usual, to giv employees time to vote.

11:30 pm: The PCOS machine assigned to the precinct where Liberal Party standard-bearer Noynoy Aquino is registered malfunctioned.

9:05 am: Illegal campaigning by candidates’ supporters noted in voting centers in several places nationwide.

TIP: Use hashtags #juanvote and #purplethumb when Tweeting about today’s elections.

8:47 am: Chaotic atmosphere at Pasolo Elementary School, cluster 107 and 108. Poor ventilation. No problems with PCOS machine though, says Peter of Creative Voices/#juanvote.

Tip: Send a photo to #juanvote via photos@juanvote.com. Attach photo and put both the caption and #juanvote on email subject line.

8:38 am: One PCOS machine at Xavier School, San Juan, was malfunctioning, according to Monchito Nocon of 100ARAW.com and #juanvote.

7:35 am: GNN Channel 21 of Destiny Cable starts livestream on the #juanvote website.

7:30 am: Six precincts at Coral na Bato Elementary School, San Rafael, Bulacan, cramped in one small room, under one cluster.

7:00 am: Voting got underway across the Philippines with bloggers and other netizens belonging to #juanvote reporting late start of voting in some clustered precincts.

Gordon, an alumnus, topped the three rounds of university-wide automated mock elections

Botong Isko 2010, University of the Philippines’ system-wide electronic mock elections, has finally concluded with Richard Gordon winning all three rounds of voting.  

Teodoro and Aquino finished second and third respectively.

Bayani Fernando topped the vice-presidential candidates with Binay and Roxas as runners-up.

In the senatorial race, Santiago, Cayetano, Tamano, Hontiveros-Baraquel, Drilon, Remulla, Ocampo, Recto, Maza, Enrile, Osmeña and Marcos occupied the top 12 positions.

Kabataan Partylist meanwhile still emerged as the UP students’ top party-list choice.

The UP Linux Users’ Group (UnPLUG) spearheaded the mock polls together with Kasama sa UP, Solidaridad, Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP), League of College Councils, National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and other partner organizations.

Here are the results for the last and third round:

President

Vice President

Senators (Top 24)

Party-List (Top 20)

For a complete tally of results, visit the official Botong Isko 2010 results website.

Netizens to act on May 10

The country’s internet users have come together to form a network to keep a close watch on the May 10, 2010 elections.

Calling themselves #juanvote, the network challenges on citizens to use hi-tech means to expose and hopefully thwart electoral fraud and
violence.

The #juanvote also aims to document the country’s first nationwide
automated elections.

Citizen reports may be sent to or read at:

• Web/Livestream: http://juanvote.com
• Twitter: Follow @juanvote or use hashtag #juanvote
• Facebook: Search for #juanvote
• Email: report@juanvote.com
• Text: 09274004190/09995178201/09223913567
• Cable TV: Destiny Cable GNN Channel
• Radio: Via Code Radio (NU107/Magic 89.9/U92.3/Jam88.3)

The network holds its “Miting de Avance” on May 8, 3:00-6:00 pm at
Krispy Kreme Ayala Avenue, Makati City. During the event, it will
release a “Netizens Guide to Free and Honest Elections”.

The #juanvote network is spearheaded by the groups 100ARAW.com and
Blogwatch.ph, whose members were granted media accreditation by the
Commission on Elections – the first independent citizen journalists
and bloggers to be granted such a privilege.

Arguably the Philippines’ first internet-based citizens’ election
coverage network, #juanvote currently includes the following:

• Bloggers’ organizations 100ARAW.com, Blogwatch.ph, Cebu Bloggers
  Society, Mindanao Bloggers Community, GameOPS, Tech Tanod, Election Bloggers and  Reklamotion.
• Online media groups: Philippine Online Chronicles
• Technology enthusiasts: Vote Report Philippines and TXTPower
• Poll watchdog: Workers Electoral Watch
• Multimedia groups: RockEd Philippines, Code Radio (a group of FM
  radio DJs) and Kodao Productions

As MMDA chair, Fernando unleashed a war on Metro Manila street vendors. Photo by Bulatlat.

He may not be topping the surveys, but former MMDA Chairman and now vice presidential candidate Bayani Fernando is confident that he may just have better chances in grabbing the second biggest seat in the archipelago.

This, he said, was according to the survey that they conducted. He was however quick to say that they could not reveal the survey results, pointing out to published surveys as questionable and is simply meant to sway voters from riding a fictional bandwagon.

42 years in government service

Bayani credits his strength to his 42 years experience in government service – as mayor of Marikina City for 12 years, Secretary of DPWH, and MMDA chairman. This does not include the many businesses that he managed.

However, when asked what position he will favor once elected as vice president, he said: “Everything in government is a priority. That’s how we should look at this. I will be a vice-president at large. I don’t want to spend my time managing an agency. I would rather be the President’s expediter. A bastoner. Taga-palo sa puwit.”

“I will help the president identify and establish the doable and measurable targets for each agency,” he said

“(I will) push for productivity from all sectors and from everyone,” he added.

He believes that the reason why our country is suffering is because instead on focusing on increasing the productivity of government workers, our government is giving priority on building more roads and other infrastructures which we don’t actually need.

Road to nowhere

He said that government is building roads to places where it is not needed – in isolated places with no real settlement, which would then require government to build settlements that would in turn require other government facilities like schools and health care centers.

“Now we build roads sa mga bundok. Kinakaingin natin ang mga bundok,” he said.

“We should instead develop areas that are already sustainable and existing. Ang pera natin, ilagay natin sa negosyo. Tigilan ang pagtayo. We should stop building roads and instead build business muna. Provide work.” he reiterated. “We used to be the most productive (country). Now we have lost that competitive edge,”

Laws are solutions

“The system is there. We have a good system, but our people are not working properly. What we need is for these people to do their work,” he added.

“All we need is to put attention on our people,” he said.

Bayani also pointed out the indifference of the Filipinos towards laws.

“I discovered na we have not realized that laws are solutions,” he said. “Takot sila magpatupad ng batas, because in this country, when you implement the laws you’re a Hitler.”

“When I was with MMDA, I did not fire any people, I did not put anyone in jail,” he said, adding that despite this MMDA became more efficient because he was able to inspire people to work.

Enriching local investors

On matters of business, Bayani said that what government should be doing is to first invite local investors to invest.

“Otherwise (if our local investors don’t invest in our country) don’t expect other countries to invest,” he said.

“We can’t bluff the world. The measure for labor and wage everywhere is the same. If you are more productive, you get more,” he said. “I will push for workplace economics based on production.”

For the investors, he said, “The bigger you are, the more incentive from the government.”

Productive culture

Bayani further added that today government is not promoting a productive culture.

“The system has to aid every one of us to be more productive. We need the passion from no less than the head of this country,” he added.

Bayani said that he is willing to feed the jobless rather than create nonsensical jobs that will further pull government to debt.

“We can feed them if we are productive. Itutulak ko lang ang mga taong may trabaho to be more productive,” he said.

Government no faith in government

He added that most of the problems that government is facing is because “government has lost faith in government.”

“We look at privatization and left the initiatives to private enterprises. Now what is happening? It’s the law of supply and demand. Private (companies) don’t want to lose business.”

“Tigilan ang privatization. We are not ready. Government should do things more effectively and more efficiently. No private enterprise can beat the resources of government,” he said.

“Dahil sa privatization napamahal lahat.”

“Ang kailangan natin is management. First of all we should manage our human resources. Itulak ang mga tao to work well. Pagnagtatrabaho ang mga tao natin, we will be ok,” he said. “Huwag natin isurrender ang gobyerno natin (to private entities).”

100ARAW.com and Blogwatch.ph got 'em Comelec media IDs. Photo by Noemi Dado.

Members of 100ARAW.com and Blogwatch.ph have laid claim to a place in the history books. They have arguably become the first Filipinos not directly connected as reporters of any professional news media outfit to be granted media accreditation to cover the 2010 elections.

The media accreditation IDs issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) grant “maximum access to all stages of the electoral process subject only to conditions essential to the protection of Comelec personnel, property and privileged information.”

Comelec IDs issued to 100ARAW.com members.

The Comelec granted media accreditation IDs to seven 100ARAW.com members:

1. Jepoy Bengero
2. Tonyo Cruz
3. Juli Detablan
4. Eric Dormido
5. BenCyrus Ellorin
6. Flowell Galindez
7. Julius Rocas

and to four members of the Philippine Online Chronicles‘ Blogwatch.ph

1. Noemi Dado
2. Dine Racoma
3. Severo Santos
4. Anton Sheker

The Comelec’s granting of media accreditation to 100ARAW.com and Blogwatch.ph members sets a precedent for the Filipino blogosphere. We can now cite this precedent to apply for and obtain media accreditation in other government agencies and instrumentalities.

100ARAW.com and Blogwatch.ph are spearheading a pooled citizens’ media coverage of the 2010 elections.

Yahoo's Erwin Oliva (left) and 100ARAW.com's Tonyo Cruz signed the agreement April 28 in Taguig City.

100ARAW.com today formally signed an agreement with Yahoo! on cooperation in covering the May 10, 2010 automated elections.

Tonyo Cruz, 100ARAW.com founder and editor, and Erwin Oliva, Yahoo! country editor for the Philippines, signed the agreement at the Yahoo! offices in Net Cube Center, The Fort, Taguig City.

Under the agreement, 100ARAW.com would submit and Yahoo! would publish election-related reports, photos and videos related to the May 10 polls.

In a brief statement, Cruz said that

Filipinos know and love Yahoo! websites and services.  That Yahoo! is a mainstay in Filipinos’ online lives is not lost on us who are excited to see how the country’s first automated elections would proceed, and how social/new media would be able to play a role on reporting on this important event.

Recommended reading: Yahoo! Purple Thumb

The IFJ also asked the government to set up “”a dedicated website should be set up to publish all court documents and proceedings, and broadcasts of the massacre trial must be permitted.”

Reacting to the Department of Justice decision to exculpate two Ampatuans suspected of being behind the Maguindanao massacre that resulted in the single biggest mass killing of journalists, the IFJ said the candidates should “make a public commitment to overturn the country’s culture of impunity for the killing of journalists and to observe and respect the independence of the judiciary”.

In a statement, IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park lamented the DOJ decision:

Less than a month before national elections on May 10, and five months after the massacre, this sudden announcement is alarming for what it says about the commitment of power-holders to end the culture of impunity for the killing of journalists.

Park said that the IFJ believes the decision, made by the Philippines’ Acting Secretary for Justice, Alberto Agra, suggests political interference in the judicial process.

The IFJ leader also urged the DOJ to “ensure that all court proceedings regarding the Maguindanao massacre are transparent and that the public is permitted to scrutinise the conduct of the trial”.

Park noted that the Ampatuan family is “known for its support of the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and for involvement in voting irregularities that benefited President Arroyo in 2004 and 2007″.

According to Park, the presidential candidates should “disclose what steps they will take to ensure that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippines National Police are fully trained in understanding their responsibility to provide safety and security for journalists, in accord with the Government’s obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738″.