A member of the Army, in fatigues, speaks out in Davao City purportedly against partylist groups. Photo grabbed from ABS-CBN's Boto Mo Ipatrol Mo/Ako Ang Simula website.

A volunteer citizen journalist posted on Saturday at ABS-CBN’s Boto Mo Ipatrol Mo/Ako Ang Simula website photos of a soldier purportedly from the 69th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army as he was speaking out against certain partylist groups.

Armed with a presentation on a digital projector, the soldier, who was in Army uniform, was said to be railing against Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Kabataan and Anakpawis.

Pong Garcia, the citizen journalist who submitted the report and the photos questioned the wisdom and legality of the military’s active involvement in the partylist campaign.

Last Jan. 6, 2010, the Commission on Elections approved Resolution No. 8741 deputizing the AFP “deputized to ensure free, honest, orderly, peaceful and credible conduct of the May 10, 2010 national and local elections.”

The Comelec said that the resolution fulfills the ” need to clearly define the role of the AFP during national and local elections in assisting the Commission in protecting the electoral process while ensuring that its officers and personnel are insulated from partisan politics and are protected from unwarranted accusations of engaging in partisan political activities.”

Ironically, the soldier caught in the citizen’s report (as well as his commanding officer) may be violating this resolution, specifically this portion on “duties and functions”:

Look into the existence of any armed group organized to commit, or which is committing or attempting to commit, acts of terrorism, or threats to intimidate or coerce any person to vote for or against a candidate, and to suppress or prevent said acts of terrorism or threats

Just last week, Philippine Army chief Reynaldo Mapagu vowed non-partisanship in the run-up to the May 10 elections.

The last time the Philippine military interfered in elections was in 2007, when it filed trumped-up charges of multiple murder against Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, and used proxies to disqualify Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela from the partylist elections. Both efforts failed but the military got away with their brazen politicking.

Citing weak evidence, the Supreme Court ordered Ocampo’s release about a month before the May 2007 elections.

In 2004, generals were mentioned in the controversial Hello Garci recordings of telephone conversations purportedly between President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and then-Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

I was browsing Facebook on my mobile phone yesterday morning when this update from the official Facebook page of Lakas Kampi CMD presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro popped up:

It read:  “AbsCbn Media Deserves Garote”

A few minutes later, the update was removed.

So, was this a late April Fool’s joke or his account was really hacked?

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven started on March 10 its 7-Election informal presidential poll featuring Gulp cups bearing names and images of the leading candidates and even a choice for those who remain undecided.

“For the duration of the campaign, anyone who wants his vote to be counted can just visit any 7-Eleven store and pick up a 16oz Gulp Cup that bears the colors and image of their Presidential bet. And we’re making it easier and accessible for Filipinos to let their voices be heard by making it available in over 450 stores,” said Jose Victor Paterno, President and CEO of Philippine Seven Corporation, Philippine licensee of 7-Eleven stores.

Paterno said that 7-11 stores in the US has done this kind of informal poll for three consecutive US elections since 2000.

A 7-11 press release explained that “to ensure the veracity of each vote, each Presidentiable is assigned a specific barcode, which 7-11 cashiers will scan upon purchase of your Gulp® cup. All votes are carefully audited and may be verified online at www.7-election.com.ph. The public can expect updates on polling results from the website and their official media partners GMA7 and MBC, with daily updates on Unang Hirit and Love Radio. Voters may even share their vote thru Facebook.”

The public may check 7-11′s  website for time to time for a graph and geotagging of running poll results.

The 7-Election poll will run until May 4, 2010.

[All photos used in this post come from 7-Eleven's Facebook Page. For more photos, check out The Black Fedora blog. ]

Some candidates are more ready than others.

Merry Christmas or “Please Vote for Me” posters?

Whatever they want to say, these posters are eyesores and will eventually end up as garbage.

Photo taken on February 1, 2010 at Bgy. San Antonio, District 1, Quezon City.

Here are images taken from the mock election in New Era Elementary School where there are fifty voters participants.

From fifty only five ballots were rejected because of two reasons; ovals are not fully shaded and there are ambiguous markings on the paper that the PCOS machine cannot recognize. The mock poll started at 8AM and ended before 10 am.

The mock poll winners in New Era were Jose Rizal as President, and Marcelo H. del Pilar as Vice President.

Voters who are selected by the Commission on Election where there two rooms assigned to them, the voting area and the holding area where voters were informed and educated on the poll automation.

Voter putting her ballot on the PCOS machine, only one ballot will be alloted on each voters, it takes a voter from 5 to 10 minutes to choose his/her candidate.

Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting (PPCRV) observes the mock election at the New Era Elementary School. She recommends that the voters should double check their ballots first before putting it in the PCOS machine to avoid possible ambiguous marks and partial shading.

Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) convenor Alfredo Pascual visits the mock election in New Era Elementary School and talks to the voters on their experience with the new system that will be implemented on May 10.

Teachers collated the Election Receipts and let the election officers signed along with sectors and poll watchers accredited by the Comelec.

Click here to watch the video of a Smartmatic representative explaining the cause of ballot rejection on the PCOS machine.

Confident si COMELEC Spokeperson James Jimenez habang sumasagot sa katanungan na may posibilidad bang magkaroon ng failure of election sa unang poll automation ng bansa sa May 10, 2010.

Ayon sa kanya malabong mangyari ito dahil kung sakaling magkaproblema sa automation ay maaaring gawing manual ang bilangan ng eleksyon na kung saan ang karamihan ay alam na ito at ginagawa.

Kasama sina Prof. Raul Pangalangan (UP College of Law), Christian Monsod (Former COMELEC Chairman) at Gregorio Larrazabal (COMELEC Commissioner) sa unang ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs “E-Leksyon: The 2010 Voters Empowerment Series” na naglalayong mapagusapan ang mga issues at concerns na tungkol sa bagong sistemang gagamitin sa 2010 Election at iyon ay poll automation.

Ginanap ang forum kagabi January 29, 2010 sa Dolphy Theater, ABS-CBN Compound, Quezon City.