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.

No stopping #juanvote on May 10!

Members of the #juanvote network met today in Makati City and adopted a Netizens’ Guide on the May 10 elections.

We urge everyone to forward, repost and distribute this guide. Questions and suggestions are much welcome at report@juanvote.com

Pinoy Netizens Guide to May 10 by #juanvote

Comelec has released local ballot templates down to the district level or what should appear as your official ballot on Election Day.

Find a copy of how the official ballot to be used in your precinct in the Comelec website.

Following are sample ballots containing only the candidates for national posts:

Sample official ballot for the May 10 elections

Sample official ballot for the May 10 elections in ARMM

In a press release released by the Liberal Party and the office of Sen. Mar Roxas, LP director-general Chito Gascon claimed that Ampatuans met with Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manny Villar two days prior to the Maguindanao massacre, and that the latter even slept in the Ampatuan mansion.

On Feb. 15, it was Roxas himself who issued a press release using “Villaroyo”. The same day, Gascon came out with a separate press release repeating his allegations on Feb. 11.

The LP has since came out with more than a dozen other “Villaroyo” press releases.

The National Capital Region, Region IV-A, Region III, Region VI and Region VII have a combined 26,381,046 voters or more than 50 percent of the whole electorate.

The figures in the table appear to exclude the number of local and overseas absentee voters.

No. of voters and precincts

TIP: If you want to check the figures in the municipal, city and provincial levels, start here and click the Region’s name to start data-mining.

The kit features facts and figures on the May 10 elections, a matrix on the presidential candidates’ positions on people’s issues, and the so-called People’s Criteria.

Here is a copy which you can download, forward, print and distribute:

Kontra Daya convenors Fr. Joe Dizon, Sr. Mary John Mananzan OSB and director Bibeth Orteza lead members in a march to the Comelec. Photo grabbed from Kontra Daya.

Independent poll watchdog Kontra Daya recently published a list of nominees of 112 partylist groups running in the May 10, 2010 elections, asking the public to send information about the links of any of them to the government.

Partylist group Bayan Muna has earlier assailed presidential son and Lakas-Kampi Rep. Mikey Arroyo’s nomination as partylist representative of Ang Galing Pinoy, as well as the latter. Bayan Muna claims AGP copied its constitution and other basic party documents “word-for-word”.

Alleged government partylists in the May 10 elections

Here meanwhile is a list coming from the Commission on Elections. If you know of any of these partylist groups and nominees who are supposedly identified with the Arroyo administration or funded or organized by government, please leave a comment.

Comelec list of partylist groups and nominees

Leading the list is Ang Galing Pinoy, formerly named “Guardians Anti-Crime Pro-People Organization”, whose first nominee is presidential son and Pampanga Representative Mikey Arroyo.

Activist partylist Bayan Muna yesterday accused Ang Galing Pinoy of copying its constitution “word-for-word”.

Here is the list from Kontra Daya:

Initial List of Party Lists With Links to the Arroyo Admin Strati on 1

CMFR monitored media in the 2007 polls.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) is quietly undertaking yet again the herculean job of monitoring how Philippine media community is doing its job vis-a-vis the national elections.

CMFR has done this in 2004 and 2007. This time, the monitoring also covers Philippine media in the regions, specifically those in Cebu.

Always visit and bookmark the CMFR’s Media and Elections page to know more and to check the various monitoring reports.

According to its website, “CMFR was organized in 1989 as a private, non-stock, non-profit organization involving the different sectors of society in the task of building up the press and news media as a pillar of democratic society. Its programs uphold press freedom, promote responsible journalism, and encourage journalistic excellence.” It organizes the prestigious Jaime V. Ongpin Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Meantime, here’s a sample of a CMFR report:

Here is the eight-page komiks, illustrated by Emil Mercado and written by Anna Leah Escresa:

WE WATCH Voters Education Comics