Filipinos living abroad are urged to register before August 31, 2009, the deadline for registration for overseas absentee voting. So far, the number of Filipinos and dual citizens who have registered for the 2010 Philippine Elections as of June 30 has reached a total of 118,703. That figure is still a long way off from the government target of one million overseas absentee voters in time for the elections next year. There are 8.7 million Filipinos overseas.

Most of the OAV registrants are from the United States (19,113) followed by China (12,411), the United Arab Emirates (8,339), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (6,705), Singapore (5,128), Canada (4,815), Taiwan (4,707), United Kingdom (4,289), Japan (3,997) and Italy (3,071). By region, Asia and the Pacific have the biggest number of OAV registratns (32,399), followed by the Americas (24,068), Middle East (22,069), and Europe (13,842). The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong recorded the highest number of registrants.

Meanwhile, Filipinos who are set to leave for abroad or in the country on vacation have also enlisted for absentee voting. At the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration 15,250 were registered; 9,655 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport; a

There is a big possibility that the 2010 elections will go manual. This developed after the local counterpart has withdrawn its participation in the consortium. This latest development was shared by the Commissions on Elections on Monday.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo relayed the information to reporters after the Chair met with the representatives of the Total Information Management Corp. The company is the local counterpart of the Smartmatic International from Barbados. Pressed for the reason why the local counterpart has withdrawn its participation, Chairman Melo said that the representative of the Total Information Management Corp cited irreconcilable differences as reasons for the pullout. A person privy to the talks said that the lack of funds and also unpreparedness are the main reasons why the local counterpart will not push through with the plan.

In an Inquirer report, the source said that the TIM will need 300 million to meet the 700 million-share as needed for a partner. The local company needs to raise this amount so that the papers can be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in order for the project to push through. Still, there were some questions about the reasons forwarded by the local counterpart, since the source added that the local company could have applied for a loan to cover the needed amount.

Chairman Melo could not hide is disappointment when informed of the status of the automation project. In fact the Chair said that he may file criminal and civil charges against the firm. With the firm out of the picture, then the chance of the country hosting its national elections in an automated manner is slim. But though the local counterpart is out of the picture, then this doesn’t mean that the COMELEC is forgetting its plans to have an automated elections in 2010. Chairman Melo added that his office will still look at other available options in order to pursue the electronic voting. The office may hold another bidding process where the losing bidders can take part once again. It is against national procurement laws for the Smartmatic to form another joint venture. But the question is this; is there enough time for this kind of plan?

Three election commissioners, eight pro-environment beauty queens, a church leader and some 65 environmental activists spoke as one in urging political parties and wannabees to think “green” as they woo the “Pinoy” votes.

With just 12 months away from the national and local polls in May 2010, Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr. and Commissioners Rene V. Sarmiento, Armand Velasco and Leonard Leonida joined the EcoWaste Coalition and the Miss Earth Foundation in exhorting all election stakeholders to heed the plea for reduced campaign waste and pollution.

A combination photograph shows Philippine presidential aspirants for the May 2010 elections in the Philippines. The Philippine presidential elections next year will be one of the closest fought in history and will be won by the candidate who has the biggest campaign budget and ground-level network, analysts said on Thursday.

About a half-dozen candidates are expected to be in the fray for the May 2010 elections to replace President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and lead the Southeast Asian nation for the next six years. (Top row L-R) Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Senator Loren Legarda and Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro. (Bottom row L-R) Senator Manuel Villar, Philippine Vice-President Noli De Castro and Senator Manuel Roxas III.

If the current situation holds, then Vice President De Castro has the edge over the other political personalities looking to snag the party nomination. The Vice President’s consistent rating in many surveys is his main argument why he should be the party’s chosen candidate. After all, the ‘winnability’ of one candidate is always considered as the major factor in the selection of the candidate. Even Prospero Pichay, the Lakas vice president for membership says that the ‘winnability’ of one candidate is what the party seeks. De Castro now carries an edge over other interested personalities within the party like Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando.

Senator Joker Arroyo holds a similar view that De Castro could be the party’s best for next year’s presidential elections. In the senator’s view, De Castro is the viable candidate for the administration and even though the vice president is being hampered by finances still he has the chance to score the nomination. He is always at the top or near the top of all surveys. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno on the other hand thinks that in the party’s search for the standard bearer, it is Teodoro who holds the edge. Secretary Puno is supportive of De Castro but said that Teodoro has the edge since the Secretary has made friends in the party back in the days when he was still a representative of Tarlac. And in the view of Secretary Puno, Vice President De Castro has not bonded well with party members the way Teodoro bonded with the party members. The reason for this is that De Castro has maintained his independence even though he is a member of the party.

In order to facilitate the selection of the party’s standard bearer, the party will create a short list of personalities and will also put forward some criteria that can be used in its party selection set on July 31. Lakas-Kampi President Eduardo Ermita said that the party members will be given preferences, but open as well to personalities who will coalesce with the party. And of course, the selection process will also take into account the input of the chair- the President.

In every Philippine election, surveys conducted by research firms always play a big role. And now that the Presidential election is just months away, surveys are being released almost every month. One research firm that always conducts its own survey which is often commissioned by private firms and individuals is Pulse Asia. Pulse Asia conducted a survey for May 4-17 regarding the possible names that will win for senators. In that survey that was released by the firm, the usual names topped the list of possible senatoriables, with two new names entering the field.

At the top of the list is Senator Mar Roxas who is ranked 1-2 and Roxas are followed by Senato Jinggoy Estrada (1-6), Senator Pia Cayetano (2-7), Senator Miriam Santiago (2-7), Senator Bong Revilla (2-8), Senator Jamby Madrigal (2-8), the former Senator Franklin Drilon (3-8) and another ex-Senator Ralph Recto (3-8). The other two new names that joined the list are that of Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati City and lawyer Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel. The results for Pimentel can be expected since he carries a well-known name, plus the fact that he placed 13th during the last elections.

Based on the said survey, Binay can be considered as gaining some steam since he placed on the list plus he scored ahead of Senator Richard Gordon and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. The said survey reflects a margin of error of plus or minus 3 and the survey was based on the responses of 1,200 18 year old and above adults. Also based on the results of the Pulse Asia, it indicated that Optical Media Board Chair Edu Manzano and ex-Representative Ted Failon are just outside the winning circle ranking 13-19. If there are current Senators who figured well in the list, then there is one personality who find himself left out in the cold. Senator Lito Lapid is out of the circle, but there are talks that he will run for Governor of Pampanga. Other names that are included in the survey but failed to make it to the winning circle include Representative Satur Ocampo, Governor Grace Padaca, Speaker Prospero Nograles, Governor Ed Panlilio and a number more national personalities.

This should come as a piece of good news to some. If the plans of the Commissions on Elections will push thru, the detainees or even those who are under trial and whose convictions are not yet deemed final will be given the chance to vote this coming election. And if indeed they will be given the chance to participate in the first automated national elections of the country, then they can be considered the first ones to do so in history.

According to the Commissions on Elections, there are around 45,000 detainees right now and their numbers can be quite significant in any close contest. But before these detainees are to be allowed to vote on jails, this measure and proposal by the elections governing body should be approved by the Congress. If this kind of move will not be allowed, then the COMELEC is thinking of allowing the detainees to vote in voting precincts, provided that the detainees will be escorted by the police. This is necessary since according to laws, conveying of the ballots outside of the precinct is not allowed.

The information was relayed by Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, and called the plan as ‘satellite registration and escorted voting’. Commissioner Rene Sarmiento is the head of the Detainee Registration and Voting. The plan also spells out the move that the registration in jail and the so-called ‘escorted voting’ will only be allowed in a jail if there are at least 200 qualified detainees. This development is indeed a welcome move by the COMELEC since this goes to show that the government is listening to the wants and the rights of the detainees. This move also goes to show that the detainees still belong to an important group of voters; a group of voters that can have a say in any close contest. And also by allowing them to participate in this political exercise, then the government allows them to still practice their voting rights. But let it be known that convicts with final sentences are no longer allowed to vote. If the convictions of the detainees are made on or before the day of the elections, then these detainees now lose their right and can no longer vote.