AFP on red alert for polls
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has placed all its camps and units all over the country on red alert status as part of its preparations for the May 13 mid-term elections. AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said that the declaration of a red alert status ensures that troops around the country can act immediately on any emergencies that may arise before, during, and after the elections and prevent any violence from threat groups. Madrigal said the 142,000-strong military was placed on red alert starting 8 a.m. yesterday. “The AFP is on red alert status starting 8 a.m., May 10, in support to the Commission on Elections and the Philippine National Police in the upcoming National and Local Elections.” Madrigal said. “We are ready to respond appropriately for the honest, orderly, and peaceful conduct of elections,” he added. The AFP said 98,000 soldiers will be deployed to reinforce the more than 143,000 policemen who are tasked to secure the elections. Nine-hundred eight soldiers were deployed during a send-off ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City last Tuesday to augment the Comelec in areas that need services and assistance from security forces to ensure a safe and secure elections. (Francis T. Wakefield)
Comelec sees 78% voter turnout
The Commission on Elections said they are expecting a “standard” 75 to 78 percent voter turnout in the May 13 midterm polls, a few percentage points lower than the 81 percent in the 2016 presidential elections. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they are still hoping that the number can increase, but it is unlikely that they will reach the 81 percent voter turnout during the presidential elections. “That’s pretty standard for midterm elections, but hopefully, because of the level of engagement that we see in social media, that translates into actual voters to increase out voter turnout,” he said. “But again, at this point, if you’re just going to look at the historical record, it would be unlikely that we will reach the level of the presidential election which is about 81 percent,” he added. According to Comelec data, there are 61,843,771 registered voters in the country – 31,816,812 female and 30,026,959 male. (Minka Tiangco)
PPCRV ready for Monday
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, a Catholic Church-backed poll watchdog, said they are ready for the midterm elections on Monday and for the conduct of a partial and unofficial quick count of election results. The PPCRV opened its command center at the Pope Pius XII Center in Manila last Wednesday. The election watchdog said it will need around 300 volunteers daily to encode the election returns from the polling precincts which will be compared to the electronically transmitted returns from the transparency server. There are around 100 computers at the command center where volunteers could encode the election returns. In case of a power outage, the PPCRV said they have standby power generators to ensure uninterrupted operation. (Christina I. Hermoso)
PRC exploring new programs
The Philippine Red Cross is exploring new programs and services to address the humanitarian challenges in the country, especially in the area of health. PRC Chairman Sen. Richard J. Gordon revealed plans to enhance its newly opened Dialysis Center to accommodate more patients. “We are planning on strengthening our Dialysis Center so more poor Filipinos can acquire affordable and adequate dialysis treatments,” Gordon said. He added that the Red Cross is also looking at opening a diagnostics center to provide access to quality healthcare to the poor. “Ito ay para makakuha ng diagnostics services ang mga mahihirap gaya ng CT scan at ICU. We got into different services because the humanitarian challenges in this country require us to be dynamic. This is why we opened our first Dialysis Center because it is hard to say no to the most vulnerable,” Gordon said. At present, the Dialysis Center, which had its soft opening last February, has now provided 14 patients with 350 dialysis treatments.
Iglesia endorses Tolentino
Administration senatorial candidate former presidential political adviser and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino yesterday thanked the Iglesia ni Cristo for endorsing his candidacy. “Allow me to extend my sincere appreciation of the support of the Kapatiran ng Iglesia ni Cristo. Once again, you have placed your trust in what I can contribute to national advancement through meaningful and life-changing legislation. Thank you for recognizing what I have done and what I can still do for this nation.” Tolentino was the first senatorial candidate to be publicly endorsed by the INC in the 2016 elections. Tolentino was also endorsed by the El Shaddai Catholic charismatic group led by Bro. Mike Velarde, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, and the National People’s Coalition, among others.
