Center for People Empowewrment in Governance (CenPEG)

Tuesday 09-Aug-2011 2:24 PM

The CenPEG REPORT on the May 10, 2010 Automated Elections:
Project 3030: Action to Protect the Integrity of the Vote & Transparency in the 2010 Elections

Book Review by
Epifanio San Juan, Jr.

Watching the Presidency

Election Watch

Congress Watch

Youth Speaks

• Selling Mrs. Arroyo

CenPEG Fellow Lualhati Abreu is the 2010 Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Awardee.

Governance

MILF Statement on the Meeting of President Benigno Aquino III and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim
Tokyo, August 5, 2011
Posted by CenPEG

The MILF Peace Panel clarified that the meeting between Chairman Murad and President Aquino does not supplant or replace in any way the current peace negotiation being conducted by the GPH and the MILF and facilitated by Malaysia.

Michele Bachmann's Aide Hides $10 Million Secret
By Robert Parry,
Consortium News
Posted on July 10, 2011
Posted by CenPEG

Documentary evidence of a Marcos-to-Reagan payoff in 1980 first surfaced after Marcos was ousted by a popular revolution in March 1986.

On the State of the Nation Address (SONA):
A vacillating President of his own class

SOP 2011
SOP Panel of speakers (L-R): Judge Cleto Villacorta (moderator), Sonny Africa, Ben Lim, UP NCPAG Dean Edna Co (welcome address), Temario Rivera, Julkipli Wadi (Dean, UP IIS), Carl Marc Ramota, lawyer Felix Carao, Jr., and Bobby Tuazon.

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) today said President Benigno S. Aquino III failed not only to fulfill his promises but also in laying the grounds to bring about concrete well-studied programs toward strategic institutional reforms in order to recover the people's trust in government and move the nation forward to social and economic development.

PNoy's SONA: Still the Amateur Hour
By Ben Lim

Aquinomics: What development roadmap?
By Jose Enrique Africa

Freedom of information law and its impact on transparency and accountability
By Atty. Felix D. Carao, Jr.

The best way to fight corruption is prevention, not prosecution. This can only be achieved if transparency in government transactions is statutorily enjoined and definitively provided under a Freedom of Information law.

Philippine foreign policy: Some thoughts on President Noynoy Aquino's first year
By Dean AMADO D. VALDEZ
University of the East College of Law
President, Philippine Association of Law Schools

Our leaders may come and go, current interests may change according to global and internal developments, but the respect we earn from other countries is the capital for a successful foreign policy at any time.

In the wake of massive labor trafficking and lay-offs:
Phil. govt asked to stop brain drain and create people-centered dev't

"The dollar remittances of immigrants provide immediate relief for the consumption needs of our people. But government must think and advance a more economically strategic remedy to poverty which is development of local industries and the appropriate education needed for that."

RIZAL FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM
By E. San Juan, Jr.

(The 150th anniversary of Rizal's birth affords us the occasion to reassess his work, particularly in the context of ongoing fierce class war between the exploited, impoverished majority and the few privileged landlords, bureaucrats and business moguls patronized by global capital.)

The Kleptocrats Never Left

PerryScope
by Perry Diaz
Global Balita, May 10, 2011
Posted by CenPEG

The recently released 2010 Global Integrity Report rated the Philippines "very weak" (57) in terms of governance and corruption. The overall rating was also "very weak," a downgrade from the 2008 overall rating of "moderate" (71).

Nuclear encounters
Commentary by Roland G. Simbulan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
April 2, 2011
Posted by CenPEG

fukushima

UNTIL I met two nuclear scientists who changed my entire outlook about nuclear energy, I was not always what you might call a hardcore opponent of nuclear power.

Bridging Unity in the Peace Talks
Peace Conference on the Bangsamoro Question held
Posted by CenPEG.org
March 26, 2011

Government peace negotiators have expressed optimism with the current peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the same peace conference on the Bangsamoro question held on March 23 and attended by the government negotiators, the senior member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), lawyer Datu Michael Mastura, expressed concern however that the Government of the Philippines (GPH) panel "has deliberately created…'process deadlocks.'"

Peace Adviser Secretary Deles

GPH Panel Chair Leonen

MILF Panel Senior Member Mastura

Papers in Peace Forum: GPH-MILF Peace Talks

CenPEG is posting three papers discussed during the Public Forum on "Land: Core Issue of the GPH-MILF Peace Process," held on Feb. 9, 2011 at Bulwagang Salam, Asian Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. The third paper, by former GPH peace negotiating panel chairman, Silvestre Afable, is a powerpoint presentation. The forum was sponsored by CenPEG, UP-IIS, National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), InPeace Mindanao, and Pilgrims for Peace.

Toward a Peace Constituency in our Troubled Land
Opening Remarks by
Prof. Roland G. Simbulan
Senior Fellow, Center for People Empowerment in Governance
Beyond Moulding Another Sandcastle in Moroland
Julkipli Wadi
Dean, UP Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS)
Ancestral Domain and Peace Process: Government Perspective
Silvestre Afable
Former Secretary and Chairman, GPH Peace Negotiating Panel

Thorny issues in GPH-MILF peace talks raised in public forum
Posted by CenPEG
February 9, 2011

Contentious issues face the peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as exploratory talks resumed February 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Bangsamoro forum
Dean Julkipli Wadi (second from right) responds to question at open forum while Gen. (ret.) Rodolfo Garcia, CenPEG Fellow Prof. Roland Simbulan, and former Secretary Silvestre Afable, Jr. listen. (CenPEG Photo)

A CALL FOR SUPPORT TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE’S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Center for People Empowerment in Governance
November 13, 2010

The right of a citizen to access public information is a basic constitutional and human right. It is not a solution to transparent governance but nevertheless is a vital weapon for ordinary citizens to hold their government accountable for their public actions that affect the people.

The passage of a Freedom of Information Law and the release of the source code of the AES are essential steps in curbing graft and corruption, in prosecuting outstanding and future cases against corrupt officials, and in cleaning up our government.

Empowering People: 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Bangkok

CenPEG meets Indonesian parliamentarians

INDONESIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS WITH CenPEG

The Indonesian Embassy in Makati hosted an exchange of views between 13 members of the Indonesian parliament and Fellows of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) on Oct. 20, 2010.

Salakniban ti Kultura!
(Protect our culture!)
A photo essay

For two days, the youth of Cordillera in northern Philippines held a two-day cultural and solidarity gathering dubbed, “Ipannakel kultura a nakabigbigan, padur-asen, aywanan ken salakniban!” (simple translation: Take pride in our indigenous culture; promote, nurture, and defend)

Corruptionary’s 3rd launch at PowerBooks

The CenPEG book, Corruptionary, was re-launched last July 20 at PowerBooks, Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

U.S. House member expresses concern over political killings

Rep. Joseph Courtney of the U.S. House of Representatives has expressed concern over the spate of extra-judicial killings that continues under President Benigno S. Aquino III. A member of the powerful Armed Services Committee, Courtney said that although the Philippines is “a friend and …I strongly believe that we cannot tolerate the unacceptable human rights conditions.”

Political Parties & Elections

New Court Filing Reveals How the 2004 Ohio Presidential Election Was Hacked
25 July 2011
Bob Fritakis, The Free Press | Report
Posted by CenPEG.org

A new filing in the King Lincoln Bronzeville v. Blackwell case includes a copy of the Ohio Secretary of State election production system configuration that was in use in Ohio's 2004 presidential election when there was a sudden and unexpected shift in votes for George W. Bush

National search for election technology backed by Comelec

THUMBS UP for the national search (L-R): Toti Casino, PCS; Eric Alvia, Namfrel; Bobby Tuazon, CenPEG; Allan Sioson, President, Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP); Commissioner Christopher Go-Lim; Rep. Neri Colmenares, Vice Chair, House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reform; Nelson Celis, PCS Foundation; UP President Alfredo E. Pascual; Comelec Chair Sixto S. Brillantes, Jr.; Commissioner Rene Sarmiento; Commissioner Gus Lagman; Tim Orbos, Office of the Executive Secretary; and Maricor Akol,PhilNITS.

SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ELECTION TECH LAUNCHED

The Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) announces the national search for technology excellence which aims to develop a model for poll automation in the Philippines.

Posted by CenPEG
May 7, 2011

Promote Filipino IT (FIT) for a New Election Technology
AES Watch Joint Statement
May 6, 2011

Download PDF copy here >>>

AES WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
Dr. Pablo Manalastas, AES Watch co-convener and CenPEG IT consultant, reads the joint statement during the press conference in Quezon City. Also in the panel (L-R) are Bobby Tuazon, CenPEG director for policy studies; Toti Casino, PCS; Maricor Akol; former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, AES Watch honorary chair; and Nelson Celis, chair of PCS Foundation and DLSU faculty. (Photo by CenPEG)

Post Election Report on the Use of the Automated Election System (AES) in the 2010 National and Local Elections
By Comelec Advisory Council (CAC)

The CAC recommends that the COMELEC NOT exercise the option to purchase the AES. The AES encountered too many problems that need to be resolved before this particular system can be used again

AES Watchers stage rally in front of Comelec
Posted by CenPEG
March 24, 2011

Members of the Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) held a picket rally March 17 to question the Commission on Elections' decision to purchase voting machines found to be defective. The picket rally, which was joined by about 50 members of various citizens election watchdogs affiliated with AES Watch, was held in front of the Comelec office at Plaza Roma, Intramuros, Manila.

CBCP-Nassa Bp. Broderick Pabillo, AES Watch co-convener

Waiting in vain?
By Rene B. Azurin
Strategic Perspective
BusinessWorld
March 24, 2011
Posted by CenPEG.org

Reforming the Commission on Elections does not seem to be on Mr. Brillantes's agenda. All he has done so far is signal that he intends to go along happily with the insidious move to perpetuate a shadowy cabal that will continue to wield almost total control of the automated dagdag-bawas system made possible by the foreign company Smartmatic's unsecure and untransparent software.

NEVER AGAIN TO SMARTMATIC's PCOS MACHINES
AES Watch
March 17, 2011

We are now more certain that the Smartmatic's election system is inherently flawed and, if used again, will further compromise the overarching needs for accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness in elections.

The insidious Smartmatic lobby
By René B. Azurin
Strategic Perspective, BusinessWorld
March 2, 2011
Posted by CenPEG

Lobbying for the continued use of the Smartmatic automated election system in this country has been ratcheted up a few notches. As if in sync, several columnists with little knowledge of computer technology are now contradicting computer science professors and information technology experts who have issued detailed reports and public statements criticizing the Smartmatic system as flawed, faulty, and insecure. This media blitzkrieg is the latest salvo in the battle for control of Philippine elections.

Comelec-Smartmatic conspiracy?

By Rene B. Azurin
Strategic Perspective, BusinessWorld
February 24, 2011
Posted by CenPEG.org

Notwithstanding the already discovered flaws in the Smartmatic system and all the failures and anomalies observed and reported by citizens' monitoring groups (including nationwide organizations of information technology experts) in the use of the Smartmatic machines and system software for the May 2010 elections, it appears, from all indications, that the Comelec under new chairman Sixto Brillantes is still hell-bent on perpetuating the Smartmatic system.

Two more statements against the use of Smartmatic PCOS machines in the ARMM polls

Junk PCOS! Case of Antipolo PCOS still unresolved
By PLUMA
February 16, 2011
Follow the law!
By Jun Mercado, OMI

Hold ARMM elections this year; but don't use the seriously and inherently-flawed Smartmatic PCOS

Electing a new set of officials is a people's sovereign right to vote new officials – and hold previous or current officials to account for any wrongdoing by not electing them. This culture of postponement may actually create more conditions of instability and uncertainty. It will trigger acrimonious debates and more animosities on whether there should be “holdover” or “appointed” caretaker officials in the region.

Center for People Empowerment in Governance Before the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reform
February 16, 2011

Never again to Smartmatic's PCOS machines

If the ARMM elections are held this year, there is no recourse but to revert to the manual system as resorted to by Comelec in the last barangay elections but with heightened citizen vigilance.

AES Watch Before the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reform February 11, 2011

Defend the ballot against the miscounting of votes by the Smartmatic-PCOS machines

We must defend our votes against the DAGDAG-BAWAS effect of the SMARTMATIC-PCOS machines.Those who are responsible for the desecration of the sanctity of the ballots of the Filipino people in the May 2010 elections must be held accountable.

Felix Muga II CenPEG February 11, 2011

Melo's legacy
By Rene B. Azurin
Strategic Perspective, BusinessWorld
Posted by CenPEG
January 21, 2011

Mr. Melo says that "the next chairman faces the challenge of sustaining the gains of the past years and instituting further reforms to safeguard the sanctity of our country’s electoral process." Gains? What gains? The windmill didn’t move.

The new Comelec under Sixto Brillantes, Jr. “must do right – and be the opposite of the Melo-chaired Comelec.”

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) today, January 11, said anybody – except those from the current Comelec – can be appointed to be the next chairman of the election body or replace those set to retire this year.

To solve Party-list seat allocation, ask IT students
By Felix Muga II
CenPEG
Posted Dec. 30, 2010

Straight from computer schools in four countries, IT students were asked to solve the seat allocation of the Party-list system in the Philippines using the Carpio formula.

AES WATCH Convener is next UP President
Posted by CenPEG
Dec. 14, 2010

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) congratulates Alfredo Pascual for his election on Dec. 3 by the Board of Regents as the 20th president of the University of the Philippines (UP), the country’s national university.

CenPEG bares bugs and errors in May 10 election program
Posted by CenPEG
Dec. 8, 2010

Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga, Jr., House electoral reform committee chair

Global Currents

Power Feuds in the South China Sea

Territorial disputes boost the U.S. arms industry

The arms strategy that the U.S. pursues in the region and elsewhere in the world bolsters the militarist and repressive tendencies of its traditional allies and defense partners who then adopt war-like policies even as peaceful and diplomatic mechanisms are in place that promote the resolution of territorial disputes.

By Bobby M. Tuazon
Posted by CenPEG.org
Global Currents

America's Middle Class Crisis: The Sobering Facts

By Peter Gorenstein
Daily Ticker
Wed, May 4, 2011

Two recessions, a couple of market crashes, and stubbornly high unemployment are all wreaking havoc on America's middle class.

The American Middle Class Under Stress

Sherle R. Schwenninger and Samuel Sherraden
New America Foundation
April 2011

On the Concatenation of the Arab World
By Perry Anderson

Required is a generous Arab internationalism, capable of envisaging—in the distant future, when the last sheikh is overthrown—the equitable distribution of oil wealth in proportion to population across the Arab world, not the monstrous opulence of the arbitrary few and the indigence of the desperate many.

Imperial America's End Time
By Stephen Lendman
29 November, 2010 Countercurrents.org
Posted by CenPEG

Noted analysts on both left and right see America's empire in decline. In his 2009 book, "Global Depression and Regional Wars," James Petras said: "All the idols of capitalism over the past three decades have crashed. The assumptions and presumptions, paradigms and prognosis of indefinite progress under liberal free market capitalism have been tested and have failed.”

Save Haiti From Aid Tourists
The 'republic of NGOs' is in a vicious circle of dependence and institutional infantilism

By Rory Carroll
The Guardian,
16 November 2010
Posted by CenPEG

Image: Save_Haiti_by_SL05NED

Haiti needs NGO help. But it also needs to rein in aid tourists who turn the country into a zoo and to fold the serious NGOs into a coherent, Haitian-directed strategy.

The Shadow Class War of 2010
Monday 11 October 2010
by: E.J. Dionne Jr., Op-Ed

(Image: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Spc. Drew Balstad / The National Guard, Tracy O)

Washington - The 2010 election is turning into a class war. The wealthy and the powerful started it.

This is a strange development. President Obama, after all, has been working overtime to save capitalism. Wall Street is doing just fine and the rich are getting richer again. The financial reform bill passed by Congress was moderate, not radical.

WikiLeaks “Afghan War Diaries”
by Stephen Lendman
July 28th, 2010
Posted by CenPEG

No To Oligarchy
Bernie Sanders |
July 22, 2010
Posted by CenPEG

National Security Strategy of US President Barack Obama
May 2010

Human Experimentation at the Heart of Bush Administration's Torture Program

High-value detainees captured during the Bush administration's "war on terror," who were subjected to brutal torture techniques, were used as "guinea pigs" to gauge the effectiveness of various torture techniques, a practice that has raised troubling comparisons to Nazi-era human experimentation. according to a disturbing new report released by Physicians for Human Rights, an international doctors' organization.

How NGOs are Profiting Off a Grave Situation
Haiti and the Aid Racket
By ASHLEY SMITH

While some NGOs like Partners in Health have been set up to develop Haitian grassroots self-organization and control, most major NGOs have been accomplices in the neoliberal catastrophe the U.S. wrought in Haiti.

Will the US Meet Its Waterloo in Afghanistan and Iraq?
2nd Anuradha Ghandy Memorial Lecture
By Dr. Jan Myrdal
Global Research,
February 9, 2010

In both Iraq and Afghanistan the people have had to pay heavily - both materially and in dead and wounded - for the US war.

EVMs are not tamper-free; Dr. Swamy files PIL for dual voting system

Red Alert: The Second Wave of The Financial Tsunami

The Wave is gathering force & could hit between the first & second quarter of 2010

U.S. Backs Illegal Elections in Honduras

Uruguay Elects Former Guerrilla as Next President

The Role of America's Financial Elite in the Obama Regime

"The True Story of the Bilderberg Group" and What They May Be Planning Now
A Review of Daniel Estulin's book,
by Stephen Lendman

Trilateral Commission; Obama appointed no less than eleven members
By CFR

The Story Behind the Uruguayan Elections
09 November 2009
by: Julie R. Butler, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

The international headlines all read something to this effect, "In Uruguay: Ex-Guerrilla Fighter Headed for Runoff Vote in November." Attention-grabbing as it is, that headline doesn't do justice to the complex story behind this ex-guerrilla fighter being on the verge of becoming Uruguay's next president.

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, and Debt is Recovery
By Andrew Gavin Marshall

In light of the ever-present and unyieldingly persistent exclamations of ‘an end’ to the recession, a ‘solution’ to the crisis, and a ‘recovery’ of the economy; we must remember that we are being told this by the very same people and institutions which told us, in years past, that there was ‘nothing to worry about,’ that ‘the fundamentals are fine,’ and that there was ‘no danger’ of an economic crisis.

Afghanistan Election Fraud and the High Price of Empire
Posted by John Nichols on 09/10/2009 @ 8:50pm

It is amusing, if remarkable, that there are still some players in Washington who try to maintain the fantasy that Afghan President Hamid Karzai governs with anything akin to legitimacy.

Nuclear Noh Drama: Tokyo, Washington and the Case of the Missing Nuclear Agreements

The Obama Deception
A video documentary of Barack Obama’s first months as US President

What Reforms Will The United States Have as a Result of This Recession?
September 18, 2009
By Mark Weisbrot
ZMag

Afghanistan Election Fraud and the High Price of Empire

Hamid Karzai was given the presidency of Afghanistan under US occupation in 2004. The latest elections in Afghanistan re-elected Karzai but they are said to be fraudulent. The United States claims to be promoting democracy, but its worldwide interests drive policy, not purported concerns about freedom, human rights and fair elections.

Entering the Greatest Depression in History
More Bubbles Waiting to Burst

Entering the Greatest Depression in History By Andrew Gavin Marshall
Globalresearch
August 7, 2009

Issue Analysis

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 03
Series of 2011

LIVING IN THE PAST: Mishandling the Spratlys territorial row

HAIXUN 31, China’s biggest maritime surveillance ship, heads to South China Sea

Government must abandon the 20th century politics of colonialism and neo-colonialism and begin to act more responsibly with a mature and independent foreign policy.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 02
Series of 2011

Right to know should prevail in automated election

A major victim in this electoral exercise is the people's right to know. By consistently imposing rigid guidelines and restrictions to "make available the source code for independent review," the Comelec is actually obstructing the exercise of the citizens' right to know that would have ensured public oversight and validation of a system pre-judged as reliable through unfounded claims.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 01
Series of 2011

When Security Policies are based on Lies

The "war on terror" policy pursued by the past Macapagal-Arroyo administration should be declared as good as dead and should be abandoned by the incumbent President. That policy was based hook, line, and sinker on former U.S. President George W. Bush, Jr.'s neo-conservative theory linking Iraq to the 9/11 bombings. Now, an Iraqi defector who was the primary source of so-called intelligence reports that were used to make a case for Bush's Operation Iraqi Freedom has confessed that he made the whole story up.

By the Policy Study, Publication, and Advocacy
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
March 3, 2011

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 13
series of 2010

SC Ruling on the Truth Commission: A Dead-end?

By taking the slower tack of forming a truth body, the pursuit of accountability with respect to the crimes of graft and corruption linking the previous regime has been entrusted to the constraints and weaknesses of the country’s justice system.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 12
series of 2010

Barangay: Grassroots Democracy or Clan Politics?

Without programs for desperately-needed economic necessities, the barangay as a political unit is an oxymoron: A governance entity that is in theory cut out for bringing about much-needed change in grassroots communities but in practice serves as an appendage of clan politics where political patronage and corruption thrive.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 11
series of 2010

MAY 10 POLLS: NOT JUST SYSTEM GLITCH, BUT POLICY FAILURE

The right to public information suffered with Comelec’s lack of transparency. The poll body failed – and continues to fail – to meet the transparency requirements of the election system by its intransigent and unexplained refusal to deny citizens’ groups access to vital election documents. Its lack of transparency left majority of the electorate misinformed and uninformed, duped by the illusion about automated election modernizing democracy and weeding out fraud.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 10
series of 2010

JUDICIAL REVOLT and AQUINO’S MISPRIORITIES

The judges’ threat to stage a “revolt” and resign is not just a reaction to poor priorities set in the national budget. It is indicative of dissatisfaction that has started to build up against a wavering and compromising presidential leadership and at slim prospects of seeing reform being undertaken under Aquino III.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 9
series of 2010

Under Aquino III: Promoting Ties of Dependency with the U.S.?

Those who are watching the first 100 days of the new administration can now start focusing their lens on President Benigno S. Aquino III’s coming visit to the United States in September - his first major official foreign trip.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 8
series of 2010

SONA: TRUTH OR SPECTACLE?

The true state of the nation is in the people who live under the harshest of conditions in the margins of society yet see in collective strength the power to make their lives better. Aquino III says, “We can dream again.” Well, he has no sense of history: The people are not just dreaming but struggling, putting their own dreams into action.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 7
series of 2010

The Truth Commission: Will Justice Be Served?

Justice cannot await any government action. It is up for victims of rights violations and those directly or indirectly affected by corruption, plunder, and electoral fraud to by, their own efforts, let justice bear upon the perpetrators.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 6
series of 2010

What’s New and What’s Old in Philippine Politics

It would be interesting to see how Aquino III will be able to transcend his class background and political orientation. In Philippine politics, promises are bound to be broken unless elected leaders begin to walk the talk.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 5
series of 2010

The Aquino Presidency: Challenges and Prospects
IA-No5-2010

With a president whose hands will be tied to compromise deals and powerful pressure groups, it would be a long shot whether Aquino will lock horns with the systemic problem of corruption.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 4
series of 2010

THE LIMITS OF OLIGARCHIC POWER: BEYOND THE 2010 ELECTIONS

They say that elections in our country are like the game of musical chairs.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 03 Series of 2010

Comelec's unyielding stance spells trouble

Elections in the Philippines are not decided by electoral systems per se – whether manual or automated.

ELECTION FORENSICS

ELECTION FORENSICS No. 01 March 9, 2010

Analysis
Party-lists need 0.6 million votes to win 1 seat
At least 0.5 million voters seen to be disenfranchised
By Felix Muga II, PhD Fellow, CenPEG

In the coming May 10 elections, each of the 187 Party-list groups gunning for seats in the lower House will need at least 630,000 votes to be assured of one seat.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 02
Series of 2010

The farce about disbanding the private armies

Presidential aspirants should be probed about their possible connections to private armies.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 01
Series of 2010

2010: Signs of hope and disquiet

A priority agenda of the new government is to restore faith in government by mending the institutions that were undermined by the outgoing regime.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 14
Series of 2009

The Maguindanao Massacre and Politics of Violence

Wherever there are powerful dynasties and warlords one can be sure these co-exist – nay, these perpetuate - deeply-entrenched poverty and social injustice.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 13
Series of 2009

The Bane of Development Illusion Persons displaced by disasters to leap from 2.6M in 2005 to 10M by end-2009

In the years ahead, the number and magnitude of disasters will increase with colossal human and economic losses.

ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 12
Series of 2009

The Presidential Race and Accountability

The current row in the presidential race regarding preference ratings and the alleged use of public funds for election infomercials has been expected, as in past elections.