Clean voters’ database: A challenge to a transparent 2022 elections
Nelson Celis, TMT / April 7, 2021
Posted by CenPEG April 15, 2021
Alleged hacker in red hood. Photo: CNNPhilippines
A few weeks before the May 9, 2016 elections, the Comelec was hacked by two groups. This infamous hacking on March 27, 2016 led to the defacement of the Comelec’s website and the leakage of its 55 million registered voters.
MONTHLY POLITICAL ANALYSIS No. 1
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) January 2021
Photo courtesy of Manila Bulletin
This paper examines the results of the first public opinion survey on possible presidential bets for the 2022 national elections conducted by the Pulse Asia Research Inc. from 23 November to 2 December 2020. An established polling institution in the country, Pulse Asia does regular public opinion surveys on elections and issues of public interest. However, as a survey of public perceptions for a specific period, these results do not in any way establish a definitive listing of possible presidential bets or stable preferential ratings for specific names since the actual election is still about 15 months away and changes are to be expected.
Comelec’s PCOS-OMR system rejects public counting, enhances wholesale cheating
Nelson Celis, TMT
November 25, 2020
Posted by CenPEG, Nov. 25, 2020
Is the 2009 study of CenPEG futuristic that it could predict what could have happened in the last four national and local elections? Will the Congress under President Duterte’s administration pass these pending bills for our democracy…and for the Filipino people?
Nelson Celis, TMT / October 14, 2020
Posted by CenPEG, 21 Oct. 2020
Mark Twain said, “History never repeats itself but it rhymes” — there are like-sounding conditions that re-occur throughout history but not closely or the same sound.
Nelson Celis, TMT / August 12, 2020
Posted by CenPEG Aug. 14, 2020
Comelec data leak in 2016. Image:dailypedia.net
In our government offices, we have had butterfly effect experiences. A typical example is the infamous ComeLeak in March 2016, a few weeks before the 2016 elections, as the incident created humongous consequences.
Hybrid election system in 2022: How do we proceed?
Nelson Celis, The Manila Times,
July 22, 2020
Posted by CenPEG
Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon tests hybrid system during a 1-day forum-demo held by CenPEG / AES Watch at PLM in 2015. Photo by CenPEG
THE Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation (Cerpp), led b
y Sen. María Imelda Josefa Marcos, has been consistently deliberating Senate Bill (SB) 7 since it was introduced by Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd in July last year.
DocPH, a month after
Nelson Celis / The Manila Times / May 13, 2020
Posted by CenPEG
May 13, 2020
DocPH is a form of complex bayanihan wherein a group of Filipino doctors collaborate to help their sick ‘kababayans’ or countrymen, and at the same time helping DoH and the nation fight the pandemic.
Photo from CNNPhilippines
Democracy at stake: The need for poll system standards and certification
The test certifications in the last four national and local elections resulted in a lot of technical problems because of the absence or lack of test certifications of all the Automated Election System (AES) components.
Nelson Celis, TMT, February 19, 2020
Posted by CenPEG March 08, 2020
Hearing of the Senate committee on electoral reform and people’s participation last Feb. 11, 2020. (CenPEG photo)
What legal basis are you referring to, Comelec?
Nelson Celis, TMT, June 12, 2019
Posted by CenPEG June 18, 2019
Protest rally against election fraud
There are many legal grounds for banning Smartmatic as technology supplier in future Philippine elections.
JUNK Smartmatic! AES Watch renews call for public counting with electronic transmission
CenPEG.org June 06, 2019
Joint Congressional Oversight Committee hearing, June 4, 2019. CenPEG photo
“It’s about time the government give due recognition to effective and fraud free election system giving emphasis on Philippine sourced transparency and accountability as guiding principles (i.e. public precinct counting with people participation, electronic transmission and automated consolidation and canvassing) starting in the 2022 presidential elections.”
2019 elections assessment: Worst!
Nelson Celis, TMT
May 22, 2019
Posted by CenPEG
May 23, 2019
May 13, 2019 mid-term elections (Photo source Time)
The AES Watch overall STAR card assessment of 2019 elections was “1” (Fail). This is similar to the past elections except that we experienced the worst so far based on the sheer number of technical problems, especially the mysterious seven-hour lull between May 13, 6 p.m. to May 14, 1 a.m.
As voters troop to polls on May 13, critical questions remain unsolved
CenPEG.news
May 11, 2019
AT THE PRESSCON: Temario C. Rivera (right) and Gus Lagman (left). Photo by CenPEG
The broad, multi-sectoral poll watchdog, Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch), says that unless glaring vulnerabilities of the AES and non-compliance with major provisions of RA 9369 are resolved the May 13 mid-term elections will create credibility issues.
Time to change the automated election law
Nelson Celis Posted by CenPEG March 14, 2019
With the mismanagement of the AES project by Comelec’s PMO since 2010, the result was the repeated noncompliance of Comelec with the AES law. There were so many disconnections among the project team players.
Election violence Photo by Bernanews
National Political Situationer No. 01
19 February 2019
The 2019 May Elections and its Implications on the Duterte Administration
The last three years of any elected administration can be very contentious and trying times. The national leadership’s ability to effectively respond to political and related challenges will be significantly shaped by the outcome of the upcoming 2019 mid-term elections. Indeed, the 2019 election is a Prologue to the 2022 elections in all its uncertainties and opportunities. While the 2019 election is only one arena of contestation it can set the line of march for more momentous events for the next few years.
Mock polls held Jan. 19, 2019. Photo from Ripples Daily
Time to change the Automated Election Law
Nelson Celis, The Manila Times,
Jan. 16, 2019 (AES Watch spokesperson) Posted by CenPEG Jan. 30, 2019
Why is there a need to change the Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) to a permanent Automated Election System (AES) board? (Part 4)
2019 elections: ‘Laway’ of Venezuelans or ‘talino’ of Filipinos
Parts 16 & 17
Comelec building, Intramuros, Manila)
To conclude this 17-part series, the “laway” syndrome overcoming “talino” may continue to prevail in the elections to come, even in the next presidential elections in 2022, due to the inability of our constitutional commission, the Comelec, in managing its internal affairs and in handling the AES project.
Nelson J. Celis
Manila Times
Oct. 3 & 24, 2018
Posted by CenPEG
Oct. 25, 2018
Compliance Theory: A Case Study Approach in Understanding Organizational Commitment
Nelson J. Celis
Spokesperson, AES Watch
Posted from DLSU Business & Economics Review (2018)
May 26, 2018
The Myth of the Hacker-Proof Voting Machine
Smartmatic and the Venezuela Electoral Fraud
Hector A. Barrios
Posted by CenPEG.org
Sept. 4, 2017
Related Story
Venezuela's Maduro Accuses Smartmatic of Caving to US Pressure
3 August 2017, teleSUR
Posted by CenPEG.org
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Smartmatic of caving under pressure from the U.S. Wednesday, adding that the company’s allegations were an attempt to tarnish the National Constituent Assembly vote that took place Sunday.
The judicious spending of taxpayers’ money: Does it matter?
Nelson Celis / Manila Times
Posted by CenPEG
April 11, 2017
VFA is for keeps
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:04 AM
April 24, 2021
Posted by CenPEG, April 25, 2021
Rising tensions in South China Sea (Photo: cfr.org)
The country is vulnerable to being dragged into a shooting war between the two powers in case of accidents or extreme provocations in the SCS. By then, it will be too late to call for a VFA review.
For a nuclear weapons-free planet
Roland G. Simbulan - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:02 AM
February 06, 2021
Posted by CenPEG / April 25, 2021
Southeast Asia-Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone launching Dec. 12, 1987
The TPNW is compatible with the Philippines’ commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We must push for the ratification by the Philippine Senate of the TPNW, a constitutional process that will seal our international commitment.
Let’s celebrate resistance, not empire
Roland G. Simbulan - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / April 12, 2021 Posted by CenPEG, April 18, 2021
Battle of Mactan. Photo from Annoyz View
As a nation, we can celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mactan as a testimony to our ancestors who fought back magnificently against the empire, from Lapulapu.
COMMENTARY
The hidden agenda behind Biden’s first foreign policy speech
Bobby M. Tuazon
Posted by CenPEG
22 Feb. 2021
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping gestures to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a welcome ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 18, 2011. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Joe Biden, on February 7, iterated that his administration anticipates “extreme competition” but “no conflict” with China. How conflict with China can be avoided under an environment of “extreme competition” that may spawn miscalculations and provocations precisely creates the uncertainties and intractability of Biden’s foreign policy on Beijing. Ambiguity has no place in diplomacy and makes any negotiation fractious.
Can US-China relations 'reset' in the Biden era?
Bobby M. Tuazon | chinadaily.com.cn | 01 February 2021
Posted by CenPEG, 13 February 2021
The US should begin to accept that world systems change, old powers fade and new major countries rise. With eyes open, this can potentially be the first step toward resetting China-US relations. Biden and his policymakers need to welcome Beijing's overtures toward rebuilding the two countries' relations informed by mutual respect, non-interference and cooperation.
COMMENTARY
Biden: Reclaiming US credibility
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
January 18, 2021
Posted by CenPEG Jan. 18, 2021
Photo: The New Republic
Philippine-US relations under the new Biden presidency will be shaped by America’s foreign policy on China in East Asia, most especially the South China Sea issue. Unlike the hawkish Trump administration, moderation and predictability may define Biden’s foreign policy on Beijing. But this doesn’t mean it will be less tough on issues that Washington sees as a threat to US primacy, or that it will allow China to have free rein.
Prospect for US-Philippine Relations: US-Biden vs China-Duterte?
Featuring an Interview with Bill Fletcher
E. San Juan, Jr.
Amid the horrendous pandemic ravaging of the globalized political-economy of Europe and North America, particularly the imperial U.S. heartland with close to half-a-million deaths, peripheral nations remain negligible. The neoliberal consensus has collapsed, inaugurating a new era of trade wars and ecological disasters. Such “shithole” countries like the Philippines, to use President Trump’s rubric, rarely enter public attention.
Biden eyes a tougher regional presence
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / October 18, 2020
Posted by CenPEG Oct. 21, 2020
Fil-Am early voter in US
In the Philippines, Biden’s foreign policy plan intersects with political forces, including defense and foreign affairs honchos, who want defense ties with the United States back on track as a deterrent to China.
PROBLEMATIZING THE NAME “FILIPINX”: A Colloquy
Delia D. Aguilar & E. San Juan, Jr.
Posted by CenPEG.org
07 October 2020
The Philippines is still a U.S. dependency, whatever claims may be made about Filipino adobo, Miss Universe this and that, growing incomes of Filipino-Americans, increasing popularity of Filipino films, singers, etc. We are one of Trump’s “shitholes,” let us not demur, whose chief export and dollar-earners are Overseas Filipino Workers around the planet.
A radical shift in the COVID-19 response
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / August 15, 2020
Posted by CenPEG Aug. 16, 2020
Health workers protest lack of assistance, poor conditions
President Duterte’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic started on the wrong foot. It was bound to fail. After five months of lockdowns—the world’s longest—the number of confirmed cases is surging by leaps. COVID-19-dedicated facilities are overwhelmed and frontliners are demoralized.
Think tank calls for a people’s consultative body on Covid-19
CenPEG.org
Posted 11 Aug. 2020
THOUSANDS of stranded individuals stay at Rizal memorial coliseum to await travel. Photo by Bernanews
The policy think tank CenPEG called for the formation of an independent, broad-based multisectoral consultative body parallel to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) charged with leading the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Let experts take the lead vs Covid-19 – CenPEG
Re-tooled action plan should also mobilize NGO community leaders
CenPEG 31 July 2020
Rural doc in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya is also contact tracer to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Photo by National Geographic
The CenPEG think tank on July 31 called for a revamp of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) by allowing credible medical experts and scientists to also take the driver’s seat in the fight against Covid-19.
90% of PH labor force
displaced
by Covid-19
CenPEG calls for IATF overhaul, lead role for medical experts and scientists
CenPEG July 26, 2020
Using the Philippine Statistical Authority’s (PSA) April 2020 Labor Force Survey, up to 90% of the Philippines’ labor force have been fully or partially displaced by the March–May lockdown the government enforced to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
Off the road for 4 months…and running. Photo: Straits Times
A true national emergency bill
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / May 09, 2020
Posted by CenPEG
In the last two years of President Duterte, policymaking should pivot to a reform track. Such policy shift should consider enhancing the country’s public health care system and nurturing health professionals—a priority long ignored by politics-ridden lawmaking.
Photo from foreignpolicy.com
Zone Defense Against The Covid
Zoning should have been done since Day 1 but even now, late though it is, it should still be used because it can help flatten the curve as well as hasten the easing of economic restrictions.
Posted by CenPEG
May 03, 2020
Photo credit South China Morning Post
COMMENTARY
Jolted by the coronavirus
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / April 04, 2020
Posted by CenPEG April 04, 2020
Development cannot thrive solely on “economic fundamentals,” and this should be replaced by human fundamentals like health. The earlier we take this route, the better we will be in saving lives.
Photo from rappler.com
The Philippine Press in Year 3 of the Duterte Regime
Luis V. Teodoro
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
11th State of the Presidency (SOP) of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, July 19, 2019
CenPEG.org
July 26, 2019
The PH political situation, according to Temario Rivera
The Philippine Reporter,
June 14, 2019
Posted by CenPEG June 19, 2019
Jockeying has already begun between the big political families for the 2022 presidential elections. Ping Lacson, Sara Duterte, Grace Poe, and one of the Villars are among those mentioned as interested in running.
Federalizing will not cure country’s institutional problems
CenPEG News
20 November 2018
TAKING CORRUPTION BY THE HORNS: Lessons from Our Neighbors
Bobby M. Tuazon
CenPEG.org
Posted Oct. 15, 2018
ML Extension in Mindanao Will Fuel More Extremism; Won’t End Rebellion
Bobby M. Tuazon
Posted by CenPEG on Oct. 2, 2018
A DISPATCH FROM THE ‘BELLY OF THE BEAST’
U.S.-based scholar E. San Juan, Jr. interviews Bill Fletcher Jr., African-American public intellectual
"I do not anticipate any changes in the near future in the absence of a movement on the ground in the USA that pushes the US on foreign policy generally and the US/Philippines relationship in particular. Frankly, the relationship is very comfortable for the USA and the ruling circles see no reason to change this." - Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Philippine Anti-Terrorism Law: Critical Reflections
Posted by CenPEG
03 April 2021
Lamchek, Colmenares and Temprosa
Human rights, while being recognized, is not comprehensively underscored in the global discourse. Firmly distinguished from non-state sponsored terrorism, state violence is always justified in the name of state security.
Watch/Join CenPEG's virtual forum
on March 20, 2021, 3-5p.m.
“International Counterterrorism Law and the Challenge to the Revised Philippine Anti-Terrorism Law: Critical Reflections”
A Sense of Nationhood and Philippine Sovereignty
CenPEG.org, 06 October 2020
The book, A Sense of Nationhood: The Bobby Tañada Reader, was launched in a webinar on Oct. 1, 2020. The launching of the book, the latest published by the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), highlighted a virtual forum on Philippine national sovereignty.
CREATIVE BRUSHES TO FIGHT PANDEMIC
Kurit Aki child artists hold workshop on Sept. 26
Paint brushes and acrylic paint were the media used by children as they showed their talents in visualizing their thoughts on the Covid-19 pandemic and how they should respond. Wearing face masks and face shields while maintaining physical distancing, 100 children from 10 teams participated in the Kurit Aki virtual workshop for 3 hours held on Sept. 26, 2020.
KURIT AKI DRY RUN by remote learning
September 16, 2020
The Kurit Aki project team held a dry run of its coming workshop on Sept. 16, 2020 from 9 a.m. – 12 noon using Zoom remote teaching. Teams of Kurit Aki children from 13 barangays in the towns of Canaman, Naga, Pasacao, Bula, Ocampo, Tigaon, and Minalabac participated.
Duterte’s termination of the VFA: New strategic moves?
“Facts show that, under the right conditions, China is capable of economic or territorial concessions in exchange for greater security. The case of the protracted negotiations over the Sino-Russia border and the latest trade war deal with the US are good examples.”
CenPEG.org
March 5, 2020
Eric Baculinao in Beijing
> Duterte’s termination of the VFA: New strategic moves?
2 CenPEG Fellows receive distinguished awards this year
CenPEG.org
Sept. 30, 2019
(Left)Boni Ilagan: Gawad Plaridel 2019; (Right)Rivera: UPAA awardee for democratization and governance
Better Active Today than Radioactive Tomorrow: Lessons from the Anti-BNPP Struggle in the Philippines
Roland G. Simbulan
Simbulan delivers his plenary paper at Taiwan No Nukes conference
3 Years of Authoritarian Rule under Duterte: An Alternative Perspective
CenPEG’s 11th State of the Presidency (SOP)
CenPEG News
July 26, 2019
(L-R) Nelson Celis, Temario C. Rivera, Joseph Anthony Lim (holding mike), and moderator Hector Barrios. CenPEG photo
Journalist killings, harassments, and intimidation in the guise of libel cases marked the state of the Philippine press in the first three years of the Duterte presidency.
Recto Bank fishing incident tackled at Saturday press forum
CenPEG June 18, 2019
The June 9 fishing incident at the Recto Bank in South China involving a Filipino fishing boat and a Chinese vessel was the centerpiece issue during the Saturday press forum at Annabel’s, Quezon City.
The Continuing Vulnerabilities of the Comelec-Smartmatic Automated Election System
PRESS CONFERENCE
May 8, 2019, 10 a.m. – 12 noon Consunji Room, 2nd Flr., Ang Bahay ng Alumni Magsaysay Avenue, UP Diliman, Quezon City
International conference on China’s ties with neighboring countries hosted by Jinan U
CenPEG.org
Posted Jan. 30, 2019
Two Fellows from the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) recently were session speakers at the international symposium on “China and its Neighboring Countries: Cooperation, Win-win and Sharing,” hosted by the Jinan University’s School of International Studies and Academy of Overseas Chinese Studies in Guangzhou, China.
CenPEG launches 15th book
Probing Duterte’s Foreign Policy in the New Regional Order
Commentary
A true national emergency bill
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / May 09, 2020
Posted by CenPEG
In the last two years of President Duterte, policymaking should pivot to a reform track. Such policy shift should consider enhancing the country’s public health care system and nurturing health professionals—a priority long ignored by politics-ridden lawmaking.
Photo from foreignpolicy.com
Commentary
Duterte’s pivot to Russia
Bobby M. Tuazon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted by CenPEG, February 26, 2020
Photo by SCMP
Is President Duterte flashing a pivot to Russia by terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States? Is this the promise he made in 2016 to break away from America and form an “alliance” with China and Russia?
Commentary
US-PH ties rock-solid despite China
By: Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / August 01, 2019
Posted by CenPEG
Aug. 2, 2019
Photo by Asia Times
Despite President Duterte’s “pivot to China,” the country’s alliance with the United States is not only solid but is on the upturn. Manila and Beijing may claim a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” but it cannot match the ironclad ties the Philippines has with its former colonial master.
Commentary
End perpetual power
By: Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / July 11, 2019
Posted by CenPEG July 11, 2019
The chronic power monopoly by the elite suggests that the people’s fair representation in government that enables the country’s claimed democracy to work is nil.
THE DUTERTES: All in the family. Photo from PEP.ph
Commentary
The real transition for the Bangsamoro
Bobby M. Tuazon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
March 08, 2019
Posted by CenPEG March 11, 2019
The Bangsamoro leadership needs a reform vision, and must be ready to deal with local oligarchs and corporate landholders. This is the acid test for the new Bangsamoro leadership.
Commentary
Lorenzana’s wishful thinking
Bobby M. Tuazon - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / January 12, 2019
Posted by CenPEG January 17, 2019
New risks loom in South China Sea
Is there a vote for federalism?
- When politicians rule the public discourse
- A policy independent of Philippine sovereignty and integrity
- Rethinking democratization in the Philippines
- Obama’s Gift to Putin
