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Mga guro sa HK hinimok na umuwi

Posted on 14 May 2016 No comments
Hinimok ng mga punong guro mula sa Davao Oriental ang mga qualified na OFW na  umuwi na sa Pilipinas dahil kailangan sila doon.
Umabot sa 130 na mga myembro ng NOPTI (National Organization of Professional Teachers Inc.) ang nakipag-ugnayan sa 22 schoolheads mula sa Davao Oriental Association of Public Secondary School Head Incoported (DORAPSSHI).
Ayon naman kay Lucy Myrna Uy ang president ng DORAPSSHI, ito ang unang pagkakataon na nakipag-ugnayan sila sa grupo ng NOPT sa Hong Kong, at laking galak nila dahil nakatulong silang magbigay ng paliwanag sa mga isyung bumabagabag sa karamihang mga magulang at sa mga nagbabalak ng umuwi ng bansa upang magturo.
Sa ugnayan, na ginanap sa Kennedy Town, ipinaliwanag ni Assistant Labor Attache Henry Tianero ang tungkol sa programang SPIMS (Sa Pilipinas Ikaw ang Ma’am at Sir) ng Department of Labor and Employment.
“Inaanyayahan ang mga guro dito sa Hong Kong na umuwi na at magturo para makasama na ang pamilya,” aniya.
Ayon kay Tianero, wala na masyadong palakasan ngayon sa Department o Education (DepEd), dahil nakabase na lahat sa qualifications para makapasok sa gobyerno.
Ipinaliwanag ni Darlene F. Pacatang ng DORAPSSHI na dahil sa  programang K to 12, nagkaroon ng trabaho ang mga nakapagtapos sa kolehiyo sa larangan ng pagtuturo.
Upang makapasok bilang guro sa Junior High School, kailangang nakapasa sa Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).
Sa Senior High School, naman, pwedeng mag-apply para sa non-permanent position ang mga hindi pa pasado sa LET ngunit nakatapos ng BS degree. Bibigyan sila ng limang taon na maipasa ang LET upang maging permanente sa posisyon.
Kahit 45 taong gulang na ay matatanggap pa rin, basta makakapagserbisyo pa sa gobyerno ng 15 taon.
Kailangan lamang na mayroong 70 puntos sa RQA, na isang pamantayan ng DepEd sa pagtanggap ng mga gurop.
Ngunit panigurado ni Marilyn Capella ng DORAPSSHI: “Kapag naabot ang pamantayan pagkatapos ng tinatawag na ranking ay mas inuunang bigyan ng pribelihiyong magturo ang mga OFW.”
Dahil rin sa K-to-12, ang mga mag-aaral naman na hindi na kayang mag-kolehiyo ay matatanggap na sa trabaho dahil ang mga nakatapos sa K 12 ay may dagdag-kakayahan.
Dadgdag pa rito, ang K-to-12 ay mas makakatulong  sa mga pamilyang hikahos, dahil mayroong subsidy na ibibigay ang gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng voucher, upang tulungan silang makapag-aral sa mga pribadong paaralan.
Ang voucher na ito ay hindi mapupunta sa mga magulang at direktang ibibigay sa paaralang papasukan ng bata.

Zsa Zsa, ayaw pag-usapan ang pakikipag-break

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Kasalukuyang pinaghihilom ni Zsa Zsa Padilla ang sakit na pinagdadaanan matapos mauwi sa hiwalayan ang relasyon niya sa kilalang arkitekto na si Conrado Onglao. Nakatakda na sana silang magpakasal sa  Italy ngayong taong ito, pero nagulat ang lahat nang mapabalita na hindi na matutuloy ito. Nilisan na rin ni Zsa Zsa ang bahay ng kanyang boyfiend at hinakot na lahat ang kanyang mga gamit para ibalik sa kanyang bahay sa Marina sa Paranaque.
Ang natutunan daw niya sa kanyang kasalukuyang sitwasyon ay “to keep your life private”. Kaya humingi siya ng paumanhin sa mga mga nagtatanong sa kanya sa dinaluhan niyang private screening ng digitally remastered version ng luma niyang pelikulang ‘Batang PX” na ginanap sa UP Film Institute.
“From now on, sorry guys, but my private life has to be private. I have to keep some from myself. Those are some the lessons that I've learned, and a lot more.” Masyado raw kasi siyang naengganyo sa social media, at kahit noong sila pa ni Dolphy ay naging open book na ang kanyang buhay.
Ang isa pang importanteng natutunan niya sa kanyang naging karanasan ay ang kailangang mahalin daw ang sarili. Naririyan din ang kanyang pamilya na handang sumuporta sa kanya, at maging ng kanyang mga kaibigan. Kahit sa edad na 51, marami pa raw siyang life lessons na natutuhan.
Nagpapasalamat daw siya sa mga fans at sa lahat ng taong nagbigay sa kanya ng mga positibong mensahe. “Life is good, God is good. I'm so blessed that He's been really good to me. I'm thankful.”, ang pagwawakas ni Zsa Zsa.
Si Sharon Cuneta ang nagpakilala kina Zsa Zsa at Conrad, na pareho niyang mga kaibigan. Hindi pa raw niya nakakausap si Zsa Zsa, at hinahayaan muna niya itong manahimik.

ALDUB MOVIE, SA ITALY ANG LOCATION
Nasa Italy ang phenomenal loveteam nina Alden Richards at Maine Mendoza para sa kanilang unang solo movie, ang “Imagine You and Me”. Tumulak ang dalawa papuntang Italy pagkatapos nilang magpaalam sa mga masugid nilang tagasubaybay ng kanilang kalyeserye sa “Eat Bulaga” noong May 7 dahil matagal-tagal din silang mawawala sa show. Pero ipinangako nila na magbibigay sila ng mga updates sa kanilang mga ginagawang doon.
Pagdating nila sa Italy ay sumabak agad sila sa trabaho, kasama ang 35 crew members at ang kanilang director na si Mike Tuviera, anak ng kanilang big boss na si Tony Tuviera na siyang may-ari ng APT Entertainment at TAPE,  na producer ng Eat Bulaga. Naroon din ang ilang artistang Italyano na kasama sa pelikula, na nagpakuha pa ng mga litrato kasama sina Alden at Maine.
Na-feature din ang dalawa sa Italian website na La Provinicia, kung saan ay ibinahagi ang kanilang gagawing pelikula at kung saang lugar sa Italy kukunan ang kanilang mga eksena. Marami rin silang mga Pinoy na fans doon kaya sa airport pa lang sa Milan ay pinagkaguluhan na sila.
Ang pelikula ay co-produced ng APT Entertainment at GMA Films at ipapalabas bilang anniversary special ng kanilang loveteam na inilunsad sa Eat Bulaga noong July 2015. Ang kanilang unang pelikulang “My Bebe Love” na ipinalabas sa nakaraang MMFF ay kumita ng husto sa takilya, pero hindi masasabing sila ang bida rito dahil kasama nila sina Vic Sotto at AiAi dela Alas, na subok na ang pagiging box office stars.
Samantala, napapabalita na magkakaroon ng bagong TV series si Alden, at ang makakapareha niya ay si Jennyln Mercado, kaya ngayon pa lang ay marami na ang nagpapaalala kay Jennylyn na paghandaan na ma-bash ng husto ng mga diehard fans ng Aldub, na ayaw paghiwalayin ang dalawa. Pero hindi pwedeng tanggihan ni Alden ang projects na ibinibigay ng GMA Network dahil may kontrata siya dito bilang Kapuso, at ang kontrata niya sa APT  Entertainment ay para sa pelikula lang. Si Maine ay exclusive contract artist ng TAPE at APT Entertainment.
 
JAMES, BINILHAN NG BAHAY ANG PAMILYA
Mas pinili ni James Reid na ipagdiwang ang kanyang 23rd birthday (ipinanganak siya noong May 11, 1993) sa piling ng mga batang inabandona sa Asociacion de Damas de Filipinas, at pasayahin ang mga ito. Nakisayaw siya sa kanila at namigay ng mga regalo, pagkain at mga gamit. Mahilig daw siya sa mga bata at gusto niyang maranasan nila kahit paano ang mga naranasan niya. Lumaki daw kasi siya halos sa beach at naging masaya ang kanyang pagkabata dahil maalwan ang kanilang buhay sa Australia noon.
Aalis siyang muli papuntang Las Vegas sa buwang ito, kasama ang kanyang ka-loveteam at girlfriend na si Nadine Lustre para sa kanilang US Tour, kung saan ay isang buwan silang mamalagi roon upang magtanghal sa iba’t ibang lugar sa Amerika. Medyo pumapayat na ang aktor sa dami ng kanyang commitments. Maliban sa pag-ikot nila sa iba’t ibang parte ng mundo, may pelikula rin silang tinapos, ang “This Time” at kasulukuyang ipinapalabas at pinipilahan sa mga sinehan sa Maynila.
Masipag siyang magtrabaho ngayon, dahil kabibili lang niya ng 7– bedroom house sa Loyola Grand Villas sa Quezon City para sa kanyang pamilya. Sa bandang July pa daw nila ito malilipatan dahil pinapaayos pa ang swimming pool at iba pang mga bagay sa mga kuwarto. Ito ay regalo daw niya sa kanyang pamilya, dahil sa ngayon ay maliit ang kanilang tinitirhan at magkasama pa sa isang kuwarto ang kanyang mga kapatid na babae at lalaki.
Noong una raw ay gusto niyang bumili ng mamahaling sports car bilang regalo sa sarili, pero naisip daw niyang magiging “selfish”  siya kung para sa kanya lang, kaya bahay na lang ang kayang pinili. Napunta raw ang lahat ng kanyang kinita para sa bahay, pero masaya siya, kahit sobra ang kanyang pagod, dahil natutulungan niya ang kanyang pamilya.
Babawi raw siya ng pahinga at mamasyal sila ni Nadine sa  Amerika, sa pagitan ng mga shows nila doon.

SHAINA, HANDA NANG MAGKA- LOVE LIFE
Handa na raw magka-love life uli ni Shaina Magdayao, matapos ang ilang taong pag-iwas na makipag-relasyon. Limang taon na ang nakalipas nang magkahiwalay sila ng dating boyfriend niyang si John Lloyd Cruz, na matagal nang nakapag-move on dahil naging girlfriend nito si Angelica Panganiban na akala ng marami ay mauuwi na sa kasalan, pero nagkahiwalay din.
Nang mag-guest kamakailan sa ‘Magandang Buhay” ang magkapatid na Vina Morales at Shaina, sinabi ni Vina na likas na tahimik ang bunso niyang kapatid na si Shaina, at baby ng kanilang pamilya. Pero, hindi raw ito spoiled dahil matured itong mag-isip at maasahan lalo na sa pag-aalaga ng kanyang mga pamangkin dahil mahilig ito sa mga bata. Malaking tulong din daw si Shaina nang magkaroon siya ng problema, at naging single mother sa kanyang anak na si Ceana (anak niya kay Cedric Lee). Pinakiusapan niyang samahan siya sa kanilang bahay upang tulungan siyang makabangong muli.
Ikinuwento din niya na masinop sa bahay si Shaina kaya kayang-kaya na niyang mamuhay ng mag-isa. May nabili na kasing bagong townhouse si Shaina, at anytime ay lilipat na ito. Si Vina ay masaya naman ngayon sa kanyang bagong boyfriend, na tila kasundo naman ng kanyang anak.
Marami raw gustong manligaw kay Shaina noon pa, pero panay ang tanggi nito kapag niyayayang lumabas. Ngayon ay okay na siyang magkaroon ulit ng love life at handa na rin daw makatrabaho sina sina John Lloyd at Angelica lalo na kung maganda ang project.
Sa huling pelikula niyang “My Candidate” na pinagtambalan nila ni Derek Ramsay, hindi raw sadyang nagpag-usapan nila ang ang kanilang mga dating karelasyon. Matagal na naging girlfriend ni Derek si Angelica, bago pumasok si John Lloyd sa buhay nito. Ayon kay Shaina, matagal na raw silang balak ng kanilang producer na si Atty Joji Alonso ng Quantum Films na pagtambalin ni Derek, pero ngayon lang ito natuloy.
Matagal na raw siyang naka-move on. “How can you have a normal and peaceful life kung lingon ka nang lingon sa nangyari sa nakaraan mo? Marami akong natutuhan sa experiences na pinagdaanan ko sa buhay and I’m thankful for all of them because they made me a better person. So nagpapasalamat ako kasi I don’t think I’d be what I am right now if not for them also.”, ang sabi pa ni Shaina.

   

Iba’t ibang kapalaran ng mga celebrities sa halalan

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Sa nairaos na eleksyon sa Pilipinas noong May 9, na naging mabilis ang paglabas ng resulta dahil fully automated na ang bilangan ng mga balota, ilan sa mga taga showbiz ang pinalad na mahalal. Ilan din ang hindi pinalad.
Ang mga nanalo at natalong celebrities:
Grace Poe
President: Talo si Grace Poe, anak nina Fernado Poe, Jr. at Susan Roces
Vice President: Talo ang asawa ni Heart Evangelista na si Chiz Escudero
Senator: Nananalo sina Tito Sotto, Manny Pacquiao, Risa Hontiveros, at ang mga asawa nina Sharon Cuneta at Vilma Santos na sina Kiko Pangilinan, Ralph Recto. Hindi pumasok sa Magic 12 sina Edu Manzano, Isko Moreno, Mark Lapid, Alma Moreno at Rey Langit.
Congressman: Panalo sina Vilma Santos (Batangas), Alfred Vargas (wala siyang kalaban sa distrito niya sa Quezon City), Lucy Torres- Gomez (Leyte), Yul Servo (Manila), Edward Vera Perez Maceda (Manila) Monsour del Rosario (Makati), dating ABS CBN reporter Sol Aragones (Laguna), asawa ni Dina Bonnevie na si DV Savellano (Ilocos Sur). Talo sina Ronnie Ricketts (Muntinlupa) at Imelda Papin (Camarines Sur).
Governor: Talo si ER Ejercito sa Laguna.
Vice Governor: Panalo sina Daniel Fernando (Bulacan), Jolo Revilla (Cavite). Talo sina Philip Salvador (Bulacan), at Angelica Jones (Laguna).
Mayor: Panalo sina Joseph Estrada (Manila), Herbert Bautista (QC), Lani Mercado (Bacoor), Richard Gomez (Ormoc), Cristina Gonzalez- Romualdez (Tacloban), Maita Sanchez (Pagsanjan). Talo sina Daisy Reyes (Pateros) at Macario Asistio, asawa ni Nadia Montenegro (Caloocan).
Vice Mayor: Panalo sina Andrea del Rosario (Calatagan), anak ni Jinggoy Estrada na si Janella Ejercito Estrada (San Juan). Natalo ang anak ni Joey Marquez na si Jeremy Marquez sa Paranaque.
Councilors: Panalo ang anak ni Vic Sotto na si Vico Sotto (Pasig), mga anak ni Tito Sotto na sina Lala Sotto at Gian Sotto (QC), Anjo Yllana (QC), Roselle Nava (QC), Precious Hipolito (QC), Franz Pumaren (QC), Roderick Paulate (QC), Hero Bautista (QC), Vandolph Quizon (Paranaque), Jomari Yllana (Paranaque), Ryan Yllana (Paranaque), Rico J. Puno (Makati),  Jhong Hilario (Makati), Robert Ortega (Manila), Charee Pineda (Valenzuela),
Natalo naman sina Anthony Castelo, Johnny Revilla, Dan Alvaro, Tates Gana (dating partner ni Herbert Bautista, at ina ng mga anak niya), Allan Paule, Hubert Webb, Ericka Villonco, Lance Raymundo, at Inday Garutay.
Board Member: Panalo sina Jestoni Alarcon ( Rizal), Rommel Padilla (Nueva Ecija), Alex Castro (Bulacan), Maybelyn dela Cruz (Pangasinan). Talo sina Teri Onor (Bataan), Azenith Briones (Laguna) at Long Mejia (Bulacan).

Covers the period May 15-31

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UNGGOY. Isinilang noong 1920/32/44/56/68/80/92
Malaking tulong ang ibibigay ng mga kaibigan. Sari-saring bagay ang nakaumang sa trabaho, mag-ingat sa kilos at salita. Iwasan ding pumasok sa mga delikadong bagay dahil mabigat ang kapalit nito. Panghihina ng katawan ang mararanasan. Pag-isipang mabuti ang gagawing desisyon o pagpili. Ipagpaliban muna ito kung kinakailangan, upang lumamig ng kaunti ang sitwasyon. Lucky numbers: 7, 15, 26 at 40.

TANDANG Isinilang noong 1921/33/45/57/69/81/93
Magulo ang isip sa linggong ito, hindi mo alam kung saan at alin ang uunahin mong gawin. May mga bagong relasyong mabubuo, pero hindi ito magtatagal. Mag-ingat sa mga gastusin dahil malaking problema ang haharapin kung maubusan ka ng pera. Malapit ka sa aksidente sa panahong ito na maaring magdulot ng mga sugat. Mag-ingat sa mga galaw mo at itago ang mga bagay na delikado, upang hindi maabot ng mga bata. Lucky numbers: 20, 25, 33 at 45.

ASO. Isinilang noong 1922/34/46/58/70/82/94
Ang determinasyon at sipag ang magtutulak sa iyong umpisahan na ang malaking proyekto. Iwasang magmali ng akala, tiyaking tama ang pagkaintindi mo, upang hindi masaktan o mapahiya. Upang maiwasan ang problema sa pandinig, protektahan ang mga tenga sa labis na ingay. Masaya ang samahan sa mga kaibigan. Umiwas munang sumugal o bumili ng bahay at lupa dahil hindi maswerte ngayon. Lucky numbers: 22, 28, 30 at 35.
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BABOY. Isinilang noong 1923/35/47/59/71/83/95
Maganda ang kalusugan ngayon kung walang mga pamamaga sa katawan. Iwasang masanay sa luho sa materyal na bagay dahil baka makagawa ng mga bagay na pagsisisihan mo. Sa kabila ng hirap na dinaranas ngayon, pag-ibayuhin ang pagtitiyaga dahil walang imposible kapag ito ang pinairal. May mga bagay na mababago sa pribadong buhay. Ang pagiging mailap at subsob sa gawain ang nagiging hadlang sa iyong kaligayahan. Lucky numbers: 2, 9, 18 at 33.

DAGA. Isinilang noong 1924/36/48/60/72/84/96
Mag-ingat sa mga kilos at desisyon na hindi pinag-iisipang mabuti. May magandang transaksyon kang maaayos, at kikita ka ng malaki. Maging handa at samantalahin ang hindi inaasahang okasyon na magaganap sa trabaho. Siguradong magiging masaya at hindi ito malilimutan. Ang pamamasyal at paglalakbay ay magbibigay sa iyo ng panibagong lakas at sigla. Lucky numbers: 16,21,37 at 44.
 39.
BAKA. Isinilang noong 1925/37/49/61/73/85/97
May mga kaaya-ayang bagay na mangyayari sa linggong ito: magandang sorpresa, masayang balita, umpisa ng bagong pagkakaibigan, bagong kaalaman at ideya, at maraming iba pa. Pigilan ang sarili na ipilit ang gusto, lalo na kung salungat ito sa nais ng nakararami. Ingatan ang problema sa ngipin at tenga. Malaki ang tsansang madagdagan ang iyong kita, at unti-unti na ring magbabago ang kalagayan sa pananalapi. Lucky numbers: 3, 29, 31 at 42.

TIGRE Isinilang noong 1926/38/50/62/74/86 at 98
Hindi inaasahan at sobrang hirap sa trabaho ang mararanasan, pero tiyaga lang at unti-unting mababago rin ang sitwasyon. Sensitibo ang mata ngayon, protektahan ito sa mga nakakasilaw na liwanag. Dahil matalas ang pakiramdam mo, hindi magtatagumpay ang masamang balak laban sa iyo. Mahaharap sa mahirap na sitwasyon kung hindi ka magpapaliwanag sa kalmado at maayos at sa paraan. Lucky numbers: 7, 14, 16 at 36.

 KUNEHO Isinilang noong 1927/39/51/63/75/87
Magpapakita ka ng husay at diplomasya kaya makukuha mo ang importanteng trabaho ng walang hirap. Kung kailangan ng pera, huwag mangutang at subukang singilin muna ang mga taong may utang sa iyo. Kung gusto mong mag-iba ng trabaho o direksyon sa buhay upang umasenso, kakayanin mo ito. Ang mga hindi maipaliwanag na sakit na nararamdaman ay maaring nasa isip mo lamang. Lucky numbers: 11, 14, 23 at 45.

 DRAGON Isinilang noong 1928/40/52/64/76/88
Maraming oportunidad ang darating sa iyo sa linggong ito. Madalas kang napapaaway sa mga malapit mong kamag-anak, kaibigan at katrabaho dahil lang sa maliliit na bagay, na hindi naman dapat problemahin. Iwasan ang mga stimulants gaya ng kape, alak at sigarilyo para hindi masyadong nerbiyusin. Sa trabaho, gawin ang trabaho ng walang ingay. Huwag sisihin ang sarili kung nakabili ng mamahaling bagay, lalo na kung hindi naman ito madalas gawin. Lucky numbers: 15,29,33 at 46.

AHAS Isinilang noong 1929/41/53/65/77/89
Isang nakakapagod na linggo ang mararanasan dahil sa hindi inaasahang paglalakbay. Kailangang maging handa sa mabilis na pagbabago sa iyong sitwasyon. Apektado ang relasyon sa malalapit sa iyo dahil sa tensyon na nararanasan mo. Iwasang maging masungit at magselos. Kung mahal mo ang isang tao pero naguguluhan ka, ngayon ay mas makakasigurado ka na sa totoong nararamdaman mo at ng taong ito, kaya makakapagpasiya ka na. Lucky numbers: 19, 26, 30 at 40.

KABAYO. Isinilang noong 1930/42/54/66/78/90
Higit kailan man ay mas gusto mong maging totohanan na ang matagal mo nang pinapangarap, lalo na sa love life. Panatilihing nakaapak ka sa lupa upang maiwasan ang pagkabigo. Magkakaroon ng katuparan ang ilan sa gusto mo dahil sa sipag at tiyaga. Ipasuri ang iyong cholesterol level dahil posibleng mataas ito at naaapektuhan na ang mga ugat. May problema sa pamilya o sa trabaho; maaaring masyado kang nagiging istrikto nang hindi mo namamalayan. Lucky numbers: 7, 24, 32 at 39.

KAMBING. Isinilang noong 1919/31/43/55/67/79 at 91
Maaari kang mapaaway sa mga kaibigan dahil sa pagmamatigas. Tamang panahon para humingi ng dagdag-sahod. Pag-ibayuhin ang pakikipagrelasyon dahil baka magkaroon ng kumplikasyon o mahawa ng sakit. Gusto mong bumukod at mamuhay ng hiwalay sa mga mahal sa buhay, pero hindi mo alam ang sasabihin mo ng hindi sila masasaktan. Anuman ito, kailangang magdesisyon. Lucky number: 5, 16, 22 at 25.

Election jokes

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Despite the heated exchanges of lies and accusations, the recent elections have provided new opportunities for the emergence of new Filipino jokes.
Ano kaya ang lasa?
A sample:
From Alma Moreno: “Whoever wins tomorrow will be declared the winner.”
From Daisy M:
Manny Pacquiao has a promise: “I will author a bill against death penalty. I will call it ‘saved by the Bill’.”From Sandro Marcos: “Also, the total votes for president are not the same total for Vice President. What the hell #Dayaang Matuwid
From Divino Dacayap:  “Gagawa si Pacquiao ng bill: Save by the bill.”
From AJ Wang:
Ngayon ko lang na-realize ang talino pala ng “Robredo”.
Bakit?
Kasi ano ang raw bread?
Dough.
From Dim Poquiz:
Top 4 na babagsak ngayon:
4. Ekonomiya.
3. Crime Rate.
2. Benta ng mga inuman.
4. Ako, kasi wala pa ako naaral after 3 days.
From Jai Cabajar-dashian:
“Uy, bumagsak na yung crime rate sa Pilipinas.”
“Gaga, population ‘yan.”
From Danah Pascual:
#NoToBBM #YesToViber
From farahlord:
“Du30’s speech if DU31:
Hellew Pilipinas! Si Du32.
From Lani_KathNielz:
Ba’t ganon: 12 milion na ang boto kay Duterte, eh 7 million lang lahat sa mundo?

Mapagbigay
Habang nagmamaneho ang bus driver ay may sumakay na lola at umupo sa likod niya.
Maya-maya ay binigyan ng lola ang driver ng mani, na agad naman niyang isinubo.  “Lola bakit namimigay' kayo ng mani?” tanong ng driver.
“Hindi ko kasi manguya. Naubos na kasi ang mga ngipin ko,” sagot ng lola.
“Eh, bakit pa kayo bumibili, kung ipinamimigay lang ninyo?”
“Eh, kasi,” ika ni lola. “Masarap ang chocolate na nakabalot sa mani na iyan.”

Final: Hong Kong votes Duterte-Marcos

Posted on 10 May 2016 No comments
Rodrigo Duterte won the presidential race in Hong Kong, building a commanding lead at the adjournment of the Special Board of Canvassers at the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Town.

The count closed about 3:30 a.m. with Duterte ontop withb30,277 votes. He was followed by Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 7,089.
Trailing behind were Mar Roxas with 4,533 votes, Grace Poe with 2,898 and Jojo Binay with 1,118.

Roy Seneres, who died February 8 but whose name was not removed from the ballots. received 10 votes.

In the vice presidential race, Bongbong Marcos pushed further ahead with 25,432 votes.
Following far behind were Alan Pater Cayetano with 12,496 votes, Leni Robredo with 6,155, Chiz Escudero with 1,382, Antonio Trillanes IV with 287, and Gringo Honasan with 178.
The votes counted came from 46,396 voters who showed up to cast their ballots during the voting from April 9 to May 9, representing a 49 per cent turnout out of the 93,978 registered voters listed in 224 clustered precincts. The precincts totalled 95.

The atmosphere in the main hall of Bayanihan Center, where the counting was done, was largely somber, with the crowd dominated by poll watchers from the Duterte and Migrante camps.
After the adjournment, the SBOC will conven eagain at 2pmon Tuesday to count the votes cast by Filipinos in Taiwan, Macau, Beijng and the rest of China.

This is expected to be finished by late Tuesday, barring delays in the transmission of the results from these areas, said Deputy Consul General Kit de Jesus,chairman of the SBOC.

On this the last day of the month-long political exercise, 839 people voted. 

Four latecomers, who arrived more than 15 minutes after the gates had closed, climbed up the concrete path to enter through the exit, and asked to be allowed to vote.


Showing a Facebook post of the Consulate stating that voting on May 9 was from 8am to 7pm, they were angry that the closing was moved forward to 5pm. They said they just could not leave their employers’ homes to vote so they waited until the last day


It took Consul Charles Macaspac several minutes explaining how the mix-up happened, but still the four were resentful.

Consul General Bernardita Catalla was at Bayanihan, overseeing the processing of arriving voters. Then in the evening she mixed the media and community leaders as she watched the canvassing of the votes in the center’s auditorium.

In this year’s general elections, a better version of the controversial PCOS vote counting machine was used, which improved the election process from the voting to the vote counting.

The system calls for the collation of SD cards in the precincts upstairs, for uploading of data to the Collating and Canvassing System, which will transmit the results to the national canvassing center in Manila.

Voting in Hong Kong finished way past 5pm with the last voter, Rhaezcy Dulnuan, casting her ballot at about 5:25pm. She was with three other voters who entered through the front gate of Bayanihan just before the closing of the election was announced.


Duterte, Marcos maintain lead

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Rodrigo Duterte appears to have cemented his lead in the presidential race in Hong Kong, advancing way ahead of the field, according to votes tallied by the Special Board of Canvassers at the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Town.
As of midnight, Duterte had racked up 27,305 votes. He was followed by Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 6,534.
Trailing behind were Mar Roxas with 4,113 votes, Grace Poe with 2,638 and Jojo Binay with 1,004.
Roy Seneres, who died February 8 but whose name was not removed from the ballots. received nine votes.
In the vice presidential race, Bongbong Marcos pushed further ahead at to 22,766 votes.
Following far behind were Alan Pater Cayetano with 11,490 votes, Leni Robredo with 5,613, Chiz Escudero with 1,265, Antonio Trillanes IV with 265, and Gringo Honasan with 166.
The votes counted so far came from 42,024 voters who showed up from April 9 to May 9, representing an 89 per cent turnout out of the 46,972 registered voters listed in 224 clustered precincts.
So far, 34.4% of the votes in Hong Kong had been canvassed.
The atmosphere in the main hall of Bayanihan Center, where the counting is being done, has been somber, with the crowd dominated by poll watchers from the Duterte and Migrante camps.
At the rate the canvassing has been progressing, the votes in Hong Kong would have been counted by early Tuesday.
After this, the SBOC will then count the votes cast by Filipinos in Taiwan, Macau, Beijng and the rest of China.
This is expected to be finished by mid-Tuesday.
Consul General Bernardita Catalla was seen until 11:30pm Monday, overseeing the collation of SD cards in the precincts upstairs, for uploading of data to the Collating and Canvassing System, which will transmit the results to the national canvassing center in Manila.



Hong Kong starts tallying poll results; Duterte jumps to lead

Posted on 09 May 2016 No comments
The Special Board of Canvassers tallies votes from HK,Macau,Taiwan and Beijing.
Rodrigo Duterte jumped into an early lead in Hong Kong as officals started tallying the votes in the month-long presidential elections that began on April 9.
With four precincts reported as of 8pm tonight, comprising 3,795 votes, Duterte got 2,587 votes based on early results from the Consolidation and Canvassing System.
The remainder was shared by the other candidates, namely, Miriam Santiago 447, Mar Roxas 353, Grace Poe 260 and Jejomar Binay 80.
Poll watchers are gearing up for a long night at the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Town, with a toal of 95 Sd cards to be tallied just for Hong Kong alone. Also to be canvassed will be the election results of Macau, Taiwan and the rest of China.
Philippine officials in Beijing, Macau and Taiwan joined the special board of canvassers (SBOC) in Hong Kong headed by Deputy Consul General Christian de Jesus.
The process began with turning on the computer to be used in the tallying at about 6:30 pm. De Jesus showed that all the candidates had zero votes. 
Vice Consul Alex Vallespin said the Consul General in Macau, Lilibeth Deapera, as well as a representative of the Embassy in Beijing and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan will be in Hong Kong to joint the count. 
The first results on Hong Kong came in at 6:55 pm in the form of an SD card from SBEI (Special Board of Election Inspectors) 3, the first of 95 such cards generated in Hong Kong.

DAY 30: HK SET FOR ANOTHER RECORD TURNOUT

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The last Sunday of voting went on smoothly
Hong Kong is on track to lead all overseas posts in recording the highest turnout in the ongoing overseas voting for the 2016 Philippine presidential elections.
At the close of the last Sunday of the automatedvoting yesterday, May 8, the total number of voters who had cast their ballots in the month-long election had risen to 45,561, for a turnout of about 49%. The day's tally was 5,474 voters.
The overall figure is close to the 50% turnout forecast by the Consulate, with one more day to go before the polls close at 5pm today.
Despite the comparably high turnout, Consulate officials were still slightly disappointed because a big number of would-be voters had to be turned away because they were among those who were deactivated for failing to vote in the past two elections.
Most of them belong to the Iglesia Ni Cristo church, most of whom started voting only in the last four days of the election, after receiving word from their leaders on who to vote for.
The Comelec secretariat was kept busy by complaints
from voters who were not in the voters list 
According to a Consulate staff, the INC members who were taken off the official list were told when they tried to register in July last year that they were still "active" voters. But about a month later, many were taken off the list after the Commission on Elections decided to purge it of those who did not vote in the 2010 and 2013 elections.
Some of those who tried to vote yesterday said they were not even aware that a mid-term overseas voting was held three years ago.
About two dozen others were also made to wait after their names were not found in the Comelec list, despite registering last year. Those who remembered to bring their registration slip were allowed to vote, after Comelec gave them the green light through text messaging with the Consulate secretariat.
Outside Bayanihan Centre where the overseas voting has been held since 2004, supporters of the major political parties made a final push for their candidates, giving away flyers, ballers and other campaign paraphernalia.
But the campaigners were noticeably less boisterous than the previous Sunday, when police had to be called in after rowdy supporters of presidential bet Rodrigo Duterte met resistance from the other groups.
Despite the high turnout expected this year, the total number would still be way lower than the record figure of 66,500 voters recorded in the first overseas voting in 2004, when manual voting was still in force. The figure represented 75% of the 89,000 registered voters that year.

DAY 27: TURNOUT HITS 40% AS INC MEMBERS CAST VOTES

Posted on 06 May 2016 No comments
Voter numbers surged dramatically today, May 5, as members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo began casting their ballots in the 2016 Philippine general elections, raising hopes the Consulate will hit its 50% turnout target.
At the close of today’s polling at the Bayanihan Centre, 829 votes had been tallied, a record high for a weekday, which drove up the total votes to 37,399.
The total represented a 40.5% turnout of the more than 93,000 registered Filipino voters in Hong Kong.
An otherwise smooth going in the precincts was marred by another complaint from a voter about an alleged receipt misprint.
Consul Charles Macaspac
“The voter said she marked Bongbong (Ferdinand Marcos Jr) for vice president but it was the name of Gregorio Honasan that appeared on the printed receipt,” said Consul Charles Macaspac, who was in charge of the day’s voting.
Macaspac said the woman filed an affidavit, the sixth to do so out of about 20 who made a similar complaint.
Election officials in Hong Kong have been urging voters to fill up a pro forma affidavit if they believe they have been cheated out of their votes so that the Commission on Elections could investigate their complaints.
In Manila yesterday, Comelec Commissioner Robert Lim said in a TV interview that complaints about receipts not reflecting the voter’s choices would not be investigated on site unless there were a significant number of people making the same allegation. He also said the receipts could be used by a losing candidate in an electoral protest.
Today, eight people were not allowed to vote because their registration had been deactivated for failing to vote in the past two electionsm in 2010 and 2013.
Eight other people whose names were missing from the certified list of voters were cleared to vote by the Comelec.
In an unusual case, the election secretariat received an sms from its Macau counterpart verifying the eligibility of a certain Veronica G. Lim, who was trying to vote there.
She was indeed registered in Hong Kong but had moved to Macau, so she was allowed to vote there but her registration in Hong Kong was cancelled.
This was exactly the opposite of what happened on day 1 of the elections, when a woman claiming to be a registered voter in Macau asked to vote in Hong Kong. She was turned down then because the Comelec had not yet issued a policy allowing overseas voters who have migrated to another place to cast their ballot in their new location. – Vir B. Lumicao



DAY 26: TOP OFFICIALS IN CHINA, TAIWAN AND MACAU TO CANVASS VOTES IN HK

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Sunday voting in Bayanihan 
Top Philippine officials in Beijing, Macau and Taiwan will come to Hong Kong on May 9 to join their counterparts here for the canvassing of votes in the Philippine presidential and national elections.
According to Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, the Consul General in Macau, Lilibeth Deapera, as well as a representative of the Embassy in Beijing, will sit with the special board of canvassers (SBOC) headed by Deputy Consul General Christian de Jesus.
A representative from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan will also come with the election results from the island for canvassing in Hong Kong.
Vallespin explained that the special board of election inspectors in the cities in Greater China will be asked to print out results of the balloting, which their representatives will bring to Hong Kong for canvassing.
He said the printed election results would be counted manually before the canvassing.
The news came as 546 more voters cast their ballots on May 6, the 26th day of overseas voting. That brought the total tally to 36,570, or about 39% of the total registered voters of more than 93,000
Consulate officials are still hoping their target of a 50% turnout would be achieved by the last day of voting on May 9. – Vir B. Lumicao


DAY 25: HK TO ALSO CANVASS VOTES FROM CHINA, MACAU AND TAIWAN

Posted on 04 May 2016 No comments
For the first time, Hong Kong canvassers will tally the election results from major cities in mainland China where there are Filipino voters, as well as the results from Macau.
This was revealed yesterday, May 3, by Vice Consul Vallespin, who also said he expects the results from the month-long overseas voting in Hong Kong to be known on May 10. or a day after the election ends.
A voter checking her name against Comelec's list
The canvassing of ballots from the other places will be done after the Hong Kong votes are tallied.
Vallespin, who is overseeing the voting for the Commission on Elections, says he is planning to ask Deputy Consul General Christian de Jesus to call for a meeting with media party representatives on the smooth canvassing of votes.
De Jesus is the chairman of the Special Board of Canvassers.
Vallespin one of the issues to be discussed would be how many watchers would be allowed to witness the canvassing at Bayanihan Centre, where the polling is also being held.
Meanwhile, with just five days to go before the voting ends simultaneously with the election in the Philippines, the daily tally dipped to just 369. It was one of the lowest daily results, but it still helped lift the total tally after 25 days to 36,024, or a turnout of 38.7%.
Hong Kong leads all overseas posts in the total turnout, but Consulate officials are hoping that their minimum target of 50% turnout could still be achieved when the polls close on May 9.
In Manila, the Philippine Stock Exchange fell for the fifth straight day. Analysts say investors are wary of a possible win by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who has failed to come up with a firm economic blueprint for the country.
The controversial mayor has also openly declared support for leftist groups, and at various times threatened to cut ties with long-time allies the United States and Australia.
The peso has also lost ground against the US dollar, dipping to around P47 to the greenback for the past two days. - Vir B. Lumicao


 




DAY 24: CONGEN HAPPY WITH POLL CONDUCT DESPITE LOWER-THAN-EXPECTED TURNOUT

Posted on 03 May 2016 No comments
Consul General Bernardita Catalla
A total of 3,627 voted on May 2 in the 2016 Philippine general elections being held at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town, as Filipinos took advantage of the holiday to cast their ballots.
The tally for 24 days of the month-long overseas voting in Hong Kong rose to 35,655, translating to a turnout of 38.3%. The total number of registered voters here is more than 93,000.
With just a full week of voting left, Consulate officials look hard-pressed to reach their target of a 50% turnout for this year’s elections but do not seem overly concerned.
Consul General Bernardita Catalla said she was satisfied with conduct of the elections, citing the nearly 9,000 people who voted in the past two days alone.
Catalla said election officials were even helping those who were not on the voters list so that they could vote. She cited one voter who waited for a long time but was not on the Hong Kong list of active voters.
“We found out she was active in Singapore,” so the election secretariat contacted the Commission on Elections in Manila and the woman was allowed to vote, Catalla said.
She said a new policy of the Comelec was to allow an active voter in an overseas location who has moved to another place abroad to vote there.
Catalla kept up the call for more Filipinos to vote, and vote wisely.
Congen Catalla assists a voter
“We’ve been urging people to come out and vote because this is the life of our nation, it is part of decision-making. Ngayon, kung yung mga pinili natin ay hindi karapat-dapat, aisisihin tayo ng mga generations after us, kung maayos, pasasalamatan tayo,” Catalla said.
Would-be voters came in small groups just minutes before the closing of the polls, but were allowed to vote because they were already in the Bayanihan grounds when the cut-off came.
Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, who oversees the election, said there were two reports of ballot receipt misprints on May 2, but in both cases, the voters refused to file a formal complaint.


In the first incident in Room 502, a woman complained to the special board of election inspectors that the vote counting machine did not print out the names of her choices for president and vice president.
However, she later admitted that she failed to properly shade the circles corresponding to her candidates. She declined to file an affidavit about the problem.
The second incident, at around mid-afternoon, involved a woman who made a scene in room 501 because her voting receipt allegedly bore the name of Alma Moreno instead of her chosen senator.
Vallespin suggested that she file an affidavit     but the woman              refused, saying that her president and vice president came out right anyway. She also said the “chair” was waiting to broadcast it on social media.
About 40 other would be voters were unable to cast their ballots as their registration had been deactivated over their failure to vote in at least two consecutive elections.
However, about 70 others whose names were not in the list but had registered last year were allowed to vote. – Vir B. Lumicao





DAY 23: COPS CALLED AS CAMPAIGNERS GET ROWDY

Posted on 02 May 2016 No comments
Vice Consul Alex Vallespin and police officers ask the crowd to keep within bounds


For the first time since the election started in Hong Kong, police were called on Sunday, May 1, due to a commotion caused by rowdy campaigners  at the bus terminal in front of the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Town, where the voting is being held.

Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, officer in charge of overseas voting, and about six police officers rushed to the terminal to ask the campaigners to tone down.

“It turned out that somebody made a 999 call because one group was becoming rowdy,” said Vallespin, who spoke to leaders of the various campaign groups at the bus terminal.

During the discussion, one woman campaigner for Vice President Jejomar Binay said supporters of Rodrigo Duterte shouted their candidate’s name and surged towards voters disgorged by each arriving bus with their campaign tarpaulin.

In one instance, when supporters of the Mar Roxas-Leni Robredo tandem stepped forward and displayed their tarpaulin before a TV crew, the Duterte crowd swarmed in front of them, blocking them off with their own tarp.

“That’s uncalled for, that’s plain bullying,” said the Binay supporter.

Two voting-related incidents were also reported.


One voter complained that she picked Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos as her vice president in her ballot, but got a ballot receipt from the vote counting machine that bore the name of Gregorio Honasan.

“I asked the voter if she was sure about what she’s saying and she said ‘yes,’ because she was even campaigning for Bongbong,” Jun Carlos, a Bongbong campaign leader, told The SUN.

But he cast doubt on claims by some quarters that there was cheating in the overseas voting in Hong Kong just because of accusations by two out of over 32,000 voters who have voted so far.

In the other case, a woman filed an affidavit of complaint about her failing to vote. 

She said that when she went to a mobile registration in Discovery Bay on Sept 5, she was told she did not have to register as she was still an active voter. On Sunday, she was told she had been deactivated.

With just eight days to go in the overseas voting for the 2016 Philippine general elections at Bayanihan Center, officials of the Consulate are still positive that turnout will hit 50%.

Voters continued to stream into the polling center at Bayanihan after the 5pm closing time, but election officials allowed them to cast their ballots.

The day ended with 5,327 voters casting their ballots, the second-lowest turnout for a Sunday in the month-long, five-Sunday elections. The votes lifted the total tally to 32,028, indicating a 34.4% turnout after 23 days of voting.

Consul General Bernie Catalla assists voter who discovered 
she had been deactivated by the Comelec
Vice Consul Vallespin said it was still possible to hit the Consulate’s 50% turnout target on May 2, if more Hong Kong-based Filipinos take the day off and vote.

About 40 people were unable to vote after finding themselves having been deactivated by the Commission on elections. Another 115 had registered but their names were missing on the voters' list and waited for the election secretariat to get them Comelec clearance to vote.

Election officials said earlier in the exercise that they were expecting the Sunday voter crowd to reach 7,000, but that did not materialize despite  the fine weather.

Another vote counting device stopped working in Room 604, but election staff said it worked again after they restarted the machine.

Meanwhile, Ryan Salac, the last voter on Saturday whose ballot was rejected by the counting machine, was given a new ballot to fill out after it was found the problem on Apr 30 was his defective ballot, not the machine.

“We waited for two voters to feed their ballots into the vote counting machine and when we saw they were successful, we called up (Salac) and gave him a new ballot,” said Rhea Balicas, SSS representative who sat as a member of the special board of election inspectors in Room 601.

Two more of the original 12 voters whose ballots were likewise rejected by a broken  machine on April 24 came to cast new ballots, leaving only five of the group still needing to vote anew.  Five of the dozen returned to vote on Apr 30. -- By Vir B. Lumicao

DAY 22: VOTE MISPRINTS AND VCM BREAKDOWN REPORTED

Posted on 01 May 2016 2 comments
Two reported cases of the wrong names appearing in the ballot receipt and one of vote counting machine malfunction marred an otherwise quiet Saturday on Apr 30 at the  Bayanihan Centre.
At the end of the day, a total of 1,143 people cast their votes for the Philippine general election, slightly more than for those of the first two Saturdays of the election.
The total tally for the month-long overseas voting is now 26,701, or 28.8% of the more than 93,000 registered voters.
The first incident happened in room 402 at about 10:30am when a female voter complained that she marked opposition candidate Rodrigo Duterte on her ballot but saw instead the name of rival candidate Mar Roxas on the receipt.
Ryan Salac's ballot was not read by the VCM
In a similar case, a woman who cast her vote at around 3pm in Room 500 claimed she voted for presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago but the receipt bore the name of deceased aspirant Roy Señeres.
Both women called the attention of the special board of election inspectors and filed formal complaints using pro forma affidavit forms prepared by election officials.
“You fill up a complaint form so we could forward it to the Comelec (Commission on Elections),” Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, who is overseeing the balloting in Hong Kong, told the woman in the first incident.
“But they’re telling us that of the more than 26,000 who have voted in Hong Kong, you’re just one of the 13 who complained, out of whom only two formally filed their complaint to the Comelec,” Vallespin said.
The two cases today brought the number of complaints to 15, with four of them formalized by the aggrieved voters.
Vallespin remained puzzled about how the reported quirks happened. He said that as of Apr 29, the election secretariat at Bayanihan had documented and elevated to the Comelec complaints about alleged receipt misprints by the vote counting machines.
The VCMs issue receipts showing the names of candidates the voters marked on their ballots. The voters are asked to check the receipts before putting these in a drop box.
In yet another incident, a voting machine in Room 601 refused to scan the ballot of the last voter of the day, Ryan Salac, who cast his vote at around 5:10pm. 
After consulting Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, the special board of election inspectors (SBEI) in that room sealed the ballot of Salac, had him sign the envelope and told him to return tomorrow morning to try to re-feed his ballot into the machine.
Meanwhile, four of the 12 voters whose ballots were declared spoiled when a vote counting machine broke down in Room 502 the previous Saturday, returned to cast their votes again today, Vallespin said.
The other eight had already been notified to come and vote again tomorrow, he said. – Vir B. Lumicao




DAY 21: GO OUT AND VOTE, SAYS PCG

Posted on 30 April 2016 No comments
Another slow day at Bayanihan
Consulate officials are calling on all registered Filipino voters who have not yet cast their ballots to do so as soon as possible to avoid the last-minute crush.
The call came as the total tally for the month-long overseas voting for the 2016 Philippine presidential election inched up to 25,558 or about 28% of the total registered voters of more than 93,000.
Yesterday, 428 voters showed up at Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town to cast their ballots.
With just 10 days left before the balloting ends on May 9, Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, who is overseeing the election, fears the target of at least a 50% turnout may not be met.
Some of those whose names were not in the Comelec list
"We should have a tally of around 7,000 on each of the two Sundays left to hit out target," he said.
The highest voter tally in a single day was registered on the second Sunday of voting on May 17, when 6,367 cast their ballots.
The Consulate is hoping the total tally by the end of the voting period will hit at least 50,000.
Also yesterday, the overseas voting secretariat received more complaints from people whose names did not show up in the official list furnished by the Commission on Elections.A total of 205 people have reported encountering this problem since voting started on April 9.
Consulate staff said that about half of them were eventually given permission to vote after being cleared by the Commission on Elections in Manila.
Among those cleared were voters whose names were found in the unlikeliest place. One reportedly had his name registered in Mexico, while another found his in the seafarers' list.
Both voters said they had exactly the same problem when they voted in 2013, and were surprised that the error had not been rectified.

DAY 20: 2 counting devices arrive as voter turnout seen to spike

Posted on 29 April 2016 No comments
This vote counting machine, one of
two shipped by Comelec to Hong Kong
and delivered on Apr 28 to the
Bayanihan, will act as a reserve just in
case another one breaks down. Election officials
are also planning to use it to conduct the election for Filipino
 seafarers on board vessels calling Hong Kong.
Two new vote counting machines arrived at the Bayanihan Center today, Apr 28, restoring the full complement of 10 VCMs that will handle the expected heavy turnout of voters on the last 11 days of the 2016 Philippine general elections.

The machines were delivered in the morning before the precincts opened, giving the election staff time to install in Room 501, where the previous VCM broke down on Apr 23, leaving only nine in operation.

“All 10 precincts now have VCMs, so, voting should hopefully be smooth on the remaining days of the elections,” said Vice Consul Fatima Quintin, the officer-of-the-day at the polling center.

One VCM-related problem was reported today, with a female voter politely calling the attention of the special board of election inspectors in one precinct to some missing names from the creased printout of her ballot receipt.

The voter did not make a fuss and, instead, offered to write down her statement about the glitch on a pro forma complaint sheet that the election board made available at the voting precincts since Monday.

“The voter was very civil; she told us she would write down her complaint instead of seeking a media interview to publicize what happened,” Quintin said.

She said the woman even promised to tell her friends and other voters that the proper thing to do if they encounter similar problems at the polls is to make a formal complaint.

That was the second formal complaint against an alleged malfunction of the vote counting machines filed by a voter since the complaint form was introduced.

Quintin said with each of the 10 voting precincts now having its vote counting machine, , election officials could pursue plans to visit ships on Hong Kong port calls and let their Filipino crew cast their votes aboard the vessels.

“With the spare VCM, we should now be able to conduct voting aboard ships during the week once we get a firm schedule from our shipping industry contacts,” said Quintin.

Latecomers try to beat the 5pm closing of the
polling precincts on Apr 28.
The plan was mentioned last week by election officials as a novelty to capture some of 49,000 registered voters among the nearly half-million Filipino seafarers deployed on ocean-going vessels.

The voter turnout today improved to 502, increasing the total tally for the first 20 days of the overseas voting in Hong Kong to 25,130, or 27% of the 93,000 registered voters from the estimated 203,000 Filipinos in the city.

With only 11 days remaining in the 31-day balloting that will culminate on May 9, election officials expect the turnout to reach 45-50% given the propensity of some people to wait until the final day to cast their votes.

Only about five people failed to vote today because they had either been deactivated for not voting in the two previous national elections, or their names were missing from the voters list even though they registered at the consulate last year .






Migrants say draft code for job agencies lacks teeth

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Headquarters of Hong Kong Labour Department.







By Daisy CL Mandap

Too late, too little, is how a large support group for migrants has branded the proposed code of practice for employment agencies released on Apr 17 by Hong Kong’s Labour Department for public consultation.
The draft code, which will be open to comments and suggestions from interested parties until June 17, was issued after more than two years of public hearings on issues related to the recruitment of foreign domestic helpers to Hong Kong.
The 100-page document provides strict guidelines for employment agencies, but stops short of imposing penalties or sanctions on violators.
This, according to Eman Villanueva of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, is what makes the code far from satisfactory.
“Very disappointed kami, kasi after so many consultations, ito lang ang resulta,” he said.
“It remains to be seen kung may idudulot itong pagbabago, but offhand there is nothing much that the code of practice can do because it is not mandatory”.
As it is now, the code only provides that the Commissioner for Labour could revoke an agency’s license for repeated violations.
However, in a background brief issued to launch the code, the Legislative Council’s manpower power did not rule out taking further steps to tighten the regulation.
“In light of the implementation of CoP (code of practice), the Administration would review the need for making compliance with CoP a statutory requirement and introducing other regulatory measures,” said the brief.
Such regulations could include introducing legislative amendments, like raising the maximum penalty for the more serious forms of violations.
The code was the result of a series of hearings conducted by Legco’s manpower panel starting in early 2014 on the need to protect migrant workers rights, and tighten control over employment agencies.
Dozens of non-government organizations were asked to present submissions, while legislators grilled government officials on some of the issues raised during the hearings.
Most of the groups’ submissions focused on the high placement fees collected from the migrant workers, and the pressure exerted on them by their recruiters to pay up, either directly while still in their home countries, or by taking out loans upon arrival in Hong Kong.
The result was the draft code which defines the roles and obligations of the agencies in their dealings with job seekers or workers and employers alike.
The document also provides for the adoption of best practices for agencies, like prohibiting them from getting their recruits to take out loans to pay for fees, or from withholding the worker’s passport.
A key feature is the requirement for agencies to draft a service agreement separately with the employer and the worker, setting out clearly the terms of their engagement, including fees. While the code is silent on how much can be collected from the employer, it is clear in saying that only 10% of the worker’s first monthly salary may be charged to the worker.

Mother of dumped baby charged with infanticide

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By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina maid who dumped her newborn baby in a mall toilet appeared in Tsuen Wan court on Apr 14, charged with infanticide.
The 37-year-old woman was arrested after she went to the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section to seek help to surrender.
“She came to me and I called the police to inform them that I was going to accompany her to the station to surrender,” said Hermogenes Cayabyab Jr.
The police detained the suspect for further questioning.
PathFinders, a Hong Kong charity aiding and protecting migrant women and their children, offered to assist the woman and urged pregnant domestic workers to seek help, no matter how difficult or embarrassing it may be.
The NGO’s deputy chief executive Luna Chan said: “We can provide counselling and access to justice services for the woman if she is in need.” She requested The SUN to relay the message.
Local newspapers citing investigators reported that the woman confessed to giving birth to a stillborn and dumping it in the toilet.
The baby was found by a clerk in Chan Kee Plaza in Sham Tseng at about 7:45 pm on Apr 4 after she looked for the source of a foul smell in the toilet. The infant was believed to have been dead for two days. Its placenta and umbilical cord were still intact.
Cayabyab, who interviewed the woman identified as Aileen P., said the baby’s father is an African.
He said the employer was supportive when she learned of the maid’s predicament but dismissed her upon hearing of her arrest. The Filipina was less than a year into her second contract with the employer, who lived in Tsuen Wan.
PathFinders’ case managers and social workers help guide and counsel all women regardless of visa status in a non-judgmental manner, PathFinders said. It has assisted more than 3,000 women, babies and children in this situation over the last eight years.
“The issues affecting Hong Kong’s pregnant foreign domestic workers and their babies who are born here can be extremely complex and difficult to unravel,” Kay McArdle, CEO of PathFinders, said.
She urged any worker who suspects she may be pregnant to seek advice early on.
“Do not delay. From a medical perspective, delayed intervention presents risks and complications for all concerned. You are not alone. We urge you to call or whatsapp to PathFinders’ hotline on 5190 4886,” she said.

2 Pinoy transgenders held on sex charges

Posted on No comments
By Vir B. Lumicao

Two Filipino transgenders separately pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, Apr 26, to charges of soliciting for an immoral purpose and for breaching their condition of stay.
The arrests came as an officer as the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section noted that many Filipino transgenders were coming to Hong Kong as tourists and end up working illegally in Wanchai. He said they were possibly being brought to Hong Kong by pimps or handlers who profit from the illegal act.
The two tourists, Mark Anthony Reyes and Junisan Catarungan, who were in police custody, appeared briefly before Magistrate Bina Chainrai at Eastern Court.
No details about their cases and their arrests were read in court, except that they were both arrested in Wanchai last weekend.
Chainrai set the hearing of Catarungan’s case for May 11, and Reyes’ for May 12,
They were both remanded in custody and no bail application was made on their behalf.
A case officer of the NGO Midnight Blue, whose advocacy was the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, accompanied relatives and friends of the two defendants to the court.
The officer, Kin, briefed the group about the procedures the two defendants would go through in court.
In a brief chat with The SUN, Kin said LGBTs were treated better now than last year, after a Filipino transgender sought court protection against the alleged inappropriate treatment “she” received from correctional staff.
Kin said Midnight Blue had been receiving positive feedbacks from LGBT detainees about their improved conditions in the detention center.
This was confirmed by Vice Consul Fatima Quintin, who said all Filipino transgenders are now held in Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre, originally a facility for prisoners who require psychiatric observation, treatment, assessment or special psychological care.
Quintin said LGBTs who have undergone a complete sex change are now being attended to by female officers especially during body searches.
Their special needs, such as hormone injections to help make the change successful, are being addressed at a hospital within Siu Lam.
Kin said Midnight Blue knows of only two Filipino transgenders among the LGBTs from various nationalities who are in the detention center. However, other sources said nine Filipino transgenders are currently being held in Hong Kong jails.

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