THE synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls set in October 25 might not use the automation technology in the local and national elections, the poll body said Wednesday.

“There is no transmission needed in the barangay level, right there in the precinct, you can proclaim whereas in the national and local elections, it would still go through the ladderized canvassing,” said poll Commissioner Rene Sarmiento.

But Sarmiento recommended automating the elections to the election results in a speedy manner.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo meanwhile said that the deployment of counting machines in the barangay level will be too costly.

“There are too many places and there are so many involved if we will rent machines,” Melo said. Read rest of story

MANILA — Vice President-elect Jejomar Binay is not threatened by Senator Mar Roxas’s plan to file a protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

Binay said he welcomes any legal move contesting the results of the vice presidential race in the May 10 elections. Read rest of story

MANILA — President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Vice President-elect Jejomar Binay were finally proclaimed winners in the May 10 elections.

The proclamation started around 2 p.m. Wednesday and was witnessed by families and friends of Aquino and Binay, as well as by lawmakers, celebrities, and other personalities. Read rest of story

MANILA — President-apparent Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his vice president will have to wait until Wednesday for their proclamation after Congress deferred anew the canvassing of votes from Lanao del Sur.

Congress, who sits as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), earlier set the proclamation of the winning president and vice president on Tuesday. Read rest of story

CAGAYAN DE ORO — The “unauthorized” reconfiguration of Compact Flash (CF) cards at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Northern Mindanao has spawned a new twist to the election controversy in Cagayan de Oro.

Lawyers of a defeated mayoralty camp claimed they have already pieced together “the jigsaw puzzle” behind the dumped poll paraphernalia. Read rest of story

ANGELES CITY — A defeated mayoralty candidate filed an election protest, saying massive fraud and vote buying happened in 185 clustered precincts in this city during the May polls.

In a protest case filed through his counsel Sixto Brillantes on May 24, Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno said he is “protesting and impugning the counted and/or canvassed results in all of the 185 clustered precincts in Angeles City” as the election “was attended and marred by rampant vote buying perpetrated with impunity by the protestee (Mayor- elect Edgardo “Edpam” Pamintuan) with the assistance of his followers and cohorts.” Read rest of story

MANILA — A poll watchdog disclosed that at least 57 provinces, including cities in the National Capital Region (NCR), encountered problems on canvass certificates with final testing and sealing (FTS) returns.

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) said the confusion can be attributed to Smartmatic’s erroneous counting system during the May 10 elections. Read rest of story

MANILA — Following many delays in the canvassing process, Malacañang is looking forward to a “delay-free” proclamation of the winners in the presidential and vice presidential race this coming week.

Deputy presidential spokesman Rogelio Peyuan said there should be no more distraction as they have to prepare for Independence Day on June 12 and the presidential inauguration on June 30. Read rest of story

BACOLOD CITY — Outgoing Bacolod City lone district Representative Monico Puentevella has filed a protest before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila against his rival, reelected mayor Evelio Leonardia.

Puentevella wants the Comelec to declare him winner for the hotly contested mayoralty post in the last May 10 elections in Bacolod City. Read rest of story

MANILA — The camp of President-apparent Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III urged Congress Friday to proclaim early the winning president, with the Liberal Party standard bearer’s lead of 5.5 million votes already “insurmountable.”

As of the latest tally, Aquino is leading the presidential race with 14,641,803 votes against his closest rival, former President Joseph Estrada’s 9,125,832. Read rest of story