The Comelec: Still no transparency? Wow!!!

 That President Aquino revealed in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) the new name for Reproductive Health (RH) — Planned Parenthood (PP) bill — and without covering anymore its real agenda that this is a population control measure, he has clearly drawn the lines of battle against the Catholic Church, the main defender of the unborn.

At this point, we have already heard the howl of many pro-life Bishops openly saying that P-Noy’s SONA was an open declaration of war between his administration and the Catholic Church. But I would rather wait until the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issues an official statement as to the true sentiments of the Catholic Church before we make further comments on this.

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I just got an emailed statement from the Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) calling the statement of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes as “Irresponsible” if Congress does not grant the P17-billion allocation that he was asking for the 2013 elections. That Brillantes even hinted that if the money is not given, there could be no election in the year 2013, is truly an irresponsible statement.

It is a fact that Congress appropriated some P11.2 billion to the Comelec, where P7.2 billion was paid to Smartmatic in purchasing those confounded Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines. But the Comelec reported that this fund was already used up without giving any explanations. This is what we are getting from a Comelec that is as transparent as mud!

I have already dared the Comelec officials to show their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and we got nothing in return. Now they are asking for more money without explaining why they are experiencing a shortfall? Once again, Prof. Nelson J. Celis, convenor of AES Watch has asked the Comelec to disclose to the public its full report on the expenses of the 2010 automated elections… and he hit a blank wall. Is this the kind of silence that the Mafia uses… the Code of Omerta?

As Prof. Celis pointed out, “Accountability demands that the poll body must disclose all expenditures considering that the Commission on Audit (COA) itself had found some “questionable” expenses with reports of projects not being subjected to bidding in 2010.” This is a damning statement and it just makes me wonder why the Office of the Ombudsman cannot investigate this potential mess? Hey, we’re not talking only about Chairman Brillantes, but also former Chairman Melo.

The latest we heard was that there were some 10,000 defective PCOS machines… and the Comelec does not give you any details on these defects? Why are these defects secret? Could it be that they could not insert their “cheating virus” in those machines? We are not asking much from the Comelec. But if this is the constitutional body tasked to give the Filipino people honest and credible elections, their not being transparent reveals a lot. We should ask the Comelec their SALNs and to explain where the money was spent before Congress gives them more money.

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I just came from Bohol for a mid-week trip and as luck would have it, my dear friend and fellow STAR columnist Johnny Litton was at the soon-to-open Bellevue Resort in Panglao, Bohol for a pre-opening familiarization tour. Since I brought my TV crew from SkyCable and MyTV along, I took the opportunity to tape an interview with Sir Johnny… and I literally caught him with his pants down… as it was his only TV interview where he didn’t wear a suit!

Call it a fruitful day as I also interviewed the Bellevue’s top management, Mr. Patrick Chan, its managing director together with general manager Franz Eichenauer. Later in the evening, we were on the same table with Gov. Edgar Chatto and Mr. Johnny Chan, chairman of the Board of Bellevue Hotel and the Bohol Governor agreed to also appear as guest on my talk show. Call that a feat… three TV interviews on the same day with the people in power in Bohol. It was an occasion for me to thank the Bohol Governor for cementing the road leading to the Segura Farms that my mother’s family operate. I learned from him that this route was actually a shortcut from Tubigon to Tagbilaran and is fast becoming a tourist destination in Bohol.

We also went to the Wildlife and Botanical Garden owned by Mr. Philippe and Mrs. Patricia Moussempes. This place is a must see for domestic and foreign tourists. Call it a cross between a zoo and a museum. The place is huge and it has a bird sanctuary and many exotic, but indigenous animals. Yes, it even has a lot of Bali art, including a reclining Buddha and European art that we’ve never even seen in Cebu. Yes, you would think that these paintings came from the Louvre in Paris! Indeed as we already wrote a couple of weeks ago, it really is more fun in Bohol!

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