Who owns Smartmatic-TIM? (tags)
With barely two weeks left before the May 10 elections, the question, “Who owns Smartmatic-TIM?” keeps popping up in a lot of people’s minds. Suddenly, the prospect of an “electronic Garci” cheating operation is creating apprehension that the country is on the brink of another people power or martial law… or, God forbid, civil war! A few days ago, I got a call from a fellow Filipino-American journalist who said that a powerful man has the “source code” of the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines that will be used for the first time in May 10 elections. I followed the trail of the information and talked to a Filipino international lawyer who has done some research on the question of the “ownership” of Smartmatic-TIM. The following is his response:
Pesante-USA Condems Killing of Youth leader in Cagayan (tags)
Cagayan, the northernmost province of Luzon has become a valley of death for activists as a 19-year-old youth leader became the third militant in a month to be killed in the province. Sangguniang Kabataan chair Nelson Asocena, a member of the youth group Anakbayan and the peasant group Kagimungan, was shot dead in an attack allegedly by six men in military uniform on Dec. 13 in Rizal, Cagayan. Pesante-USA vehemntly condemn the fascist terror Kiling. Asocena was the third militant leader to be killed in Cagayan within a month and the 802nd in the Philippines since 2001, based on records of the human rights group Karapatan. More than 800 activist, leaders, and ordinary members of people's organizations and their familes had been killed since 2001 when Arroyo assumed presidency in the Philippines.