Ghosts of the 2010 PCOS have returned in 2013

After the 2010 elections, we sounded the alarm that the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines were obviously misused and did not really give this country clean, honest and credible elections. The fact alone that there are still unanswered questions about the vice-presidential race speaks volumes about the PCOS machines. The recent victim is the removal of Cavite Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi and the installation of Mayor Homer Saquilayan as the real winner of that 2010 race. Simple logic dictates that if the PCOS was great why are we having such election-related problems?

The problem really is so elementary my dear Watson! The PCOS is in the Cebuano language a “Tikas machine!” Do I need to give you another litany of PCOS woes in this country? How dense can Filipinos be? Let me remind you once more that after the 2010 elections, PCOS machines were caught in Cagayan de Oro, General Santos City and Antipolo in private hands… and yes, please include one in Cebu City.

Well, hellooow again! ABS-CBN’s Jing Castañeda just reported that three PCOS machines were found inside a room in a hotel in Tuguegarao, Cagayan. What are those PCOS machines doing in Cagayan? Has the cheating operations already begun? Let me warn you that since the PNP is under the Comelec, if the police surrender this PCOS machines like they did in Antipolo, Cagayan de Oro or Gensan, it will fall into the hands of a corrupt Comelec, whom I no longer can trust. Therefore, this new batch of PCOS machines will simply be kept under the file called “Whitewash.” So the ghost of the 2010 PCOS has returned in 2013. So once again, please, don’t say that that we didn’t warn you about the Tikas…errr PCOS machines!

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I really didn’t want to write on the suicide of University of the Philippines-Manila (UP) student Kristel Tejada because I believe that there are many other alternatives that she could have taken rather than take her own life. However, after watching Teddyboy Locsin of Teditorial last Monday evening and watching the TV news reports about the plight of the Tejada family, it brought me to ponder… here was a 16-year-old student, who if she could have graduated from UP could have had a brighter future than most Filipinos who have been “nourished” by that idiotic program called the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT). What can I say, even in our schools, this administration still ends up with death! Team Patay talaga!

If our students are up in arms in righteous indignation, it is because her death could have been prevented if only our educational system had its own safety nets. In a hastily called meeting, UP-Manila Chancellor Manuel Agulto broke down when he recalled the days he was struggling to make ends meet. Yes, he is part of the problem because he forgot what it was like when he was poor and could hardly make ends meet.

Now they have taken away the “No-Late-Payment” policy from all UP campuses nationwide. But as the late Manong Max Soliven used to say, “Such an act is akin to shutting down the barn door after the horse has been stolen.” UP is supposed to have Social Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) where Kristel could have gotten a 70% discount on her tuition. But alas, there’s a bureaucracy involved.

There is no doubt in my mind that our educational system like the rest of the Philippines needs fixing and that means reforms. Just look at the results of the recently released 2013 bar exam. Out of 5,343 bar examinees, only 949 passed. I gathered that the Supreme Court even lowered the passing average otherwise it would have been history’s lowest ever passing number of Law students. How embarrassing! I say let’s fix our educational system now! Those running for the Senate…tell us your plans on this.

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It was a great evening event hosted by Globe Telecom dubbed “Kumustahan” at the Marriott Hotel as Globe’s way of informing its subscribers of what’s going on with Globe Telecom. No less than Globe Telecom chief executive officer (CEO) Ernest Cu gave a short talk about what’s has been going on with Globe in the past year. Among them is that they have upgraded or replaced 7,000 cellsites including 80% of their IT System, where Globe replaced some US$380 million worth in telecommunications equipment.

That means, 3G will be available in all their networks, while the 4G or LTE is available in areas like Lahug, Ayala Center, Gorordo Ave, including the whole of Boracay, that Ernest point out is the “most wired” island in the country. Ernest asked his audience that they should prepare for the Smart Revolution. Let me say it here that Ernest Cu is the only Telecom CEO in this country who can speak with authority when it comes to IT… because that’s his main line of business before he joined Globe. Kudos Sir Ernest!

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