Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, May 8, 2022.
READ: Campaign ends for presidential bets
THREE presidential candidates ended their campaigns in Metro Manila on Saturday on a high note as thousands of their supporters braved the heat and the Covid-19 pandemic to be able to see them before the elections on Monday, May 9, 2022. Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who has been dominant in pre-election surveys, together with running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, held their miting de Avance at Block 7, fronting Solaire in Parañaque City. UniTeam supporters, clad in red, Marcos' campaign color, shouted "Marcos-Duterte" as they waved Philippine flags. As of press time, performances from singer-actress Pops Fernandez, rock band Aegis and other singers supporting the tandem entertained the crowd. The Luzon miting de avance was one of the UniTeam's series of final campaign rallies, days before Election Day. Before the Parañaque rally, the UniTeam had its first and second miting de avance in Guimbal, Iloilo and Tagum City, Davao del Norte, respectively. Ayala Avenue in Makati City was swathed in pink, the campaign color of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo and running mate Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan as it hosted the tandem's final campaign rally dubbed "Angat Buhay Pilipino Miting de Avance." Like Marcos, Robredo's grand rally was also star-studded with Gary Valenciano and his son Gabriel, Kim Chiu, Bianca Gonzales, Yeng Constantino, Anne Curtis and Ms. Universe 2018 Catriona Gray among the celebrities who were present. Megastar Sharon Cuneta serenaded the estimated 750,000 crowd, as per organizers' estimate, with one of her songs, "Pangarap na Bituin." Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, the Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer returned to Tondo where, he said in Filipino, "it all started." Domagoso was joined by his running mate Dr. Willie Ong and his senatorial slate at the Moriones Linear Park. The Manila chief executive talked about his humble beginnings — first as a garbage collector in the streets of Tondo, then as an actor.
READ: All systems go for May 9 polls – Comelec
IT'S all systems go for the May 9 national and local elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured everyone as the campaign period for both local and national candidates ends today, Sunday. All preparations were already in place except for minor kinks in testing and sealing the vote-counting machines (VCMs) and replacing some defective secured digital (SD) cards. Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said 100 percent of the 106,000 VCMs and another 1,000 VCMs for contingency have been delivered to the various areas in time for final testing and sealing from May 2 to 7. Based on Comelec data, there are 65,831,806 registered voters for the 2022 polls. Garcia said they were hopeful for a 75 to 80 percent turnout, considering that "this is a historic election" and people were motivated to cast their votes. As of May 7, the Comelec has sealed and tested 86,479 machines from 93,398 clustered precincts, while 6,919 others were being tested. There are 37,216 voting centers and 105,174 clustered precincts. Each precinct will be manned by a three-member Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs), or a total of 315,522 BEIs. According to Garcia, there were 50,000 military and policemen and enough air and sea assets at Comelec's disposal to ensure peaceful, orderly and free elections.
READ: 500K PPCRV volunteers fielded on May 9
THE Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) will be fielding around half a million volunteers on Election Day. PPCRV National Chairman Myla Villanueva said most of the volunteers will serve as poll watchers and voter's assistance desk staff in dioceses across the country. The other volunteers, according to her, will be assigned at the PPCRV Command Center for its unofficial parallel count at the University of Santo Tomas from May 9 to 20. She said the volunteers will serve as encoders, staff for their call center and work ushers, among other functions. The transparency server in PPCRV's command center receives the electronic results of the elections. The PPCRV decided to transfer its command center for the May 9 elections to a wider space at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion along España Boulevard in Manila to follow the health and safety protocols for Covid-19. The Pope Pius XII Catholic Center along United Nations Avenue in Manila had served as the organization's command center for past elections. But multiple health protocols and procedures could not be done in its small space. The UST arena can accommodate 5,000 people and also has better features fit for PPRCV's operations.
READ: BBM, Leni top final surveys
TOP presidential bets Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo and former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. topped the two final surveys conducted ahead of the May 9 national elections. The 25th Tinig ng Pilipino survey conducted by public opinion and data analytics company WR Numero Research (WRN) on April 25 to 30, 2022 showed that Marcos received a 57 percent voter preference share among 2,000 respondents, while Robredo got 19 percent. Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso obtained 5 percent, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson 4 percent, and Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao 3 percent. Meanwhile, Team Angat Buhay's Robredo and Pangilinan have dominated a national survey conducted by an "independent team of researchers, scientists and scholars" from across the country. Dr. Imelda Pagtolun-an, director of research of Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro City, said the poll was supervised by survey scientists and researchers. The poll's results posted on the Senate website said that Robredo was leading with a 57.39 percent preference share over Marcos' 38.27 percent, while Pangilinan got a 48.34 percent against Duterte's 47.32 percent. The survey, exclusively conducted for presidential and vice presidential candidates from April 18 to 22, employed 4,800 respondents from all 17 regions of the country, including Metro Manila with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.
READ: PNP directed to form anti-vote buying unit
THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to form Anti-Vote Buying Teams in each province and city. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año stressed that the unit is mandated to receive complaints and investigate allegations of vote-buying and voteselling in compliance with election laws, rules and regulations.
READ: BIR to bets: File poll expenses, tax payments
In business, national and local election candidates have been reminded by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), as well as corresponding tax payments and other duties, 30 days from May 9. The BIR said in a statement over the weekend that every candidate and treasurer of political parties/party list groups must submit the SOCE to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the revenue district office (RDO) where they are registered, whether they win or lose.
READ: Eagles, Maroons begin finals showdown
Topping sports, more than three years after their finals duel in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 men's basketball tourney, Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) and the University of the Philippines (UP) clash anew in the Big Dance of Season 84. Game One of the "Battle of Katipunan 2.0" finals series is set at 4 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he tackles the wrong choices in the upcoming elections would flood the exit gates.
Today's editorial believes the contrasting views of churches could be harmful to democracy. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.
For The Manila Times, this is Paulo Dimaapi.