Then here comes a SWAT comedy of errors.  I think they should start writing a “How Not To Handle a Hostage Situation”.

Isa lang ang masasabi ko, NAKAKAHIYA ang KAWALAN NYO NG KAKAYAHAN na ipagtanggol ang kahit sinuman!

Manila hostage-taker killed; 6 hostages taken to hospitals – Nation – GMANews.TV – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News.

I can just hear it now, as I heard it again, and again, and again . . . . . . onli in d’ Pilipins!

Am PROUD to be FILIPINO,
but I am ashamed of SOME of my FELLOW FILIPINOS who have forgotten how and what it means to be FILIPINO.

On the eve of the May 2010 elections, I finalized my list for president, vice president, senators, a congressman, mayor, vice mayor and city council members.

May 10th, E-day.  Early Monday morning, I received a text message from a dear friend.  It said, “vote not for the person whom you think will win, rather, vote for the person who will work for the people.”  I looked at my list, and I made changes.  I looked at the list of candidates again, and reconciled those who have proved that they truly work for the people, and those whom they say they work for the people.  Needless to say, there were changes on my list.

I marched to my polling precinct (Cluster 163, Makati) at 1:30 p.m. to exercise my right in selecting the new leaders of my country.  Good thing my fellow voters, the assigned teachers and precinct election board were gracious and accommodating.  Their tireless efforts and sacrifices in making sure today’s electoral exercise will be successful more than made up for my almost two (2) hour wait to vote.  It was very unfortunate that my experience was not the same as in other poling precincts.

When I stepped up to be named on the list and receive my official ballot, I was humbled by that fact that my country is relying on me to take a stand, and make my vote count.  As I walked back to an empty seat, I unfolded the small list I made earlier that morning.  I looked for the names on my list and made sure I shaded each oval correctly.  I check and rechecked my ballot.

And with a deep sigh of accomplishment, I walked to PCOS machine inserted my ballot and had my forefinger marked with indelible ink.

From the time I signed my name on the voters list to the time I had myself marked as having voted, it all took less than four (4) minutes.

I waited almost 2 hours, for my 4 minutes of being the most important person in the country, the Voter!

As I walked out the polling precinct, into the scorching afternoon heat, I shook my head in disbelief that the technology used in my NCEE (National College Entrance Exam) back in 1982, is the same technology now being used to record and count my vote.  Twenty-eight (28) years ago I sat for half a day in school to answer the NCEE test booklet by shading ovals with a pencil.  The test sheets were scored in the same way as my ballot was read by the PCOS machine.  A 28-year technology for voting in the 21st century.

Something is terribly wrong with the recent Poll Automation!

When all other countries are using advanced touch-screen LCD monitors, picture-icons to cast votes, and smart-card Voter’s IDs; here we are literally flipping though pages upon pages of voters list looking for (a) our precinct, then (b) our cluster, then signing and putting our thumb marks on the Official List of Voters, shading ovals to cast our vote, and feeding our ballots into a scanning machine – something is really terribly wrong with the recent Poll Automation.

I just hope the next administration will once and for all, with all political will and seriousness, evaluate the appropriate technology and procedure for Poll Automation, and prepare the policies and procedures for an efficient and secure election exercise.

The next administration owes the people who elected them into power to make sure that the almost failure of the May 2010 elections will not happen again. The  Filipino electorate has shown that they hold the vote sacred, now it is up the government and the COMELEC to prove they are worthy custodians of the vote!

Hmmm, just a thought, maybe we should privatize COMELEC too!  Maybe, just maybe it will finally bring voting to the 21st century.

New life, new hope, new nephew.

We always hear the parable of the prodigal son, but the main protagonist is the generous and ever waiting Father. His younger son wanted him for dead and went off with his inheritance and squandered it to the ground. But upon the younger’s homecoming, the Father ran to meet him and welcomed him with open arms.

The older had done nothing wrong and always followed the Father, yet his pride blinded him to the meaning of true love.

We are a bit of the younger and the older son.

But the Father never tires of welcoming us and waiting for us to return home.

I finished the Century Tuna’s 5K run this morning. I didn’t mind the time, I just wanted to finish and start running again.  It has been about a year and a half since my last, and this morning was a good start.

Saw again old running friends, and met new ones either starting or starting again.  It was a good run, and a good start.

The ice has broken, time to hit the roads again!