I just wanna to say "Thank You to the people of Sitangkai" - Vice Mayor Serbin Canon Ahaja

My Family and I,  would like to say "THANK YOU"  to the people of Sitangkai  of honoring me with your vote as your Vice Mayor of this 1st Class and progressive municipality known as Venice of the South during the last 2019 midterm election.

To my supporters and opponents I say "Thank You". and  now let us have to start again a new beginning towards the good future of our municipality,  let us make a new start, and move forward to meet the great challenges we face...

Together with my family, We just wanna to say THANK YOU to all great men and women in Sitangkai.

Mabuhay Tayong Lahat...

SERBIN CANON AHAJA

Vice Mayor

Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi

2019 polls voter turnout now at 75%-78%

MANILA -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is nearing its estimate of between 75 percent and 78 percent voter turnout in the recently-concluded national and local polls.

In a press briefing on Monday morning, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that as of Sunday, the partial number of voters who participated in the May 13 polls is already at 75 percent or more than 46 million registered voters.

“As of May 19, 2019, so far, a total of 46,343,423, or 74.89 percent voter turnout for electronically transmitted Certificates of Canvass (COCs),” Jimenez said.

As of Sunday evening, the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), has canvassed 162 out of the 167 COCs.

“The NBOC has canvassed 97 percent of the total COCs, manual and AES (automated election system), overseas and local,” he added.

Votes from five areas with more than 1.6 million registered voters have yet to be canvassed -- Isabela province, 1,050,681 voters; Japan, 76,166; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 326,620; US (Washington DC), 228,472; and Abuja, Nigeria, 1,999.

Jimenez said the COC from Isabela is expected to be transmitted Monday evening, after the conduct of special polls in five precincts of the province.

“The special polls there have started and 368 voters out of the 762 registered voters have already cast their votes as of 10 a.m.,” he added.

The special election in Jones, Isabela was approved by the Comelec en banc, after armed men burned a vote counting machine on May 13.

Jimenez also reported that the voter turnout for local absentee voting is at 77.08 percent or 22,602 people who actually voted, out of the 29,326 registered voters.

The local absentee voting was for held for personnel of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, other government employees, and members of the media.

Meanwhile, preliminary data from the Office for Overseas Voting show that the voter turnout is 20.66 percent or more than 21,000 voters.

“Voter turnout for manual election: 20.60 percent or 21,368 (31 jurisdictions),” the poll body said.

The country has a total of 61,843,771 registered voters while there are 1,822,173 Filipino voters overseas.

Earlier, the poll body said that at least 46 million out of the more than 61 million registered voters were expected to participate in the mid-term polls, which is lower than the 81 percent in the 2016 presidential polls.

In the mid-term polls, voters elected 12 senators, one party-list group, one governor, one vice governor, provincial board members, one mayor, one vice mayor, and councilors. (By Ferdinand Patinio )

Vice-Mayor Fatima Saida Maing -Baguinda with her Thank You Message to the people of Tandubas on the recent midterm 2019 election

ASSALAMUALAIKUM WARAHMATULLAHI TA'ALA     WABARAKATUH

My Family and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the people behind my victory as re-elected vice mayor in Tandubas municipality for their confidence in electing me.

On their behalf, I will do my very best to do more projects and  ordinances for the good of our constituents to alleviate their living conditions in particular and we keep our municipality economy strong and well-

develop.

 To the people and many volunteers who came forward to assist with my campaign and Vote for me last May 13, election,  I say a big "thank you",  we couldn`t have succeeded without you.

Many of you spent hundreds of hours contributing to the campaign and I sincerely thank each of you and re-elected me as your Vice Mayor once again.

To my fellow re- elected and elected public servants in the municipality of Tandubas and the province of Tawi-Tawi, Congratulations to both of you and Mabuhay Tayong Lahat.

To the other candidates from the other parties who ran the recent midterm election, THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS  to both of us... 

Thank you to all my fellowmen and women to our victory...

Mabuhay....

Fatima Saida Maing - Baguinda

Vice Mayor

Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi

Mayor Tiblan C. Ahaja with his Thank You message to the people of Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi

ASSALAMUALAIKUM WARAHMATULLAHI TA'ALA     WABARAKATUH

I am very Thankful to the family, friends, and loyal supporters who so generously contributed their time and efforts to our campaign and honoring me with your vote on May 13, 2019 midterm election.

I am deeply moved by the expression of confidence from all  residents  and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I am immensely grateful to the family, friends, and loyal supporters who so generously contributed their time and effort to the campaign  and all  the people  who gives thier  full time and  support us  for the  fulfillment of  our dreams for the  better future of our dear municipality.

Being a Mayor of Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi  I do the best things  to make our municipality progressive ,well-develop  and competitive  it comes of tourism and other sources that made us proud as Sitangkaneans.

My Family and the whole elected councilors of Sitangkai, " Thank You to all the people of Sitangkai  to have taken your time to vote with me  last election, our heartfelt  and sincerely  appreciate  your willingness to support with us, trusted us as your servant to our beloved municipality as well.

I look forward  to continuing to work for you as your mayor  and you making it once again a place where people of all ages can count on a future.

Mabuhay Tayong Lahat at Maraming Salamat po  sa iyong mga Boto at muling pagtitiwala...

Hon. Tiblan  Canon Ahaja

Mayor

Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi

Palace declares May 13 as special non-working holiday due to polls

MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte has declared May 13 (Monday), Election Day, as a special non-working holiday nationwide.

In Proclamation No. 719, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea by authority of the President, May 13 was declared as a holiday to "enable people to properly exercise their right to vote."

"I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare Monday 13 May 2019, a special (non-working) holiday throughout the country for the National and Local elections,” the proclamation read.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that it is ready to serve at least 60 million voters, who will exercise their right to vote.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have also been deployed, especially in election hot spots to prevent occurrence of any violence.

Duterte has repeatedly asked the PNP and AFP to remain neutral during the campaign period and election.

There will also be sufficient power supply in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao amid concerns of possible interruptions or rotational brownouts, according to the Department of Energy. (PNA /By Azer Parrocha )

Over 200K teachers to do poll duty on May 13: DepEd

MANILA -- Around 237,000 teachers will serve as Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) and Board of Election Tellers (BETs) during the May 13 mid-term elections, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) said Wednesday.

"We have just presented to the Cabinet last Monday regarding our preparations. While being a member of the electoral board is no longer compulsory, subject to the teachers' consent, they are still the primary priority. We will only get from other positions if their number is not enough," DepEd Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Nepomuceno Malaluan told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Malaluan said the teachers who will perform poll duties are entitled to honoraria, transportation allowance 

and minimum of five days service credit which can be converted to leave credits or can be monetized.

"There is no insurance but a medical benefit PHP200,000 that will be shouldered by the government, death benefit that is PHP500,000 in case of injury or death. There is legal indemnification amount also and we are in partnership with the Public Attorney's Office," he said.

To ensure quick reporting of election-related concerns, Malaluan said the DepEd has developed a mobile application for teachers.

"I have not seen it but I think we will be using it this election. It's in our report to the Cabinet. They can use it to report pre-election, during election and post-election [incidents]," he said.

"We are also doing the final orientation of those who will be part of our election task forces at the central, regional, division and even district levels which we will setup on the noon of May 12, Sunday and will be up until 5 p.m. of May 14," he added. ( By Ma. Teresa Montemayor /PNA)

Vote Hji Sadikul Sahali for Governor - Maasahan para sa Bayan...

Comelec, gov't forces in Davao ready for Monday's election

READY MONDAY'S ELECTION.  Commission on Elections officials and members of the security sector in Region 11 assures they're ready for Monday's election. In photo are (L-R) Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson Colonel Ezra Balagtey, Task Force Davao commander Colonel Consolito Yecla, Police Regional Office-11 Deputy Direcotr for Operations Col. Eden Ugale, Comelec spokesperson Krisna Caballero and Davao City Police Office Direcotr Col. Alexander Tagu. (PNA photo by Lilian Mellejor)

DAVAO CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the over 7,000-strong police and military forces in Davao are ready for Monday’s elections, with about 2.8 million voters across the Davao Region expected to cast their votes.

Lawyer Krisna Caballero, Comelec-11 spokesperson, said the 1,139 vote counting machines have been deployed in all polling places in Region 11.

Caballero said the VCMs will be tested and sealed on Thursday, May 9, to ensure that they are functioning.

She said Comelec has contingencies should any of the VCM is found to be non-serviceable or malfunctioning.

Comelec has also trained police officers who will be tapped as members of Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) as a contingency when the need arises, she added.

"The police officers will only be the last recourse," she said, adding that Comelec guidelines also allow individuals from the private to be tapped as substitutes.

Likewise, the Department of Education in Region 11 (DepEd-11) said its 7,552 teachers are ready to serve as members of election boards.

DepEd-11 spokesperson Jenielito Atillo reminded teachers who will serve in far-flung barangays on their "serious responsibility in safeguarding the ballots."

Atillo said they are confident of the teachers' security while serving remote areas, where the presence of communist rebels is common.

On the part of the police and the military, Police Col. Eden Ugale said the region's joint monitoring center has been operational and that the Police Regional Office-11 will be focusing more on Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur because of intense political rivalry.

Ugale, who is the PRO-11 deputy director for operations, noted that both provinces have a presence of armed groups.

Col. Alexander Tagum, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director, said a total of 52 barangays in the city will be given priority because of previous incidents involving local armed groups.

This means, Tagum said, each polling area will be manned by a police team.

Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson, said they have already activated all military units down to the barangay level to secure polling areas. (PNA)

Security preparations for May 13 polls 'all set': PNP

 MANILA -- More than a week before the campaign period wraps up, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said security measures are all set as 160,000 police personnel will be deployed for the May 13 mid-term elections.

Col. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said the police force will remain on full alert status which took effect before the beginning of the Holy Week in April.

The number of police personnel was initially pegged at 143,000 but was eventually raised to further boost the peace and order management before, during and even after the Election Day.

“The PNP remains in full alert and increased the deployment of cops to 160,000 personnel as we assure the public that focused operation will be more active and intensified campaign against PAGS criminal gangs, wanted persons, gun for hire groups, and loose firearms and violation of Comelec (Commission on Elections) gun ban through service of warrant of arrest and implementation of search warrants, checkpoints operations, police patrol response, 'Oplan Sita' and 'Oplan Galugad' as well as HVTs (high value targets) in illegal drugs,” Banac told reporters in a press conference on Thursday.

Despite the increase of police deployment, Banac reiterated the PNP is yet to monitor any threats for the upcoming elections.

"We have not monitored any threats on the elections so far. We want to ensure no untoward incident will take place," Banac said.

PNP chief, Gen. Oscar Albayalde earlier reminded police officers to stay neutral and non-partisan in the conduct of elections.

He said the only role of police officers in the upcoming elections is to ensure peace and security, especially in election hotspots.

For his part, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) spokesperson, Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is also ready to assist the more than 44,000 persons deprived of Liberty (PDLs) in the city, district, and municipal jails in the country exercise to right of suffrage on May 13.

Malaya also said the DILG is one with Commission on Election (Comelec) in encouraging Filipinos to go out and exercise their right to vote.

“Indeed, change is within our hands. Nasa kamay na po ng mga mamamayang Pilipino ang pagpili ng mga kandidato (It is up for the Filipinos to choose candidates) (whom) they believe will usher the nation to inclusive change to achieve (our ambition of a prosperous and peaceful life for everyone).

Huwag natin sayangin ang pagkakataong (ito) at lalong huwag po tayong pumayag sa vote-buying at vote-selling na ginagawa ng mga hindi matitinong kandidato. (Let's not waste this chance and let's not allow vote-buying and vote-selling perpetrated by deceitful candidates),” Malaya said. ( By Christopher Lloyd /PNA)

Blogger linked to destab plot video faces inciting to sedition rap

MANILA -- Embattled blogger Rodel Jayme underwent inquest proceedings before the Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended charges of "inciting to sedition" against him.

In its charge sheet filed before the inquest prosecutor, the NBI Task Force on Cybercrime Division (CCD) under Senior Agent Francis Señora said the inciting to sedition was committed in relation to Republic Act 10175 otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Jayme had earlier been identified as the beneficiary in an ad sense account by a number of online personalities, and as the primary source of the video featuring alias "Bikoy", an anonymous accuser who appears in the video criticizing the administration's war on drugs and slandering the President Rodrigo Duterte's family, including his minor daughter.

The NBI, in its report to the inquest prosecutor, said its investigation showed the first uploader of the video was a Youtube account under the handle name of "Ang Totoong Narcolist" and was subsequently posted and shared by different social media sites namely: Pinoy Ako Blog, Change Scamming, Metro Balita, Madam Claudia and What the Fact Blog.

Seized from Jayme were a Cloudfone mobile phone, a Sky Cable billing statement, and a desktop computer including its peripherals.

The NBI Digital Forensic Laboratory team said upon scrutiny of the devices, it was found that Jayme's Facebook account was still logged in and key message communications were also recovered.

Among the recovered conversation were to a certain "Maru Nguyen" and "Maru Xie", which the NBI said is one person. In the conversation, Nguyen told Jayme that "Baka kausapin ka ng Magdalo".

A certain "Filmore" who is a member of Magdalo was also mentioned by Nguyen who said the goal was to gain international attention to the posted video.

"Jayme and his cohorts did not just share/like the videos. Instead the posting is a concrete effort (not merely a statement of opinion) directed to a more complicated result," the NBI said, noting that the acts were committed between April 2 to 30.

NBI Deputy Director Vicente De Guzman III approved the charges.

Senior Prosecutor Anna Devanadera and Associate Prosecution Attorney Mary Grace S. Arboladura said they will promptly resolve whether or not to file the charges in court. (By Benjamin Pulta / PNA)

Tatak Duterte

Presidential Daughter Sarah Duterte proclaimed her Gubernatorial  candidate of Tawi – Tawi Mayor Yshmael “Mhang” Sali and Governor Rashidin Matba for her legitimate “Tatak Duterte”  for Hugpong Na Pagbabago (HNP) candidates during her political alliance rally at Bongao, Tawi-Tawi last April 25 earlier.

The HNP- NUP rally recently  gathered more or less 6,000 supporters that amazed Senatorial candidates of HNP  were felt  Duterte's fever” during the rally.

Mayor Sarah Duterte gave her full supports to NUP candidates headed by Mayor Yshmael Sali and Governor Rashidin Matba  because of their good intentions and supports to Duterte’s administration regarding his fights against illegal drugs, criminalities and corruptions, "Naramdaman ko ang Duterte Fever dito sa Tawi_Tawi ngayon, masaya ako na patuloy kayong sumuporta sa ating Presidente", she said,

“I will agree those candidates that would have a good intentions to  help the president to continue his programs and development projects and help people to uplift their living conditions especially those poor among the poorests”, she added.

Meanwhile, Mayor Mhang Sali was very happy that the presidential daughter trust them as one  of their alliance candidates under HNP- NUP Party.