Respect for Privacy : It's History Now

We are in a very different world now. Yes, there is no doubt about it. Nobody can really argue that we as human beings can no longer enjoy some form or degree of privacy, even if it will merely consist of a simple smile or laughter. The saying goes, "someone is watching" or "I know what you did yesterday", etcetera.

Sounds a bit exaggerated. I don't think so.

At least, this is already true for those who are reading this at this very moment. Why? Well, because you are hooked up with the World Wide Web, the Internet. This is the very culprit or at least technology, if I may so, that is responsible for a lot of things happening around all of us, such as but not limited to the following:

1 - when you open your mobile phone, whether for a voice call or text messaging, or for web browsing, you are actually registering your whereabouts, and the location of the other party you are communicating with;

2 - it is possible that when you talk to someone, or send a text to somebody, you are allowing a third party to monitor your conversation or text message exchanges; of course, this is denied by third party concerned, and for which reason, I stated upfront, "it is possible";

3 - when you open your desktop, laptop or tablet, the same situation applies where somebody, somewhere, and somehow, a third party is able to intrude and explore the inner core of your computer, hacked it, infect it with virus, or simply rob you out with data and information, or intellectual property; very recently, we learned of news that emails are intercepted in the interest of national security;

4 - let us go to the animal kingdom, our world - embattled and dumped with too much technology, when you shop till you drop, when you fill up your tank, when you enroll your child, when you pay up your bills, when you order, when you withdraw money from the ATM, or in sum, when you use your cards or numbers - credit card, debit card, loyalty card, shopping card, gas card, social security number, tax identification number, government health number, professional identification number, etc. - or in any cashless transactions - all these will show who you are, what you are made of, your preferences, status, residence, age, address, gender, names of family members, books you read, food you eat, clothes you wear, songs you hear, movies watched, and medicines you take as well as places you go to;

5. Ah, and now the already becoming ubiquitous CCTV camera has made surveillance of people simpler, and quite annoying for many. On the road, in malls, business establishments, villages and even houses - we are being watched, from one place to the other, city to the other, country and to the next.

The list is endless. But is there an end to all these? Is there a way to stop it?

Not anymore. In the name of safety, security, anti-terrorism and anti-crime, not even the power of legislation or adjudication could stop them. We have been made to believe and in fact, experience the need for those.

Privacy is a thing of the past. We allowed it to happen.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Quezon City,Philippines

LOYALTY PLEDGE

GET OUT OR GET IN LINE

by Elbert Hubbard

xxx

If you work for a man, in heaven's name work

for him!

If he pays you wages that supply you your bread

and butter, work for him speak well of him,

think well of him, stand by him and stand by the

institution he represents.

I think if I worked for a man I would work for

him. I would not work for him a part of the time,

and the rest of the time work against him. I

would give an undivided service or none. If put

to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound

of cleverness.

If you must vilify, condemn and

eternally disparage, why, resign your position,

and when you are outside, damn to your heart's

content. But, I pray you, so long as you are a

part of an institution, do not condemn it. Not that

you will injure the institution not that but

when you disparage the concern of which you

are a part, you disparage yourself.

xxx

Source : University of California (California Digital Library)

AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM : ARE WE MORE DEMOCRATIC ?

In any democracy, what matters the most is that the true will of the people is expressed and upheld, in a free, peaceful, orderly and honest manner. That is the very essence of elections, where we are able to choose the leaders who will occupy public positions of trust and responsibility, in order to serve us. We expect of our leaders to be true to their oath as public servants, to be loyal to the Republic and to the Flag, to be good and honest in their dealings and discharge of their functions, to be of genuine service to the people, and more than anything else, to be God-fearing and God-centered.

Thus, through elections, we are called upon to decide as to who will best serve and represent our sentiments and aspirations, and in our best judgment, who may be willing to be sincerely accountable to us as a body electorate. This is democracy.

If and when that right to choose is violated through cheating, and replacing the true will of the people with fraud, then the trust of the people on the system erodes miserably. The question is then raised whether those who have been proclaimed are the true winners to be the true representatives of the people.

Without the full assurance, yes, full and absolute guarantee that the system is flawless and 100% reliable, then the moral authority as well as legal privilege of the supposed winner becomes doubtful. This is not democracy.

For now, we can only rely on the assurance of "tuwid na daan" governance. With that, we must move on but continue to perfect the system and remove all the imperfections.

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Post Election Assessment

People, are we still important now? Do you think, you are significant now than before the elections? Is there a difference between then and now? Trabaho. Negosyo. Ano pa?

Philippine politics is an event for all seasons. It should be. Otherwise, only the whims and caprices of the few will be served, and not really the sentiments and aspirations of the people, which should be primarily addressed.

Assessment? Well, back to problems and more problems. Those who were elected may just have to buckle down to work at this early even if their official term starts not until July 1. Some will be resolving issues and concerns, others will be the problems themselves.

People, be vigilant and proactive. Do not be complacent and well, ah, mediocre. We should know who the servants are. We should know who the users are. Simply stated, know the difference.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Commonwealth Avenue,Quezon City,Philippines

A VISION FOR CLEAN, HONEST AND AFFORDABLE ELECTIONS

A credible election body is an integral part of any democratic system. Without such qualification, meaning, credibility, the republican institutions will not gain the absolute trust of the people. There will constantly be doubts not only on the efficiency of the government, but also on the sincerity and integrity of those in public service to care for the people. Consequently, mistrust, misconception and corruption would continuously plague society since the common perception is that the misconcepted government does not really represent the people's heart, and automatically, their welfare. Instead, it promotes the interest of the few and the powerful. Even worse, a mistrusted or corrupted system would thus precipitate misconcepted, mistrusted and corrupted results at the expense of the people, as well as the government.

At the end of the day however what matters is the cyclic circuitous partnership of the people in general and public servants in a necessity called right and reliable nation building.

The Philippines has already devoted years of sacrifices and hard work spending millions of pesos in order to upgrade the quality of elections in the country. We have gone into automation, and biometric documentation of registered voters. The rules of procedure in election cases and related matters have been revised, amended and continuously improved if only to be responsive to practically every specific situations or elections. Even the Supreme Court has promulgated landmark cases which are now considered jurisprudence. Special measures have been passed by Congress to give more teeth to election related penal laws. Resolutions have been formulated and approved by the Comelec to govern the conduct of elections, and practically to instill discipline among the electorate and the candidates as well as political parties.

Every Filipino who voted is marked with an indelible ink in their fingernail. What if in the mind and the heart of every Filipino, the desire for a real and credible election has been indelibly inked with the unfaltering commitment to true and right national building? Perhaps, just may be, the once "impossible Dream" of a right and reliable elections will finally be a catalytic reality for the benefit of all the people and their credible government.

In other words, after everything has been said and done, why is it that we are still encountering the same problems of, among others, vote-buying, election overspending, "flying voters", election related violence and terrorism? Why is it that despite the stringent safeguards installed to have clean and honest elections, a lot of cases are resolved with findings of election fraud? Why is it that it takes time for the Commission on Elections to resolve cases particularly but not limited to those involving barangay contests? Why is it that simple and basic guidelines governing election materials and propaganda are not being followed? Why is it that notwithstanding thousands of election law violations, only a handful have been charged in courts?

When will these all end?

It may not. After all, politics have been ingrained in the imagination, dreams, and everyday lives of our fellow Filipinos.

Wrong. There is light at the end of the tunnel if and when the people are guided through proper election values and ethics. The administration of His Excellency, President Benigno S. Aquino III is leading our nation towards this direction, in general, when he heeded the cry of the people for change and consequently entered into a social contract with them for transformational change and leadership.[1]

Therefore, following the lead, the COMELEC is obviously faced with such enormous tasks of :

(1) completely cleansing the voters' list;

(2) simplifying procedures and processes to reduce costs and expenses on the part of the voters, candidates, or election litigants thereby making elections and subsequent contests within the reach of everyone;

(3) recommending immediate and long term reforms in the electoral system;

(4) expeditiously disposing election cases in a manner that decisions should not only be a determination of the true will of the people, but must also be timely, to make such true will as expressive of good governance;

(5) improving or enhancing the automotive election system to make it viable even for barangay elections and recall elections;

(6) attending to its administrative concerns involving COMELEC employees' welfare and benefits as well as improving working conditions and offices all over the country;

(7) studying and implementing further means to establish a cost-effective conduct of elections here and abroad;

(8) instituting better access to facilities that will enable persons with disabilities, senior citizens and women with special concerns (primarily, pregnancy) to exercise their rights to suffrage with ease or convenience;

(9) reviewing current election laws and the codification of all resolutions to be applied universally in any elections thereby minimizing the issuance and promulgation thereof, in toto, every now and then, even if only certain provisions have been changed or modified; and

(10)increasing the benefits of and protection to public school teachers and other COMELEC designated poll workers.

Some of the concrete reforms may be as follows:

a) Accreditation of poll watchers shall be done upon completion of a prescribed training conducted by the COMELEC. A certification made by the poll watchers on the minutes shall bind the candidates represented. This will eliminate frivolous election contests at the first level.

b) Initiatory and responsive pleadings in election contests shall be in a prescribed form and the specified allegations must be supported by judicial affidavits and documentary exhibits. Failure to comply with this requirement shall be a ground for automatic dismissal without any right for reconsideration or appeal.

c) Barangay election contests may be elevated only on certiorari and in the same case injunctive relief's may be prayed for. This will reduce the cost of litigation and may even expeditiously dispose barangay cases.

d) All proceedings shall be considered as summary in nature unless the COMELEC declares otherwise on certain specific grounds such as technical examinations and those related to matters which may attach certain criminal liabilities.

e) The use of voter's identification cards shall be compulsory in nature. The tampering or illegal use thereof shall be a penal offense. It may serve as a senior citizen card, among others.

f) Appointment of COMELEC Marshalls to be considered as persons in authority who shall be highly trained in the enforcement of election laws.

g) Registration of printing press with the COMELEC or its field offices prior to acceptance of printing works from candidates or persons.

h) Designation of permanent poster areas with official identifying markers to be installed by the COMELEC.

i) Registration of media companies (newspaper, television, radio etc.) with the COMELEC or its field offices prior to acceptance of campaign materials or advertisements; and

j) Enactment of laws which will increase the penalties for certain election offenses and expanding the definition of electoral sabotage.

There is no reason to be overwhelmed by the fact that there is so much work yet to be done. What is important is that they can be done, and work must either be continued or start now, without let up, and with the vision for genuine change in mind.

May God help us and . . . "that in all things, God may be glorified."

© caloy caliwara 2013

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[1] http://www.gov.ph/about/gov/exec/bsaiii/platform-of-government/ as posted by way of a link at quezonianconscience.blogspot.com