Thursday, September 24, 2020
Comelec exploring possibility of holding 2022 elections for 2-3 days
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking into the possibility of conducting the 2022 national elections for two to three days to regulate the number of voters going to polling precincts in the event that the COVID-19 pandemic still remains by then.
During the House deliberations on the agency’s proposed 2021 budget, Comelec Executive Director Bartolome Sinocruz Jr. said they are considering holding a two-day voting schedule just like what it planned to do for the Palawan plebiscite that was originally scheduled last May.
“We’re looking at that to implement that sa 2022 elections. ‘Yung date ng election is scheduled by the Constitution. So the plan is to hold elections sa May, and then perhaps another two days kung kailangan to continue the elections,” he said.
“Parang in-extend lang natin ‘yung voting hours. But that’s still being studied by our law department,” he added.
Comelec is also considering allowing the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) online and by schedule per position, as well as limiting voters to up to five persons per polling precinct and setting up a voter’s assistance desk in every voting center to facilitate the people entering the polling areas.
The filing of COCs is scheduled around the last quarter of 2021.
“A certain number of days will be allotted for municipal or city councilors. A certain number of days will be allotted for mayor and vice mayors. Same thing will happen in the provincial election supervisor level. Per type of candidate, there will be allotted days,” Sinocruz explained.
“We will do away in part the personal filing of certificates of candidacy. There is no prohibition in the law for online filing,” he added.
A Father’s Presence Is Powerful
And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." Luke 5:10
"Where is Zebedee?" asked George Stormont in Pointers. He continued, "I've been looking for him for nearly fifty years. The New Testament is haunted by his name. You read of his sons, his wife, his hired servants, his fishing; but you never meet him."
To understand Stormont's question and the issue, you need to know that Zebedee, of whom the writers of the New Testament speak, had two sons, James and John, two young men who were prominent in the ministry of Jesus. They came from a fishing village in Northern Galilee, Bethsaida—the ruins of which can still be seen today when a guide points them out from the tourist boat that takes visitors from Tiberias to Capernaum.
James and John were tending their father's nets when Jesus walked by and challenged, "Follow me!" Along with Peter and Andrew, these four made the Galilee contingent of men who became disciples, walking away from their nets to follow Jesus.
We read of Zebedee's wife, the mother of James and John, who—as mothers are prone to do in looking after the welfare of their sons—asked Jesus if her two boys couldn't be on Jesus' left and right. Yes, somewhat self-serving.
But what about the dad—Zebedee? He's never mentioned! Was he dead? Probably not. Stormont answers his own question, "But where is Zebedee?" He says, "Busy…busy…busy minding his boats and mending his nets. He "wasn't a mean man," says Stormont. "He did not keep his wife or his boys from following Jesus. He [just] did not follow Jesus himself."
There are a lot of Zebedees today: the missing dads who aren't there for their kids, who are gone when their offspring take their first steps and hit their first baseball or toss their first basketball through the hoop. They aren't there when a child comes home from school with the "my family" story written in scribbled penmanship, not mentioning a dad. But that's not their greatest failure. Like Zebedee, consumed with climbing the ladder of success, they don't follow Jesus. They sometimes intend to, but never do it.
One of the greatest social tragedies of our day is the missing father. Having made a baby, he's off chasing his dream or another woman, failing to be there for his child. A dad's involvement with his child not only helps that child excel academically, but also helps him understand who he is, what it means to be male or female, how we relate to our heavenly Father. Though it isn't impossible, it is challenging to teach boys how to be men—godly caring men in particular—without a role model who is there, who leads the way spiritually.
The sad fact is that the number of kids growing up in a home where there has never been a dad is almost as great as those living in two-parent homes. Yes, I always think twice before I ask that question, "Where is Zebedee? Where is your child's father?" I know that for most single moms, more than anything else, they wish a dad were there—for them as well as for the child. But men need to be challenged, and in some cases reproved, not simply for their sakes but for their offspring's.
Question: Are you a Zebedee? Take a look and see how many days this past six months were spent with your son or daughter. How many weekends were you out of town, or golfing, or doing something apart from the family?
Where was Zebedee? Busy. Too busy. Occupied. Absent. The cost of what he missed could never be balanced by a few more fish, a few more coins in his purse, or a larger business. Some things are just not worth it.
Resource reading: Psalm 78:5-8
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/a-fathers-presence-is-powerful/
Discovery Channel's "Ultimate Olympics" (2007) on TV5.
The series will be aired every Sunday at 9 pm.
Ultimate Olympics aims to take a look at the "innovation, endeavor and commitment" that China and her athletes are pouring into hosting and participating in the sporting event.
Ultimate Olympics is a documentary series produced for The Discovery Channel which chronicles Beijing's transformation into the ultimate Olympic city ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in that city.
The series re-aired in the Philippines on TV5. There are three hour-long episodes in the series.
The spirit of competition and the mounting excitement surrounding the 2008 Olympic Games is galvanizing everyone involved in elite sport the world over, and electrifying the host city of Beijing.
As the world watches and all of China mobilises for Beijing 2008, Discovery Channel investigates what goes on behind the scenes and exactly how the nation of more than one billion people is gearing up for the 2008 Olympics, in Ultimate Olympics.
Across three episodes, the series chronicles Beijing’s transformation into the ultimate Olympic city.
Beijing’s mission is to set the stage for an Olympics that would be hi-tech, green and distinctively Chinese. This is China’s chance to seize the world stage. With the country in the world’s spotlight, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Can the people of Beijing clinch this “gold”?
- ULTIMATE OLYMPICS: Go Beijing
- ULTIMATE OLYMPICS: Hi-Tech Games
- ULTIMATE OLYMPICS: Rivals (aired July 21, 2008)
- ULTIMATE OLYMPICS: The Final Countdown (aired July 21, 2008)
Included in the focus of the show: the specially chosen volunteers who carry the Olympic medals to the podium, the designers and engineers who built Beijing's newest icons, namely the new China's National Stadium and the National Aquatics Centre, the Watercube.
Awards:
- 2008 Asian Television Awards - Best Editing: Ultimate Olympics - Go Beijing (Discovery Asia Inc.)
www.tv5.com.ph
www.facebook.com/TV5Manila