Community Day: AdDU Masscom Activity

(Photo credit: Team Acosta )

On Saturday, the 10^th of October, Ateneo’s 4^th Year Mass Communication students conducted a community engagement at Baracatan Elementary School. The office of Councilor Mabel Acosta was graciously invited to participate in the event to provide snacks for the children.

(Photo credit: Team Acosta )

Upon arrival, the children were already in high spirits as they greeted the arrival of the engagers. In the morning, the event kicked off with a discussion on how important education is. It was very important to instill the value of education on these children, as many of them live below the poverty line. They were very eager to listen and were very attentive to the discussions.

Activities followed soon after as the children played and performed with the AdDU Mass Communication students. The children were grouped together and each group had an assigned student mentor. A contest was then held to determine which group was the best at cheering and dancing. The dance craze, nae nae, was a popular choice among the children, showing off their moves as they performed different variations of the steps.

To replenish the children’s energy, they were invited to join in the boodle fight. The children and the students bonded as they all enjoyed rice and different kinds of ulam on banana leaves. They have all indeed, become brothers and sisters who were capable of sharing blessings and joy amongst each other.

(Photo credit: Team Acosta )

At the end of the event, AdDu Mass Communication batch 2015-2016 presented the school with a new water tank and school supplies for the students. The office of Councilor Acosta provided a hearty meal of lugaw as snacks to be enjoyed by the children. This partnership was made possible through the mutual passion, by the students and the office, to give to the needy. The new water tank and school supplies will undoubtedly serve as tools for the school and especially the children as they pave their path into knowledge and a good life.

(Photo credit: Team Acosta )

(Photo credit: Team Acosta )

Automated process of voting

With the new automated process of voting, it is important that we familiarize ourselves with the process so that our votes will not be wasted. I learned a few things from Mr. Gener about the election ballot that could be informative for all of us:

1. Mr. Gener said that the ballot is very, very sensitive to marks, ink, H20, stains, scratches, folds, sweat, etc. If, say, you have grime on your hands, or your hands are wet, or your sweat drops onto the ballot, the PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) Unit will not read it. So, keep your hands very clean before voting. That is why the indelible ink will be put on your finger after you're done voting, and not before, and wh y you will be given your ballot in a folder, a "Ballot Secrecy Folder", so that you can lessen the actual handling of the ballot with your hands.
2. Shade the egg-shaped hole beside your chosen candidate fully (you will be provided with a marker). Don't check, line, X, dot, or half-shade it, because the PCOS Unit will not read it. Try not to go beyond the lines also (well, not too much).
3. Mr. Diaz said that there will be a barcode going around the ballot. If this is marked, even scratched, in any way, the ballot will be spoiled. He said that if anyone else handles the ballot, watch them well, in case they intentionally scratch the barcode with a fingernail to prevent your ballot from being counted. He used as an example that if you're obviously for a candidate that, say, an unscrupulous precinct official is against (hopefully, there's no such thing as an unscrupulous precinct official ;-P), that official may scratch your barcode to prevent your vote from being counted.
4. You will have four tries to put your ballot through the PCOS Unit. You can put it in forward, backward, front side up, back side up, whichever, but only four tries. If after the 4th try it doesn't read properly, goodbye ballot.
5. You will get one chance to have your ballot changed if you don't like it. That's when they first hand it to you. Inspect it right away. If you see any folds, scratches, or marks, you can ask for a change (which may lengthen your voting process, Mr. Gener added).
6. Bring a list of your chosen candidates on a piece of paper so that you won't spend too much time filling out the ballot. If you make your decisions on the day itself without a list, you could spend a long time filling it up.
7. Watch the readout on the PCOS Unit when you insert your ballot into it. Mr. Gener said that if successful, it'll read, "Congratulations! Your ballot has been scanned." If not, it'll say why (improper shading, etc.) Get that "Congratulations" message before leaving to make sure your vote is counted.
8. Bring an ID (Voter's ID is best, but if you don't have one, driver's license, passport, etc. any valid ID with your address and preferably a photo is all right) to present to the BEI (Board of Elections Inspector). If you can find out beforehand through your barangay, also get your Voter's ID number, precinct number, and your sequence number (the number beside your name in the voter's list). This'll speed up your voting process.
9. The ballot you are given will only be readable by one specific PCOS Unit. In other words, only one machine will be able to read your ballot, because it's pre-registered there, so when you're ready, line up at the proper machine. Don't line up at the wrong machine; your ballot won't be read, and it may spoil your vote.
10. Polls open on May 10, 2010, at 7 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.
11. Mr. Gener said that the Comelec told him that with the PCOS Units, we will know the winner of the elections in 5 days. Otherwise, the PCOS Units will allow for a manual count since all votes will be recorded inside the machines (let's hope it doesn't come to that, because it's going to take the usual weeks and weeks to finish the count).
12. The PCOS Units have internal batteries that can last 16 hours in case of power outages. Since the voting period only lasts 10 hours, there's a 6 hour buffer. But still, let's hope for no brownouts on May 10, 2010.
13. The PCOS Unit will print out the vote count in what looks like a very long cash register receipt (whose print will last for 5 years, he said), which will be put into a sealed box that'll be sent to the Comelec for prop er counting. Also, the PCOS Unit will count the number of voters who are voting based on the ballots inserted into it, so again, watch the screen on the machine to make sure of voter count, as well as other important messages.
14. Mr. Gener said that you should vote only the exact number you should vote for. So, vote for only 1 president, 1 vice president, 12 senators, 1 party list, 1 mayor, 1 vice mayor, 1 member of the House of Representatives, etc. (the limit will be there on your ballot as a "Vote for not more than ____"). If you vote for more than the stipulated number, that particular portion of the ballot is spoiled. You may, however, vote for less (as in, if you can't find 12 worthy senatoriables to vote for, it's all right to vote for less than 12).
15. Mr. Gener stressed repeatedly that in voting this time, one should not make mistakes. It's asking a lot from us, but he said that over and over again. His words: "Don't make mistakes, otherwise, you'll spoil your ballot".
16. Of course you'll also be asked to do the usual signing of forms and marking of thumbprints.

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One of the Best!

“Muslims, Christians and Lumads converge in Mindanao. Peace and stability in that region rests on the people’s ability to live in harmony. Local School Boards know the local situation best and are critical to building this peace through better education. Davao City, through Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and City Councilor Mabel Acosta, chairman of the council committee on education, has built a strong Local School Board over the past decade that could serve as a model for other cities.”

One of the best

By Roger M. Balanza

Education is a major focus of the administration of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Without fanfare, Davao City has established basic foundations in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepEd), other national government agencies and private educational institutions to make the city’s educational system one of the best in the country.

At the core of this initiative is the Local School Board which links with DepEd to provide scholarship, infrastructures, salaries for teachers and other basic needs of the local public school system.

Outside of the public school system, the city government locks arms with private institutions to support their programs and projects and establish conditions for students to pursue their education in a safe community.

This article, from an outsider who has extensive background on the Philippine educational system, should place Davao City on top of the heap among local government units in terms of seriousness and dedication to provide for the education of children.

The author, Juan Miguel Luz, is the associate dean of the Center for Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management. He can be reached at juanmiguel.luz@gmail.com and www.mikeluz.net.

Source: DURIANBURGDAVAO

Ateneo de Davao Law wins over Ateneo de Manila

Ateneo de Davao Law is really catching up with top law schools in Manila.

Thus said former Defense Secretary Atty. Avelino “Nonong” Cruz, Partner of CVC Law Firm, before declaring Ateneo de Davao Law Debate Team as Champion in the second season of ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) Square Off Law Debates on August 12, 2009 at ABS CBN Studio, Quezon City. This season’s tournament was participated by top 16 law schools in the country.

After beating University of the Philippines Law in the International Humanitarian Law Debates in May 2009, AdDU Law has once again excelled by winning against Ateneo de Manila Law this time. The team is composed of Therese Xyza Gemelo – IV Law, Vincent Juan – II Law, Mariness Ledesma – IV Law, with Atty. Israelito Torreon as their coach and the moderator of the Ateneo Forensic (AdDU Law’s Debate Team). Juan and Ledesma were awarded Judges’ Choice and Audience’s Choice for Best Speakers, respectively.

With the proposition “Let it be resolved that Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP or Executive Order No. 821) Should be Scrapped,” AdMU Law argued on the affirmative side while AdDU on the negative. The AdMU Law Team primarily argued that MDRP should be scrapped because we have existing laws, which address the problem of drug accessibility, particularly to these five most prescribed drugs under MDRP. As an alternative, said team proposed that the government should strengthen the Generic Drugs Law, among others, and not impose price ceiling.

On the other hand, AdDU Law Team showed their prowess in legal argumentation by defending the cause of MDRP and how it operates as immediate response to the urgent problem of drug accessibility, while better legislation and law enforcement are still works-in-progress. Backed up by relevant laws and recent research findings, they argued that since the issue involves a continuing problem in public health, there should be a balance between immediate response and long term solution.

On the way to this all-Ateneo Finals, AdDU Law routed University of the East in the eliminations, Far Eastern University-La Salle Law in the Quarterfinal, and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan in the Semifinal.

The winning debaters won prizes such as brand new laptop-notebooks and free subscription to online law encyclopedia and jurisprudence. Juan was given free flight and vacation package for two to Nami Beach in Boracay while Ledesma was given vacation package in One Place Tagaytay and SM gift certificates.

The Ateneo Forensic, thru the leadership of Kristine Ferrer – IV Law, expresses its appreciation to its members, alumni-barristers, alumni-lawyers, and law school professors for their very valuable support.