A Peek at the Post-Election Evaluation & Strategic Planning Seminar-Workshop

Finally, the long and exhausting week is over! The past week has been a grueling one. My co-worker, Ate Vilma and I need to get things done for the Post-Election Evaluation and Strategic Planning Seminar-Workshop. Sending out the invitation letters, preparing the program and other logistics for the said activity is taxing. We carry the burden in making the seminar organized and successful.

Fortunately, the seminar-workshop was met with a favorable response from the participants who were composed of the representatives from the Department of Education, Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and the Local Government, PPCRV, Local Government Unit of General Santos City and the Commission on Elections. The said government entities and non-government organization plays a very vital role in the conduct of the electoral process so that the Filipino electorates up to the grassroots level can exercice their rights to suffrage.

The seminar aimed of further knowing and internalizing the different government agencies' role, especially those offices who were deputized by the COMELEC in delivering their mandated power. The activity also enabled the participants to come up with a clear-cut goal for the upcoming 2010 elections through the effective facilitation of an expert consultant from a non-government organization.

The 2-day activity is the first of its kind in the region wherein the previous 3 major elections- May 14, 2007 National & Local Elections, October 29, 2007 Synchronized Barangay & Sangguniang Kabataan Elections and August 14, 2008 ARMM Automated Elections- were evaluated. The agencies concerned were able to identify their respective strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. They were also able to name the hinderng and facilitating factors in delivering their respective duties to their constituents. All these were made possible by the conduct of different workshops where the Technology of Participation (TOP) was clearly utilized.

Some snapshots in the seminar:

Resumption of the System of Continuing Registration of Voters

As an employee of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), I would like to spread the news that the continuing registration of voters for Non-ARMM shall resume via the Resolution No. 8514 which was promulgated on November 12, 2008.

The Commission shall entertain applications for the following:

1. Registration
2. Transfer of registration of records
3. Reactivation and changes/ corrections of entries in the registration records/ inclusion of registration records/ reinstatement of name in the list of voters.

Date, Time and Place of Filing: The applications for registration shall be personally filed beginning December 2, 2008 to December 15, 2009, at the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) of the district/ city/ municipality where the applicant resides from Monday to Friday, during office hours at 8 o'clock a.m. to 5 o'clock p.m.

Please take note of the following schedules:

The Election Officer shall adopt a system of processing applications to speed up the registration process, minimize queuing and avoid inconvenience.

WHO MAY REGISTER?

Any Filipino citizen who is:

1. At least eighteen (18) years of age;
2. A resident of the Philippines for at least one (1) year and in the place wherein he proposes to vote for at least six (6) months on or before the day of the election; and
3. Not otherwise disqualified by law.

WHAT TO BRING?

Present any of the following current identification documents that bears the applicant's photograph and signature:

1. Employee's identification card (ID) with the signature of the employer or authorized representative;
2. Postal ID;
3. Student's ID or library card, signed by the school authority;
4. Senior citizen's ID;
5. Driver's license;
6. NBI/PNP clearance;
7. Passport;
8. SSS/GSIS ID
9. Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID;
10. License issued by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC); and
11. Any other valid ID.

NOTE: Community Tax Certificates (cedula) or ceritifications/ identification cards issued by barangay officials shall not be honored as valid identification documents.

SOURCE: COMELEC Resolution No. 8514

12 Different Types of Employees

Since the previous post "Can You Complain About Your Job?" has been talking about how a co-worker can affect an individual's day, I deemed it best to post this forwarded email from my pretty cousin Michelle a.k.a Mystique of As I Live, Laugh, And Love. This was actually forwarded to me in our own language, Filipino, but for everyone to understand, my English was put to a test by coming up with my own translations ;-)

In our superior's eyes, there are only a dozen type of employees. They are the following:

1. CLOWNS- They are the official comedians and comediennes in the office. They have such striking one-liners that would always keep the workplace light and keep the workers awake in broad day light. According to many of the bosses, they are those who lacks attention probably because they don't have the wit or more often than not, they are actually witty but lazy.
   
2. GEEKS - They don't care about the people around them. What they only care about are the papers, the boss, and computers. Even if the boss is in no the mood for some tete-a-tete, more so to talk about deadlines, the geeks are the ones who have the courage to approach the boss and try their luck changing the results of the entries and substitute the value of credit vs. debit.
3. HOLLOW MAN - There are two types of H.M. virus: Type A at Type B. Type A are the employees who are most often invisible at work, seat usually vacant, always absent. Type B are those who reports to work but the work output is actually invisible. They are those with hollow brains, if you know what I mean...
4. SPICE GIRLS- a group of girls who are fond of going out together but always report to work late. Arrgghh! They usually take a hold of their hairbrushes and songhits (songhits??? Is it still in? Hahaha!). If they are given tasks, they always group themselves together.
5. DA GWAPINGS - They are the male counterparts of the Spice Girls. They are born to make pa-cute. hehe! The group is composed of only 2-3 members so each one are being noticed for their cuteness, LOL! Like the Spice Girls, their brains are full of gels.
6. CELEBRITIES - Politicians, Athletes, Performers. Politicians are those who are more concerned with the company's status and its employees than performance. Athletes are those 'varsitarians' who are very athletic but moves too slow at work. Performers are employees who are coming to work just to sing and dance on stage during organizational day. Overall, the celebrity types are oozing with PR but they have low I.Q.
7. GUINNESS - They are record holders when it comes to persistence. They usually lack intelligence but they are very hardworking and most of the time they are those who gets very successful in life. Very organized at work, very quick but they always commit mistakes.
8. LEATHER GOODS - They are the employees who are determined to get what they want at all cost, by hook or by crook. They are anomalous who will try to get so close with the big boss and would always try to get their own way.
9. WEIRDOS - They are the problematic employees, the so-called "misunderstood". They are the black sheep of the office. They have only a few friends, usually in trouble with their co-workers, they have very low evaluation and the boss's enemy.
10. SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF RIZAL - They are the so-called Endangered Species. Straight 'A' employees but well-rounded. They are not geeks. Boss's pet but they don't work their way up by acting like a leech. They are always busy at work but they still find time for extra-curricular activities and gimmicks, ehem!
11. BOB ONGS - They are the serious ones but lacks the know how and they oftentimes look dumb.
12. COMMONERS - They are the generic member of the class. They lack individuality and characteristics that may leave marks in the minds of people around them. The boss won't notice them if they aren't around. As time would pass them by, they are those easily forgotten by their higher-ups and their co-workers!

There! I've completed the list, thank God! Where do you belong from among the twelve? I would like to ask my co-worker, Ate Vilma of The Maiden Testimony, what group do I belong? Speak up now, be honest, hehehe!

City Election Officer's Message

In behalf of GenSan's City Elections Officer, Atty. Jose M. Villanueva, I was tasked today to read before the local government employees of General Santos City his message for the constituents of our city.

Magandang GenSan everyone!

It is with great pleasure, that we, in the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), are given this golden opportunity to make announcements before LGU employees of this great city. Believe it or not, we are still very busy in our office, contrary to popular belief that COMELEC is busy only during elections... and considering that 2008 is not an election year. Notwithstanding the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections, our office undertakes the following activities:

1. Releasing of Voter's ID
2. Issuance of Voter's Certification
3. Voter's Educational Training Program

The schedule for the registration of voters, transfer and correction of entries in the voting records is yet to be announced. Most probably, after the ARMM elections which is scheduled today, August 11, 2008.

For the information of everybody, the elections in ARMM is fully automated. Two systems will be used. The DRE or Direct Recording Electronic which records the vote and register automatically the votes in the database in COMELEC, Manila. The other one is the OMR or Optical Media Recording which needs a special type of paper as ballots and the votes are recorded by shading the appropriate blank spaces opposite the name of candidates. The DRE or Direct Recording Electronic is the more expensive system as we have to install the same for each polling precincts.

The automation in the ARMM elections is a test case for a full-blown automated elections come year 2010. At this point, we can only hope for the best and cross our fingers... that all systems perform as expected during crunch time.

Should you have any other concerns, please feel free to visit our office.

Thank you and good morning!

SEE ALSO RELATED LINK:

• The Voice of a COMELEC Employee: On ARMM Automated Elections 2008