ACT TEACHERS

PARTYLIST

Rm. 301, UCCP Bldg., 877 EDSA, Quezon City

Mobile 0920-9220817 Email actpl2010@gmail. com

Website www.act-teachers. org

February 22, 2010

NEWS RELEASE

References:

Antonio L. Tinio (0920-9220817) , ACT TEACHERS Partylist National President

U.S. firm engaged by COMELEC for source code review

has tainted record

The U.S. firm employed by the Commission on Elections to certify the Automated Election System to be used in the May 2010 national elections has a tainted track record in reviewing election systems.

This was pointed out by ACT TEACHERS Partylist president Antonio Tinio in a press statement today.

On February 9, 2010, COMELEC announced that SysTest Labs of Denver, Colorado has completed its review of the source code and has certified it for use in the upcoming elections.

According to its website (http://www.systest. com/), SysTest Labs, Incorporated is an internationally- accredited “quality assurance and software performance testing company.” Last October 2009, COMELEC, through Resolution No. 8677, awarded SysTest Labs a Php 70 million contract to conduct the testing and certification, including the legally-mandated source code review, of the Automated Election System.

“Source code review is critical because this is the only way the public can be assured that the voting machines to be used in May can be trusted—meaning they are accurately counting the actual votes cast by voters,” explained Tinio. He explained that the source code refers to the human-readable instructions to be executed by the electronic counting machines that will be used to count votes in the upcoming elections.

Tinio cited Section 12 of Republic Act 9369, the poll automation law, which requires the COMELEC to make the source code of the computer programs to be used in the May 2010 elections to be made available to the public for review. Section 14 states: "Once an AES technology is selected for implementation, the Commission shall promptly make the source code of that technology available and open to any interested political party or groups which may conduct their own review thereof."

However, the COMELEC is under heavy fire for restricting access to the software source code to be used by Smartmatic-TIM. Smartmatic is the Venezuelan firm contracted by COMELEC to implement poll automation. “Instead of making the source code available to any interested party for review, COMELEC chose to engage SysTest Labs as an independent, third party reviewer, who will have complete and exclusive access to Smartmatic’s source code. This is a blatant violation of the law,” said Tinio. “What makes it worse is that the firm chosen by COMELEC has a tainted track record as a reviewer of automated election systems.”

Accreditation suspended by US federal government

Tinio pointed out that in October 2008, the US federal government suspended its accreditation of SysTest Labs as one of five independent laboratories that could conduct testing and certification of electronic voting systems to be used in US elections. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology suspended its accreditation after it observed SysTest Lab’s “lack of properly documented and validated test methods,” “testing conducted by unqualified or untrained personnel,” and “improper assurances made to manufacturers regarding testing outcomes.” [i]

“The US federal government was concerned not only that SysTest Labs did not have the technical competence to review electronic voting systems. What’s worse, it raised questions about the company’s ethics,” said Tinio.

Tinio noted that the US Election Assistance Commisison investigated SysTest Labs for allowing one of its clients, the manufacturer and vendor ES&S (Election Systems and Software), to unduly influence its certification procedures. “EAC has concerns that SysTest is allowing and inviting manufacturers to play an inappropriate role in the development of test plans.” Furthermore, “it is not appropriate for a manufacturer to be directly involved in creating plans for testing their own systems.” The EAC also chided SysTest labs for making “an inappropriate promise of certification” to the manufacturer.[ii]

“In other words, the US federal government was concerned that SysTest Labs was rigging its certification process in behalf of ES&S,” said Tinio. He noted that ES&S iVotronics touch screen electronic voting system certified by SysTest Labs has been cited in a number of electoral controversies, including statewide and local elections in Florida in 2006.[iii]

As a fallout from the suspension of its accreditation, in January 2009, another election services vendor, Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold), sued SysTest Labs in a US Federal Court for fraud, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion and deception. Premier claimed that SysTest Lab’s substandard procedures wreaked havoc on its business.[iv]

Tinio noted that Smartmatic has had a long-standing relationship with SysTest Labs. Its Smartmatic Auditable Election System (SAES) 1800 Precinct Tabulator, which will be deployed in over 70,000 precincts for election day, was certified as “over 99.99999%” accurate. “But the certification comes from SysTest Labs, possibly in accordance with the shoddy procedures criticized by the US federal government.”[v]

Tinio added that the US federal government subsequently reinstated its accreditation of SysTest Labs in March 2009 after the company made changes in compliance with the NIST’s standards. “SysTest was able to demonstrate through documentation and observations that they have corrected the nonconformities that lead to their suspension.”[vi] These included “major changes” in documentation of test methods, changes in personnel, and training in professional ethics for its staff.

Public source code review needed

Tinio reiterated the need for COMELEC to comply with the poll automation law by allowing interested parties to conduct their own source code review. “ACT TEACHERS Partylist join other parties, concerned citizens’ groups and individuals in denouncing COMELEC’s continuing refusal to comply with the provisions of the poll automation law. With less than 90 days to go before election day, all that it is offering is a sham review, a so-called walk-through of the source code under the supervision of Smartmatic.”

“Given SysTest Lab’s less than sterling track record, its history of unethical conduct partnerships with the clients that it certifies, opening up the source code for public review becomes all the more necessary. This is the only way that the public will be assured of that the Automated Election System will deliver credible results,” concluded Tinio. #

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[i] Letter of US Election Assistance Commission to SysTest Labs, October 29, 2008 and

Letter of National Institute of Standards and Technology to SysTest Labs, October 28, 2008. Available for download at the US Election Assistance Commission website, http://www.eac. gov/program- areas/voting- systems/docs/ eac-notice- of-intent- to-suspend- ltr-systest- final.pdf/ attachment_ download/ file.

[ii] Letter US Election Assistance Commission to SysTest Labs, July 25, 2008, with attached email correspondence between SysTest Labs and ES&S. Available for download at the US Election Assistance Commission website http://www.eac. gov/program- areas/voting- systems/docs/ accreditation- docs-7-22- 08-ltr-to- systest-labs- final.pdf/ attachment_ download/ file.

[iii] Susan Pynchon and Kitty Garber, “ Sarasota ’s Vanished Votes: An Investigation into the Cause of Uncounted Votes in the 2006 Congressional District 13 Race in Sarasota County , Florida .” Florida Fair Elections Coalition, January 2008. Available for download at http://www.floridaf airelections. org/reports/ Vanishing_ Votes.pdf.

[iv] “Electronic Voting Manufacturer Claims Testing Lab's Shoddy Work Wreaked Havoc.” Courthouse News Service, January 23, 2009. http://www.courthou senews.com/ 2009/01/23/ Electronic_ Voting_Manufactu rer_Claims_ Testing_Lab_ s_Shoddy_ Work_Wreaked_ Havoc.htm.

[v] “Technical Sheet SAES 1800 Precinct Tabulator.” http://www.smartmat ic.com/fileadmin /users/docs/ SAES/SAES1800_ technicalsheet_ v2.0.pdf. This states that the SAES 1800 is “tested to stringent accuracy levels of U.S. Federal 2005 VVSG Vol 1 and Vol 2 by Systest Labs, a certified federal testing lab.”

[vi] Letter of National Institute of Standards and Technology to SysTest Labs, February 26, 2009 at http://vote. nist.gov/ NVLAP/NVLAP- ReinstatingSysTe stAccreditation. htm; “EAC lifts suspension of SysTest’s accreditation,” http://www.eac. gov/blog- postings/ eac-accepts- systest-lab.

Statement on Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao

December 5, 2009
PRESS STATEMENT
Reference: Antonio L. Tinio (0920-9220817)
ACT Chairperson


We vehemently condemn Pres. Gloria Arroyo for declaring martial law and suspending the writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao, ostensibly to enable the authorities to carry out justice for the Ampatuan massacre.

We are one with the public in demanding justice for the victims of Ampatuan. Not only must those directly responsible be swiftly brought to justice, but Malacanang, the military and the police must also be held accountable for coddling and arming the Ampatuan clan named as responsible for the massacre. However, we cannot allow Malacanang to use our outrage at the massacre to justify this dangerous and unconstitutional declaration of martial law.

We are outraged that Mrs. Arroyo and her clique are exploiting one of the most gruesome mass murders in recent history and the widespread public outcry for justice as the pretext for this unwarranted abuse of presidential power. Yet again, the Arroyo regime is demonstrating its utter disrespect for democratic institutions and sheer disregard for the norms of human decency.

The declaration of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus are allowed by the Constitution only in cases of invasion or rebellion. Neither of these are present in Maguindanao. Arroyo’s Proclamation 1959 is therefore unjustifiable and unconstitutional. As such, it violates the civil liberties of the citizens of Maguindanao and sets the stage for more and graver human rights abuses by state security forces, already notorious internationally for their appalling track record of brutality.

Furthermore, by setting the bar for the declaration of martial law at an absurdly low level, the Arroyo regime is setting a dangerous precedent that could pose a threat to the May 2010 elections and the constitutionally- mandated transition to a new government. In the waning days of her presidential term, Mrs. Arroyo has amply demonstrated that she is desperate to stay in power, recently declaring her candidacy for a congressional seat in Pampanga with the avowed aim of pushing for charter change.

We call on Congress to immediately convene and revoke Proclamation 1959. We call on the public to mobilize and be vigilant as this regimes desperately maneuvers to maintain its hold on power beyond 2010. We reiterate our call for the ouster of Gloria Arroyo. #

ACT DEMANDS FOR RE-ACCREDITATION!

ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TEACHERS
2/F Napoleon Pornasdoro Bldg., Mines St. cor. Dipolog St. , Bgy. VASRA, Quezon City , Philippines
Telefax 453-9116 Mobile 0920-9220817 Email act_philippines@ yahoo.com Website www.actphils. com
Member, Education International

November 25, 2009
NEWS RELEASE
Reference: Antonio L. Tinio (0920-9220817)
ACT Chairperson

Teachers urge COMELEC to accredit ACT as partylist

Militant teachers today trooped to the Commission on Elections main office in Manila to urge the poll body to allow a teachers’ partylist group to run in the May 2010 elections.
Around 100 teachers held a brief demonstration and called on the COMELEC to accredit ACT Teachers Partylist. Last Friday, the COMELEC First Division headed by Commissioner Rene Sarmiento issued an 8-page resolution denying the petition for accreditation of ACT Teachers Partylist, claiming that it made untruthful statements in its petition regarding the extent of its membership. According to the COMELEC, its field offices reported that ACT Teachers Partylist does not exist in the majority of regions in the country.
ACT Teachers Partylist officials led by its president Antonio Tinio and secretary-general April Valentin Montes, together with their legal counsel Atty. Alnie G. Foja, then proceeded to the COMELEC’s Commission Secretariat to file a Motion for Reconsideration of their petition.
“The First Division’s decision is most unfortunate,” said Tinio. “There are no untruthful statements in our petition. How could they conclude that we don’t have a nationwide constituency? It appears that they simply overlooked the copious lists of names and addresses of officers and members of ACT Teachers Partylist in eleven of the country’s 18 regions that we submitted together with our original petition.” Tinio added that their partlylist has regional, provincial, city, and municipal chapters in the Cordillera Administrative Region, National Capital Region, Regions 2, 3, 4-A, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12. “For this Motion for Reconsideration, we are submitting an even more voluminous compilation of lists of chapters, officers, and members together with affidavits and other documents attesting to our organization’s existence in these regions.”
ACT Teachers Partylist has more than fulfilled all the requirements for registration demanded by the partylist law. There should be no reason for the COMELEC to deny this motion for reconsideration,” said Atty. Foja.
“It would be a grave injustice to the sector of teachers and education workers if our partylist is not allowed to in the 2010 elections,” said Montes. “The sector has been clamoring for genuine representation in Congress, something which our party can provide, grounded in the solid track record of ACT in upholding and advancing teachers’ rights.”
ACT Teachers Partylist and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers are calling on their members nationwide to hold dialogues and mass delegations in the COMELEC offices in their localities and to barrage the COMELEC national office with telephone calls, texts, faxes, and emails calling for the accreditation of ACT Teachers Partylist.
Tinio noted that a delegation trooped to the COMELEC regional office in Iloilo yesterday, and that similar actions will also take place in Bacolod , Cebu, and Davao today. “We will keep up the public pressure until our petition is granted,” said Tinio. #

NEW PARTYLIST - ACT TEACHERS

As election period is coming in we should be informed of our candidates platform and their background.Will they move for changes in the society by creating laws that would benefit the basic sectors? One of the new partylist that I read has opted to promote the teachers voice. Hereunder are the details about this partylist aspirant.

Prominent educators and educational staff led by Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera (Professor Emeritus and National Artist), Antonio Tinio (ACT Chairman), Clodualdo Cabrera (former All UP Workers Union President and currently U.P. Staff Regent) and Dr. Francis Gealogo (Faculty, Ateneo de Manila University) established the ACT Teachers Partylist in January 2008.

It pledges to serve as the real voice of the teachers – Ang Tunay na Tinig ng Teachers! It will fight for the interest and well-being of all public and private school teachers as well as all members of the educational sector.

General Platform of ACT Teachers Partylist

As the Real Voice of Teachers! (Tunay na Tinig ng Teachers!), the ACT Teachers Partylist supports and fights for three major points. First, the economic rights and welfare of teachers and educational staff; second, relevant reforms in the educational system; and third, good governance.

1. Fighting for the economic rights and welfare of teachers and educational workers: The ACT Teachers Partylist fights for the interests and demands of teachers and educational workers towards raising their wages and benefits, and the betterment of their teaching and working conditions.

· Upgrade teachers’ salaries to salary grade 15.

· Remove the Claims and Loan Interdependency Program or CLIP of GSIS, among the other unjust practices of the said institution.

· Demand transparency in the governance of fund agencies such as the GSIS, SSS, PhilHealth, Housing, among others.

· Enforce the Magna Carta for Private and Public Sectors which pushes for the • rights and betterment of teachers.

· Reserve sufficient amount of funds for the benefits of teachers and educational • staff, and regularly fulfill its disbursement.Advance the right to form unions in the educational sector.

2. Relevant reforms in the educational system: The ACT Teachers Partylist supports the development of quality but affordable education, especially for the poor, which strengthens the nationalistic aspirations of the people and the spirit of service.

· A higher educational budget – 6% of the GDP must be allocated for education to immediately fill the current shortages in operations, personnel, logistics, rooms, books, supplies, among others.

· Free and accessible elementary and high school education, and affordable college education.

· Push for the use of Filipino and the local languages, as well as the use of native pedagogy, in schools.

· Return Filipino values, history, literature and social sciences as subjects in • basic education.

3. Good governance: The ACT Teachers Partylist supports good governance, and puts the interests of the majority of Filipinos at the forefront versus that of the minority and the foreign.

· Fight anomaly and corruption in government.

· Prioritize social services such as education.

Declaration of Principles

We, members of the ACT Teachers Partylist, committed to be the true voice of the country’s teachers and aware of our special role in shaping the minds and values of our children and youth, pledge to represent, assist and defend teachers and other education workers in advancing our vocation, economic welfare and democratic rights guided by the following declaration:

· The children and youth have the right to an education that inculcates love of country, develops scientific thinking and is attuned to the needs of the majority of the people especially the marginalized and underrepresented.

· We, the teachers, have a major role in developing children and the youth into responsible, civic-minded and trustworthy members of society.

· We have a right to decent salaries, favorable working conditions and so• cial security. We should be provided with school facilities sufficient for our teaching needs and with venues and opportunities to enrich our teaching competencies.

· The dynamic participation of teachers and other education workers in working for positive changes in our society in unity with other sectors should be encouraged and strengthened.

· We need to venture out of the classroom and campus to initiate and sup• port legislative and policy measures to reform the educational system, increase the budget for education, justly compensate and provide development programs for those in the public sector.

· We pledge to unite with other sectors of Philippine society, especially the economically deprived, in the fight against foreign domination, abuse of power, graft and corruption, trampling on civil liberties and academic freedom and other obstacles to our nation’s development.

· We, especially the public school teachers, are also the guardians of suffrage. We will help ensure clean and honest elections and actively fight election fraud.

· We demand and will strive for responsible and effective governance.

Who can be members of ACT Teachers PartYList?

· teachers

· education workers

· students of education

· retired teachers

· parents of students

· other individuals who believe in the goals of ACT Teachers Partylist.

How can you join the ACT Teachers Partylist?

Please get in touch with any member of the ACT Teachers Partylist on campus or in your community.

Or get in touch with the ACT Teachers Partylist Regional Headquarters

Website: www.act-teachers.org

e-mail: actpl.smr@gmail.com or actpl2010@gmail.com

call or text: 0928-740-3976 or 0908-900-5770

What can you do?

Inform us of issues and problems that you think the ACT Teachers Partylist should address.

Give us your ideas on how we can strengthen the role of the ACT Teachers Partylist bilang Tunay na Tinig ng Teachers!

Be a member.

Invite others from your family, relatives, friends, former classmates and teachers, neighbors, co-employees and others to be members.

Attend our activities and invite others to join you.

Help solicit resources needed for the partylist’s activities and campaign.

Know more about the ACT Teachers Partylist and join an action committee.

Ang Tunay na Tinig ng Teachers!

Teachers Concern

Teachers urge COMELEC to address election service issues

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers today called on the Commission on Elections to address a number of issues faced by teachers serving in the 2010 national elections.

ACT national chairperson Antonio Tinio noted that around 400,000 teachers are going to be needed by COMELEC to serve in 80,000 precincts in next year’s polls.

“Since 1998, our demand has been to make election service optional for teachers,” said Tinio. “There is legislation currently pending in Congress to make the necessary amendments to the Omnibus Election Code, but with so few session days left it’s unlikely that the bill will be passed. Therefore, teachers will continue to be required to serve in May 2010.”

“We are therefore calling for adequate protection and compensation for teachers,” he added.

ACT is calling for 1) an increase in teachers’ compensation for election service, from the current rate of Php 1,000 per day to Php 2,000 per day; 2) provision of adequate security, insurance, and legal defense; and 3) thorough training in the new automated election system at the soonest possible time.

“Security is a major concern of teachers. Even though elections are now automated, we believe that teachers will still be subjected to harassment, intimidation and violence during the election period,” said Tinio, pointing out that two teachers were killed while serving in the 2007 national elections.

ACT also expressed concern that information on the new automated system was not being provided to teachers. “We hope that the COMELEC should at least provide teachers with a basic orientation on the new system at this stage.”

Reacting to COMELEC chairman Jose Melo’s statement that the poll body has insufficient funds for an increase in teachers’ pay, Tinio pointed out their demand could still be met. “That was also the reaction of then COMELEC chairman Benjamin Abalos in 2004, when we made a similar demand for increase in compensation. But with COMELEC and ACT working together we were able to get the Department of Budget and Management and Malacañang to release additional funds.”

ACT reiterated its call for a dialogue between COMELEC and the teachers. “We asked for a dialogue with Chairman Melo as early as September, but at the time it seems that COMELEC had other priorities.” #