MANILA, Philippines – Facing criticism, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, January 22, backtracked on its rule that broadcasters should seek its permission to interview bets even for daily news.

Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr said the poll body will soon issue a resolution to “clarify” this rule.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – A new province to be called Davao Occidental in Mindanao has been created 4 months before the midterm polls, but the election of its provincial officials will be unlikely until 2016.

Republic Act 10360, which carved out the new province from Davao del Sur, was signed by President Benigno Aquino III on Jan 14. It will take effect 15 days after it was published in newspapers on Monday, January 21.

An estimated 900,000 registered Filipino overseas absentee voters  (OAVs) will have a full month before the May elections to cast their votes. 
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) released En Banc Resolution 9618 which mandates that “casting of votes (for OAVs) shall be for a period of thirty calendar days beginning at eight o’clock in the morning of April 13, 2013 local time of the host country until seven o’clock in the evening of May 13, 2013, Philippine time inclusive of all established holidays in the Philippines  and such other holidays  in host countries.”

The Freedom of Information (FoI) bill was on its death throes yesterday as its main proponents withdrew support to what they called the “Malacañang FoI bill” while a multisectoral group pushing for its passage is already blaming the House leadership for what it anticipated as another failure of the lower chamber to enact the bill.    
The Right to Know, Right Now Coalition accused Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzalez III of command negligence on the likely death of the bill in the current Congress.

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is turning over P4.14 billion to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to support preparations for the midterm elections in May this year.

The release was charged against savings from unutilized appropriations under the 2012 General Appropriations Act, the DBM said.