Airport security speedup program to relaunch

  The Clear program, which allowed members to breeze through airport security before it abruptly shut down last year, is expected to be up and running again by the fall.

The company was taken over by Alclear LLC, whose board includes Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Alclear bought Clear's former owner, Verified Identity Pass, which filed for bankruptcy.

When the program shut down in June, there was a lot of concern among members because of the sensitive personal data they volunteered in exchange for quick passage through security gates.

Although the former owner, Verified Identity Pass, was private, Clear had to report personal information to the Transportation Security Administration.

The data is currently stored by a large unnamed security company. Former Clear customers will soon be sent a notice, asking if they want their personal data transferred to Alclear. If not, the data will be destroyed.

To join, passengers must be fingerprinted and have their irises scanned for positive identification, plus turn over information including Social Security numbers that the company shares with the TSA. In return, they get excess to shorter security lines at about 20 airports across the country.

Alclear said in a statement Tuesday that the subscription terms of nearly 160,000 previous members will be honored. Enrollment for new members will start this summer. It did not say how many airports will have the new version of the service.

A Clear membership will cost $179 for unlimited use.

Clear grew out of the Transportation Security Administration's Registered Traveler program. It was founded in 2003 by Steven Broil, the businessman behind media ventures such as court and American Lawyer magazine. Broil left the company in February when a group of investors took control of the company.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

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Apple sells 1 million iPads, outdoing first iPhone

 Apple Inc. said Monday that is has sold 1 million of its new iPad tablet computers in the month after its launch, meaning it's been selling more than twice as fast as the iPhone did when it was new.

Apple said it reached the milestone on Friday, when the new 3G model of the iPad was delivered to its first buyers. That model can access AT&T's cellular broadband network. The first models had only Wi-Fi access.

"One million iPads in 28 days — that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone," said CEO Steve Jobs. Demand keeps exceeding supply for the tablet, he added.

The iPad went on sale in the US on April 3. Apple has already the delayed the international launch of the device, saying sales in the US were unexpectedly strong. It's planning to start taking orders for the iPad from international buyers on May 10.

Apple shares rose $5.26, or 2 percent, to close at $266.35 Monday.

The iPad is half an inch thick and has a 9.7-inch screen. The Wi-Fi-only models start at $499, and the 3G models at $629.  

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

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Late CF card delivery won't imperil elections, Smartmatic says

 The late delivery of compact flash (CF) cards in several areas in the country — including volatile provinces such as Maguindanao and Sulu — would not imperil the conduct of elections in May 10, poll machine supplier Smartmatic said on Friday.

“We can make it. We have always said that we can make it, despite the new change in the schedule," Smartmatic Asia president Cesar Flores said in an interview on Friday.

Almost all ballots and precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines are already in place in town halls all over the country, while most reconfigured compact flash (CF) cards will arrive by Saturday, he said.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) pulled out and reconfigured all CF cards containing instructions to the PCOS machines after the automated counting machines failed to read votes accurately when tested last Monday.

Flores added that Smartmatic and Comelec are closely coordinating with the police to ensure that CF cards will arrive in time for the May 10 polls, especially in areas prone to election-related violence.

“We are trying to work with the police to make sure that the CF cards will arrive in these areas on time," he said.

The Comelec said on Thursday that vote-counting in five percent of all polling areas in the country might be delayed for a day because of late deliveries of reconfigured CF cards.

Transparency

Flores also assured voters that Smartmatic will be fully transparent about their operations on May 10, a day after the Supreme Court ordered the Comelec to disclose all preparations for the elections.

“Everything has always been transparent, and will continue to be transparent. Everything has always been public," he said.

Flores even toured representatives from the media on Friday inside the Smartmatic national support center facility located in the Antel Global Corp. Center in Pasig City.

The support center will receive reports on technical problems from Smartmatic’s 42,000 technicians on the field, Flores said.

He added that Smartmatic will give real-time updates on the status of different poll activities, such as the opening and closing of polling precincts, in the Comelec center in the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on election day.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

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In ‘City of Stars,’ celebs bring glitter to local race

A star glittered over the village of West Riverside in Quezon City one Wednesday night.

For a moment, the residents — mostly dressed in tattered clothes and plain slippers — thought they can finally find out what it was like to see and hear a real, live star in their midst.

But it vanished as soon as it appeared.

“Nasaan na si vice mayor? Bakit biglang nawala?" said one surprised resident when Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, Liberal Party (LP) mayoralty bet, this coming polls, left a sortie in their area only a few minutes after he arrived.

NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T. Liberal Party Quezon City mayoral bet Herbert Bautista has remained silent on accusations of incompetence hurled towards him by his rivals. Andreo Calonzo

Bautista, a former actor who played the role of Quezon City vice mayor for the past nine years, showed how comfortable he was onstage during his brief appearance at the sortie.

He cracked a few green jokes, led his slate into dancing to the tune of his campaign jingle and gave an entertaining speech before the obviously star-struck residents.

Joy Belmonte, Bautista’s running mate and daughter of incumbent Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., even talked about Bautista’s private life to engage the crowd during her speech.

She asked the audience to enumerate female celebrities who were linked to Bautista, to which the crowd willingly gave answers.

In contrast, when the younger Belmonte asked the people about Bautista’s accomplishments during his 15 years in the city government, the rowdy crowd went silent.

“Kapag tinanong ang love life mo, alam na alam. Kapag tungkol sa mga nagawa mo, tahimik," the LP vice-mayoral bet quipped.

Lackluster performance?

Bautista’s lackluster public service record may be something his running mate takes lightly.

But Bautista’s most vocal rival, former Cabinet member and Quezon City Rep. Michael “Mike" Defensor, has a different opinion.

Bautista “has done nothing" in his three years as city councilor, and another twelve years as vice mayor, says Defensor, who is running under the People's Reform Party.

“Sa tagal na sa gobyerno, wala siyang nagawa na kahit anong programa. Binuhos lang niya ang pondo sa pagkain at painom. On the basis of his office’s budget, he could have done so much," said Defensor in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

(His long government stint has brought no programs. Instead, he merely spent funds on food and drink.)

Another mayoralty aspirant, independent candidate John Charles Chang, likewise questioned Bautista and the rest of the Quezon City government’s use of funds — a big chunk of which comes from the city’s high rate of tax collection and revenue generation.

“Ang Quezon City ay isa sa pinakamayayamang lungsod sa bansa, pero ang daming mahihirap… Mas malaki ang taxes ng Quezon City kaysa sa Makati. Saan napupunta ang pera natin?" Chang said.

(Quezon City is one of the wealthiest cities in the country. However, there are still lots of poor people. Quezon City collects more tax revenues than Makati [the Philippines’ premier financial district]. Where does all that money go.)

Despite these issues, Bautista has remained silent.

The former actor, who was so used to flashy lights and cameras before, has frequently evaded the media throughout his campaigns when asked about his rivals’ accusations.

In one television interview, all Bautista can say about the allegations is a succinct “I don’t want to talk about it."

However, Defensor is unhappy with the silent treatment.

He dared Bautista to prove that he is more than just a celebrity riding his popularity as a former television and movie star and as the incumbent mayor’s anointed one.

“I have no problem with him [Bautista] being a celebrity. He just needs to prove that he is not just banking on popularity," he said.

Star-studded campaign

Bautista is not the only celebrity candidate in Quezon City faced with such a challenge.

The “City of Stars," in fact, has the most star-studded local campaigns for the May polls, data gathered by GMA News Research said.

Of the 109 celebrities seeking electoral posts, 15 are running for positions in the Quezon City government.

It is only in this city where celebrities run in all electoral positions — from district representative to city council members.



These stars vying for electoral posts in the country’s largest city in terms of population come in different shapes in sizes: from a former sexy star and beauty queen to gay radio anchor and comedian.

However, these celebrities have one thing in common: their capacity to draw crowds.

Defensor himself admitted that he benefits from the star power of his runningmate, actress Aiko Melendez.

He said Melendez “complements" his campaign with a mix of mass appeal and political experience.

“Malakas talaga ang hatak niya sa baba, sa masa. In a way, we are complementing each other, since she has been a councilor for a long time," he said.

Not all candidates are happy with the star-studded Quezon City campaigns, though.

Independent bet Henry Samonte, for example, said he feels outshone by some of his rival’s star power.

“Ordinaryong tao lang po ako. Kaya lang ako pumasok sa pulitika kasi sumusobra na po ang gobyernong ito," he said in one forum.

Aside from former Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. and Quezon City Rep. Mary Ann Susano, two other candidates for mayors are relatively unknown: independent bets Roberto Sombillo and Engracio Icasiano.

Platforms over popularity

The campaigns in Quezon City may be the most stellar, but voters from the country’s former capital seem to put little weight whether a candidate is a personality or not.

Housewife Rose Torres said regardless of whether a candidate is a celebrity or not, all those seeking for electoral posts in the city are after one thing: Quezon City’s big budget.

“Wala naman akong masama sa mga artista, pero malaki ang budget ng Quezon City. Ke artista o hindi, they are all running for the budget," she said.

(There’s nothing basically wrong with actors and actresses running for public office. But since Quezon City’s budget is big, whether they’re all personalities or not, they’re after that.)

Torres, however, believes that star power has really played a huge part in her city’s politics.

“Kung pagkapresidente nga nanalo ang artista, salocal positions pa kaya?" she said, referring to former President Joseph Estrada, the first ever movie actor to be elected to the country’s top post.

For 64-year-old Ludy Bustos, the Quezon City local elections should go beyond being a popularity contest.

“For me, platforms really matter. Personality is secondary. I hope the ones who will be elected can utilize the city’s resources wisely, so that the residents will benefit, especially the poor ones," she said


David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

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