Facebook unveils revamped online safety site

Facebook is unveiling a revamped internal site designed to help people stay safe while surfing online.

Facebook's "Safety Center," which features new tools for parents, teachers, teens and law enforcement, is the first major endeavor from the social networking site and its four-month-old global safety advisory board.

The board is composed of Internet safety groups Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely, WiredSafety, Childnet International and The Family Online Safety Institute.

Some new features of the safety center include four times more content on staying safe, such as dealing with bullying online, an interactive portal and a simpler design.

The presence of sexual predators is a problem for social networking sites and their users.

Previously, Facebook, based in Palo Alto, Calif., has helped identify, and has disabled accounts of, registered sex offenders. In 2008, Facebook said it agreed to assist 49 Attorneys General to protect kids against Internet predators.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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Some senior Lakas members mull dumping Gibo

Several senior members of administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD may withdraw their support from Gilberto “Gibo" Teodoro Jr. in favor of “another presidential candidate," House Speaker Prospero Nograles warned Tuesday.

These members were those who were “neglected" and “left out of the loop" in the current presidential campaign, Nograles said as he accused Teodoro of having a “wrong sense of priorities."

“The other senior Lakas members I think who have been neglected or even left out of the loop in this presidential campaign may now be thinking or considering the possibility of maybe adopting another presidential candidate who they feel would give them some political importance," he said in a text message sent to reporters.



Not threatened

Teodoro’s camp, on the other hand, was not threatened by this, saying it would “at least cleanse the party ranks."

“It is sad that people want to leave, but we cannot do anything about it. At least, there will be cleansing of the party ranks," said lawyer Mike Toledo, Teodoro’s spokesman, in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

“Those unsure of their support for Secretary Teodoro would leave. Those who are staying are stronger and more united," he added.

Toledo said the possible defections would not affect Teodoro’s candidacy since the party still has the “great majority" of local officials supporting the administration party bet.

Out of control

In a separate statement, Nograles said the administration party has been “out of control" ever since Teodoro became its national chairman.

He said Teodoro “abandoned the party… at the most crucial hour [during the] start of the local campaign" when he resigned as its chairperson late last month to supposedly focus on his candidacy.

“When he was being looked up to as the leader who would marshal Lakas candidates in the local level the biggest number in the country, Gibo chose to resign as chairman," Nograles, considered as an administration stalwart, said.

On Monday, Nograles, who is seeking the mayoralty post in Davao City, expressed his plans to transfer to the Nacionalista Party (NP) in the face of various defections hounding Lakas-Kampi-CMD. He, however, clarified the next day that he is not leaving the administration party, although he admitted feeling out of the loop as far as party matters are concerned.

Consultations ongoing

At present, senior party members are consulting with their local leaders to determine if they should continue supporting Teodoro, Nograles said.

“We may know by the end of the week as they are now conducting consultations with their local leaders," he said.

To prevent this, Nograles said Teodoro should “shape up and address the grievances of Lakas members."

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

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Noynoy Still leads Survey

Presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III (Liberal Party) remains on top in a recent survey commissioned by an ally of rival Sen. Manny Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party) .

According to the results of the survey conducted from March 28 to 30 and purportedly commissioned by House Minority Floor Leader Ronaldo Zamora, Villar scored 29 percentage points, or eight points behind Aquino’s 37.

The NP claimed the survey was from Social Weather Station (SWS), although the poll firm has yet to confirm it. Calls made by GMANews.TV to its office were not answered.

In the SWS survey last month that was commissioned by BusinessWorld, Villar got 28 percent while Aquino got 37 percent.

In a statement, the NP still expressed exultation over the latest survey, saying it was a “leap" from the 12-point lead enjoyed by Aquino in the March 21 to 28 survey by rival pollster Pulse Asia, where the LP bet got 37 percent compared to Villar’s 25.

“That’s a leap of four points [25 percent in Pulse Asia to 29 percent in SWS], immediately after the field personnel of the other survey firm were just wrapping up their own results," said NP senatorial candidate and spokesperson Gilbert Remulla in a statement.

“Misleading the public"

The LP, meanwhile, castigated NP for allegedly trying to mislead the public by hyping on the supposed cut in Aquino's lead.

In a text message, LP spokesman and Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said if the Zamora-commissioned survey is true, then it showed that Villar gained only a point – from 28 percent to 29 percent – compared to the SWS poll that preceded it.

“You do not compare survey results from different survey companies," he pointed out, adding that the four-point cut in Aquino’s lead that the LP stated in its statement was actually based on the results of SWS and Pulse Asia surveys.

“Again the NP is trying to mislead the public," Tañada said. “Obviously the NP is desperately trying to look for ways to cover up the fact that the lead of Senator Aquino seems to be stable if you compared the commissioned and the non-commissioned surveys of the SWS."

He added that the one-point gain by Villar in the two SWS surveys “is within the margin of error and is negligible."

The LP has accused Villar of being the “secret candidate" of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Other presidential bets

The Zamora-commissioned poll also showed former president Joseph Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) falling to 17 percent from previous 19 percent, and administration bet Gilberto Teodoro (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) picking up two points to score eight percent.

The statement did not indicate the preference ratings for other presidential aspirants Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan), evangelist Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas), Sen. Jamby Madrigal (independent), environmentalist Nicanor Perlas (independent), and Olongapo City councilor John Carlos delos Reyes (Ang Kapatiran).

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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Day 2 Election Problem in Hongkong

A poll automation machine glitch marred the second day of the overseas automated polls in Hong Kong, stalling voting at a precinct for an hour, a Commission on Elections official said on Sunday.

"The PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machine [malfunctioned] because of moisture, but it was fixed promptly. It took an hour," Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said in a phone interview.

The machine reportedly jammed and rejected ballots.

Meanwhile, Larrazabal added that voting in Hong Kong continued smoothly, but turnout was low.

"It’s not as many as we expected, but it’s just the first weekend. Maybe in the coming days, more people will cast their votes," he added.

Absentee voting in Hong Kong and Singapore kicked off last Saturday with a low turnout.

The Foreign Affairs department said about 1,000 registered Filipino voters in Hong Kong went to the Kennedy Town Center to vote, while only 200 of the 31,851 registered voters in Singapore voted at the Philippine Embassy.

Aside from the automated polls in Singapore and Hong Kong, manual absentee voting in the Philippines’ 93 embassies and consulates around the world also started last Saturday, when Filipinos overseas started choosing their President, Vice-President, senators and party-list.

Overseas absentee voting will end on May 10, when voters in the Philippines vote for both national and local posts down to city and municipal councilors.

Filipino migrant workers in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cast their votes on the first day of the overseas absentee voting on Saturday. Ronaldo Concha

Clueless
Meanwhile, some Filipino workers in Jeddah did not know that absentee voting for national and party-list posts had started.

David Daileg of Tarlac, a family driver for 15 years, went to the Philippine Consulate on Saturday before 8 a.m. to renew his passport. He ended up voting instead, and was the first to do so in Jeddah.

"I was supposed to renew my passport but I voted instead so I could help change the system in the Philippines," he said in Filipino.

Absentee voting started on April 10 and will last for a month.

Workmates Rommel Calingasan and Eddie Capili also arrived at the consulate to renew their passports. They were surprised to see the voting being conducted, since they thought absentee voting would only be held in Hong Kong and Singapore.

A woman approached GMANews.TV to ask why there were so many people at the consulate. She, too, was surprised upon learning the election had begun. Like Daileg, she wasted no time voting.

Apart from some who were unaware of the exercise, others could not find their names on the list.

Dario Vinas could not find his name on the master list of Precinct 10, but was able to vote after later spotting his name under Precinct 9.

These hitches aside, the first day of the absentee voting went smoothly.

Among the first to vote were staff members of the consulate, as well as Jeddah Consul General Ezzedin Tago.

Tago said they were pleased with the orderly flow of people coming in to vote.

Poll watchers of presidential candidate and evangelist Eddie Villanueva were also present.

Workers from Altayar Plastic Company arrived in a group to vote. The company allowed them to use its service vehicle so they could save on transportation costs worth 60 riyals or about P720.

Tago said at least 180 Filipino workers voted on Saturday. He expects more people to come in on Thursday and Friday, when workers are usually on a day off. Filipino workers abroad have until May 10 to vote.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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7.1-magnitude quake strikes off Solomon Islands

A powerful earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands on Sunday, but a monitoring agency said a tsunami was not expected.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.1-magnitude quake hit southwest of the island chain's Kira Kira island in the South Pacific. The temblor's epicenter was about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Honiara.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a destructive wave is not expected. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The Solomon Islands is a country of nearly 1,000 islands that lie on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.


David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

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