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Written by Subic Admin
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Friday, 12 March 2010 |
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MANILA, MARCH 9, 2010 (STAR) Bagumbayan presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon yesterday said surveys conducted by various polling firms are mere propaganda.
In a roundtable discussion with STAR editors and reporters, Gordon said voters should not base their decisions on survey results but on the track record of candidates.
“The surveys are nothing but propaganda. We cherish our electoral process which is very transparent. We vote, they count. I have proven that through automated elections,” he said.
Gordon said the survey firms should publish the names of people who commissioned the surveys.
“In the surveys, they don’t even publish who are paying for these surveys. They must. I demand that they show it. Every presidential candidate, every senator, every congressman, they must show. I demand it. In the United States, they do that,” he said.
Gordon also questioned the method used in the conduct of surveys, pointing out that when he ran for the Senate in 2004, the surveys placed him way out of the winning circle but he was elected anyway, even without votes from the Iglesia ni Cristo.
“I was number 29 when I ran for the Senate and landed number 5 even without the Iglesia. How can I believe that (survey results)?” he said.
Gordon said it is hard to believe that he has an approval rating of only one percent in the surveys when he got 13 million votes when he ran for the Senate.
“They have surveyed 1,500 people. Have you met anyone who was surveyed? How can I get only one percent when I got 13 million votes last time? I think at least I’ll get 10 out of 100,” he said.
Gordon said that in the previous presidential election, President Arroyo was supposed to win over her closest rival, the late Fernando Poe Jr. in the metropolis. But when the votes were counted, Poe won in all of Metro Manila except Las Piñas.
“We are enriching the people who do the surveys,” he said, adding that one of the owners of a survey firm now reportedly has a big house in an upscale subdivision.
“Who are running the surveys? What questions are they asking? Is my name even there?” he said. – Mike Frialde |
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Written by Henry Empeño / Correspondent
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Friday, 12 March 2010 |
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SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—Fishers in communities adjacent to this free port will be building artificial reefs worth about P2.3 million in Subic Bay to increase fish population in the area and boost their income.
Laureano Artagame, chairman of the Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (SB-IFARMC), said the artificial reef project will be funded through the P4-million financial assistance recently given by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as part of the authority’s commitment to sustainable development of the Subic Bay area.
The fund was coursed through SB-IFARMC and the Olongapo City-IFARMC, which were created under Republic Act 8550, otherwise known as the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.
The two groups represent fisher-folk associations and communities in the Subic Bay area, including those in the municipality of Morong in Bataan, and the towns of Subic and San Antonio in Zambales.
“We will be using the bulk of the fund to build artificial reefs, so that we may increase local fish production,” said Artagame. “The artificial reefs are designed to replace former fishing grounds in Subic Bay, which have been taken over by commercial development and maritime projects.”
Artagame added that apart from the P2.3 million set aside for the artificial reefs, the fisher-beneficiaries will use P.7 million for the operation of the IFARMC; P.5 million for a scholarship program to benefit IFARMC members and their immediate families; and P.5 million for livelihood programs for IFARMC members and their families.
Meanwhile, SBMA officials said the authority granted the assistance “in fulfillment of the agency’s responsibility to communities affected by the development of the Subic Bay Free Port.”
“As we develop the bay—implementing in the process such projects like the Subic port modernization and the Hanjin shipyard—we have closed off some areas that were previously fishing grounds used by local fishermen,” said SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga. “This assistance is one way whereby the SBMA could contribute to the welfare of fisher folks in the Subic Bay area.” |
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