Only in the Philippines!

Soon, cell-phone users will be required to register their subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. Otherwise, they won’t be able to make calls or send text messages.

This is what the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is working on just in case House Bills 92 and 1313 fail to become law before the May elections.

“At this point, we are already conceptualizing who will handle the database, the cost and when to implement it. We will try to issue an NTC memorandum circular [MC] but we will need to consider a lot of things, so we need to talk with all the government agencies concerned such as the Neda [National Economic and Development Authority] and NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] on what identification card they will require,” said NTC Deputy Commissioner Douglas Michael Mallilin.

Read more On "NTC sets SIM-card registration!"!

The proposal of a women’s partylist group to prescribe expiration dates on marriage contracts has drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers, with at least one senator saying the proposal is a good starting point for discussing current social issues.

“It’s a reflection of what is happening in our society,” Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said in the vernacular, apparently referring to the growing clamor from women for more rights and social freedoms.

Read more On "Marriage with expiration date, anyone?"!

One of two Filipinos is dissatisfied with the performance of the Arroyo administration, with public satisfaction hitting a new record low last month, with six months to go before a new government takes over, a new survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

According to the SWS survey, conducted between December 5 and 10 last year, the administration's net satisfaction rating fell to -23 (28 percent satisfied and 51 percent dissatisfied) in December, lower than -20 in the third quarter and worse than the record low of -21 in June 2008.

The new score was within the range described by the SWS as poor — a category the Arroyo government has been in since February last year.

However, the survey also showed the administration got a neutral score of -2 for its response to the massacre of at least 57 people in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao last November 23.

Read more On "SWS: 1 of 2 Filipinos unhappy with Arroyo administration!"!

The number of registered voters for the upcoming presidential elections in the Philippines has exceeded 50 million marks, the largest figure recorded in the Philippines' history, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Friday.

Read more On "Voters of 2010 Philippines presidential elections exceed 50-M!"!

The declaration and aproval of Republic Act 9850, or "An Act Declaring Arnis as the National Martial Arts and Sports of the Philippines."

It is now official that Arnis, a traditional form of martial art, as the country's national martial arts and sports.

The law states that, starting this year, arnis competitions shall be included in the Palarong Pambansa or the national multi- sport event. The law also requires arnis to be a mandatory course or subject in all schools in the country. Prior to the bill, arnis is only offered in a few schools as an elective physical education subject.


Arnis is a complete martial art system, encompassing weapons training and empty-hand self-defense. Read more On "Arnis is RP's National Martial Art!"!

Just before the year 2009 ended, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) came out with the general instructions (GI) for the country’s very first automated national elections in May 2010.

What will happen on election day?

According to the GI, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) will meet at the polling place at six o’clock in the morning of May 10, 2010 to first ensure that all the election paraphernalia are ready.

They will then post a copy of the Posted Computerized Voters List (PCVL) at the door of the poll precinct. But before voting is conducted, the BEI chairman will show the public and the watchers present that the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine, package of official ballots, and book of voters are all duly sealed.

After showing the election materials, the BEIs will set up the PCOS machine. Upon installation, the poll machine will automatically print an initialization report showing that no votes have yet been cast nor counted.

What should a voter do?

Read more On "Guidelines on how to vote for 2010 automated polls!"!