Press Release
February 27, 2009

Press statement of Senator Loren Legarda

On the House pushing hybrid polls in 2010

"Whether we go fully automated or resort to partial automation in the 2010 elections, the overriding concern is the prevention of poll fraud. While nearly all of the tricks of the trade of poll cheats who thrived under the manual system had been exposed, we need a new breed of poll watchdogs - the computer and information technology experts who can detect attempts to cheat using automated election technologies.

"The fear with automated poll is that cheating through it can be done at the push of a computer button. The expressed concern of many of our countrymen is that a crooked administration can more readily cheat using automated polls.

"These are very valid issues that have to be addressed in our continuing quest for honest, clean and orderly elections. Whether our elections are held manually or by automation, voters' vigilance is a must."

On mounting clamor for tuition hike freeze

"Private schools must realize that there's a tipping point when it comes to the tuition they charge to students. They can only raise tuition to a point after which it becomes already out of the reach of most Filipino families.

"A mass migration of students from private to public schools, which is already happening, will hurt more private learning institutions whose student population would surely dwindle. It will also tax some more our already over-populated public school system.

"Private schools must strike a balance between their funding needs and the paying capability of the student sectors they serve, whether the poor, middleclass or upper echelon. After all, education is more than a business: it is a noble contribution of school owners to the development of our citizens and country."

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