New Year to bring new hope–Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines�The year 2010 is bringing a new reason for hope for Filipinos�the country�s first automated national elections, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in her New Year message on Tuesday.

�In 2010, we shall have the first nationally automated exercise of our right to suffrage, one of the 10 points in the agenda of our administration,� Ms Arroyo said.

This and the world�s recovery from the global economic downturn �are gifts from an unfolding future that we greet with hopefulness,� she added.

�In this spirit let us cast away the things that set us against each other. Let us thank the Lord for good health, glad tidings and good cheer. Let us thank Him for all the times He has been there for us through family, friends and even strangers who stood by us in good times and in bad,� she said.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is all set to switch to electronic voting in the May 2010 poll exercise where a new set of leaders, from President down to village councilor, will be elected.

The year 2009 has been tough for the country.

Already weighed down by the adverse effects of a global economic crisis, the country was battered by two successive storms, �Ondoy� and �Pepeng,� that killed hundreds of people, left thousands homeless, and destroyed homes and crops worth tens of billions of pesos.

Before it could fully recover, the shocking massacre of 57 people, including some 30 media workers, in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao occurred on Nov. 23, prompting the government to declare martial law in the province.

Leaders of the Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership were just as upbeat about 2010, but aired one wish�an independent Comelec.

Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo said he hoped institutions like the Comelec would remain independent, and that the leaders of these institutions would reject attempts by �self-serving political leaders� to use them.

�I continue to believe that many people who work in Comelec remain to be ethical and upright but sadly, the few leaders who perpetuate graft and corruption continue to drag down the good name of the institution,� he said in a Kaya Natin! statement.