Twenty-five foreign observers arrived here to join a People?s International Observers Mission to help stem the cycle of violence and fraud plaguing elections in the country.
BY DABET CASTANEDA
Bulatlat
ELECTION WATCH
Vol. VII, No. 14 May 13-19, 2007
American Presbyterian Minister Rev. Larry Emery arrived in the Philippines at dawn today, May 12, on board Philippine Airlines flight PR 105 from San Francisco, USA, to join the People?s International Observers Mission (IOM) that would look into the conduct of the May 14 Philippine elections. He joined 24 other independent foreign delegates from 10 countries to visit 10 provinces in seven regions in the Philippines to observe the elections and help stem the cycle of violence and fraud plaguing national and local elections in the country.
The IOM will document fraud and election-related violence in areas where harassments of voters are intensifying and the probability of election fraud is high, Bp. Elmer Bolocon of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP), one of the IOM convenors, said.
Participants
Freda Guttman, a 73-year old Canadian protest artist, said it is her second time to visit the Philippines. The first was in 1987 just after the fall of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. She said she came back to the country to see if democracy has flourished in the country after the dark years of Martial Law.
Stefan Christoff, a first-time visitor, is a Canadian journalist for The Montreal Mirror. Only 25 years old, Christoff said he has toured countries in the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. The Philippines is the first Asian country he has visited.
Both Guttman and Christoff said they are deeply concerned over the spate of election-related violence with the death toll going up to 102 as of May 11. They said they also wanted to observe how the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would administer the voting and canvassing of votes, especially because the last synchronized presidential, senatorial, and local elections in 2004 were tainted with charges of fraud allegedly favoring Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Other foreign participants included parliamentarians, church leaders, members of the academe and media, artists, civil libertarians, professionals, students and human rights defenders from different countries. They joined close to a hundred local participants and would visit at least ten (10) election hotspots throughout seven regions.
Hot spots
In the National Capital Region (NCR), the IOM would monitor the conduct of elections in vote-rich urban poor communities throughout Tondo in Manila, Quezon City, and Caloocan where the Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed 27 teams of soldiers for civil-military operations since November last year.
They would also be closely monitoring developments in the business capital of Makati City, where opposition Mayor Jejomar Binay, president of the United Opposition, and his running mate have been pitted against allies of the President. The significance of the Makati elections goes beyond the city as the administration appears to be hell-bent on defeating Binay, attempting to suspend him and freeze the city?s and his bank accounts a week before the elections.
Two teams would visit the Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon regions. They would be visiting militarized areas where human rights violations and harassments against progressive party lists have been documented.
The IOM would also be observing the elections in Pres. Arroyo?s bailiwick in Pampanga, where her son Mikey Arroyo is running for a second congressional term.
Pampanga also faces a three-cornered gubernatorial race between two Arroyo allies allegedly involved in jueteng (an illegal lottery game) and quarrying operations and a Catholic priest.
A team would also venture far South in Mindanao to monitor the situation in provinces cited in both the ?Hello Garci? tapes and an alleged plot dubbed ?Oplan Mercury Rising? disclosed by Bantay Boto, an election watchdog composed of retired military officers.
The team would be heading for Compostela Valley where military troops from the 67th, 28th, and 25th Infantry Battalions under the 1001st Brigade have been accused of involvement in at least four cases of killings and other documented cases of torture, harassment, and black propaganda directed against progressive party-list organizations such as Bayan Muna (People First) and Anakpawis (Toling Masses).
New Bataan, Compostela Valley is also the site where Grecil Buya, a nine (9) year-old school girl, was shot dead by military troops last March 31, 2007. In an apparent attempt to cover-up the incident, the military initially claimed that Grecil was a ?child combatant? of the New People?s Army and was carrying an M-16 rifle.
Another particular area of concern would be the province of Lanao del Sur, which was mentioned in alleged wiretapped conversations between President Arroyo and COMELEC commissioner Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 Presidential elections. Namfrel officer Hadji Abdullah Dalidig testified then before the Senate that the 2004 elections in the province was the dirtiest ever.
The IOM team will also visit selected areas in Bicol, Central Visayas, Cebu, and Quezon Province.
Defining event
Bolocon said this year?s elections would define Philippine politics in the years to come.
?Should the administration bets make it, Charter change, including the shift to a parliamentary form of government, would be a foregone conclusion, that is, unless another groundswell of protests develops. On the other hand, should the opposition win especially in the Lower House, Arroyo?s impeachment would almost be a certainty,? Bolocon said.
?This situation has heightened cases of election-related violence and harassments,? Bolocon said, ?And this makes it a special concern for the People?s IOM.?
?The presence of our foreigner friends who have showed deep concern in the coming elections give support and contribute to the people?s efforts at countering the cycle of election fraud and violence in the Philippines, with special attention to those that might be committed against pro-democracy and pro-people party-list organizations and opposition candidates,? said Bolocon.
The two other convenors of the IOM are Dr. Edelina de la Paz, Assistant Professor of the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, and Trixie Concepcion, Secretary General of the Advocates of Science and Technology for the People. Bulatlat
