The Commission on Elections did not allow first-time voters among squatters in communities of the urban poor to register for the elections unless they could prove that they were bona fide residents of their locale. NGOs estimated that this registration residence requirement deprived one million squatters of the right to vote. Among those who did register, vote buying was common and many residents accepted bribes to vote in a certain way or to act as “flying voters,” voting in several precincts.
There were no restrictions in law or practice on participation by women and members of minorities in politics. Many women, including the president, held positions of leadership and authority. There were four women in the 24-seat Senate and 37 women in the 236-seat House of Representatives. There were two women in the 23-member Cabinet, five female associate justices on the 15 member Supreme Court, and 14 female governors.
Along with many other citizens, Muslims argued that electing senators from a nationwide list favored established political figures from the Manila area, to the disadvantage of Muslims. Election of senators by region would require a constitutional amendment, which many Muslims and members of other groups underrepresented in the national legislature favored. There were no Muslim cabinet members and no Muslim senators. There were 12 Muslim members in the 236 seat House of Representatives, including some elected from Christian majority districts.
Government Corruption and Transparency
A justifiable public perception of corruption in the judicial, executive, and legislative branches remained high. Both the government and the private sector have established a number of anticorruption bodies, including an Ombudsman’s Office and an anticorruption court. Cases were opened against mid level officials in the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Bureau of Customs, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. During the year, several elected figures, including the opposition mayors of Makati and Pasay City and administration mayors of Baguio and Santa Rosa City, Laguna Province, were suspended from their offices on corruption-related charges. In October the Court of Appeals issued a 60-day temporary restraining order on the suspension of the mayor of Makati. The mayors of Pasay, Baguio, and Santa Rosa remain suspended as of end of November.
The law provides for the right to information on matters of public concern, and the Supreme Court has affirmed this provision. However, denial of such information often occurred when the information related to an anomaly or irregularity in government transactions. Much government information was not available electronically and was difficult to retrieve.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A large and active group of human rights NGOs generally operated without government interference, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Most government officials were responsive to NGO views. Human rights activists continued to encounter occasional harassment, mainly from security forces or local officials from the area in which incidents under investigation took place.
On December 6, shortly before a planned regional summit hosted by the government, a foreign labor rights activist was denied entry into the country and a security officer showed him a list of international human rights advocates who would not be allowed into the country.
Extrajudicial Killings, Terrorism
