ELECTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES:

Presidential elections are held every six years. The last one was in 2010. The next one is in 2016.
Congress, Senate and local elections are held in the years of presidential elections and three years
before and after them. During the 2010 election around 50 million voters chose a president and 18,000
national and local officials.

Voter participation is typically around 70 percent to 85 percent. There were 43 million eligible voters in
2004; 36.1 million in 2001; and 34 million in 1998. Overseas Filipinos were allowed to vote in
presidential elections for the first time in 2004. Voting rates are high in national elections despite
obstacles such as difficult transportation, the need to write out the names of all candidates in longhand,
and, occasionally, the threat of violence. Filipinos enjoy and expect elections so much that even
Ferdinand Marcos dared not completely deny them this outlet. Instead, he changed the rules to rig the
elections in his favor.

The voting age is 18 in the Philippines. Voters typically have to endure long lines, rain and heat. Once
inside the polling station they look for their name and number on registration lists, obtain a ballot from
a poll worker and write by hand the names of the 20 or so candidates they are voting for in different
offices. Voting forms are sometime called the world's longest and people routinely wait 45 minutes in
line for their turn. Voters are stamped with indelible ink to keep them from voting twice.

Philippine elections are characterized by lots of candidates and lots of positions. There were 17,000
electoral positions in the 1998 election. More than 800,000 candidates vied for chairmanships and other
posts in urban and rural villages, locally called barangays— the Philippines’ smallest political units—in
2013. Voters are required to write the name of their preferred candidates. They can write their first
names, last names or their nicknames. This one reason why candidates promote short nicknames like
"Cory" Aquino or "Erap" Estrada.

Often weeks pass before the official election results are officials. Counting takes so long because much
of it is done by hand. It took five weeks before Ramos was declared the winner of the presidential
election in 1992. It took six weeks before Arroyo was declared the winner in 2004.
 There were 215,000 voting precincts in 2004, compared to 175,000 in 1998. Most are run by public
school teachers Elections are run by the Commissions of Elections (Comelec) and monitored by the
watchdog group National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).

Elections: Senate - elections last held on May 13m 2013 (next to be held in May 2016); House of
Representatives - elections last held on May 13, 2013 (next to be held in May 2016) election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party for 2013 election - UNA 26.94 percent, NP 15.3 percent, LP 11.32
percent, NPC 10.15 percent, LDP 5.38 percent, PDP-Laban 4.95 percent, others 9.72 percent,
independents 16.24 percent; seats by party after 2013 election - UNA 5, NP 5, LP 4, Lakas 2, NPC 2, LDP
1, PDP-Laban 1, PRP 1, independents 3; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LP 38.3
percent, NPC 17.4 percent, UNA 11.4 percent, NUP 8.7 percent, NP 8.5 percent, Lakas 5.3 percent,
independents 6.0 percent, others 4.4 percent; seats by party - LP 110, NPC 43, NUP 24, NP 17, Lakas 14,
UNA 8, independents 6, others 12; party-list 57 [Source: CIA World Factbook]

Electoral System in the Philippines

The Philippines has universal direct suffrage at age 18 and older to elect the president, vice president
(who runs independently), and most of the seats in the bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of
Representatives and the Senate; a minority of House members known as sectoral representatives are
appointed by the president. Elections are held not just for national leadership but also for
representation at the provincial and local levels. In the last elections in May 2004, some 74 percent of
eligible voters participated, but the process was marred by violence and numerous irregularities, which
the political opposition continues to protest, even calling for the president’s impeachment. [Source:
Library of Congress *]

Elections in the Philippines are the arena in which the country's elite families compete for political
power. The wealthiest clans contest national and provincial offices. Families of lesser wealth compete
for municipal offices. In the barangays, where most people are equally poor, election confers social
prestige but no real power or money. *

The constitution also empowers the commission to "accredit citizens' arms of the Commission on
Elections." This refers to the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), a private group
established in the 1950s, with advice and assistance from the United States, to keep elections honest.
NAMFREL recruited public-spirited citizens (320,000 volunteers in 104,000 precincts in the 1987
congressional elections) to watch the voting and monitor ballot-counting, and it prepared a "quick
count," based mostly on urban returns, to publicize the results immediately. Because the Commission on
Elections can take weeks or even months to certify official returns, the National Movement for Free
Elections makes it harder for unscrupulous politicians to distort the results. NAMFREL itself has
sometimes been denounced by election losers as being a tool of United States intervention and has not
always been impartial. In 1986 it favored Aquino, and its chairman, Jose Concepcion, was subsequently
named Aquino's minister of trade and industry. *

The 1987 constitution establishes a new system of elections. The terms of representatives are reduced
from four years to three, and the presidential term is lengthened from four years to six. Senators also
serve a six-year term. The Constitution's transitory provisions are scheduled to expire in 1992, after
which there is to be a three-year election cycle. Suffrage is universal at age eighteen. The constitution
established a Commission on Elections that is empowered to supervise every aspect of campaigns and
elections. It is composed of a chairperson and six commissioners, who cannot have been candidates for
any position in the immediately preceding elections. A majority of the commissioners must be lawyers,
and all must be college-educated. They are appointed by the president with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments and serve a single seven-year term. The Commission on Elections
enforces and administers all election laws and regulations and has original jurisdiction over all legal
disputes arising from disputed results. To counter the unwholesome influence occasionally exercised by
soldiers and other armed groups, the commission may depute law enforcement agencies, including the
Armed Forces of the Philippines. In dire situations, the commission can take entire municipalities and
provinces under its control, or order new elections. *

The final decision on all legislative elections rests with the electoral tribunals of the Senate and House
of Representatives. Each electoral tribunal is composed of nine members, three of whom are members
of the Supreme Court designated by the chief justice. The remaining six are members of the Senate or
the House, chosen on the basis of proportional representation from parties in the chamber. *

History of Elections in the Philippines

Until 1972 Philippine elections were comparable to those in United States cities during early
industrialization: flawed, perhaps, by instances of vote-buying, ballot-box stuffing, or miscounts, but
generally transmitting the will of the people. A certain amount of election-related violence was
considered normal. Marcos overturned this system with innovations such as asking voters to indicate by
a show of hands if they wanted him to remain in office. In the snap election of 1986, Marcos supporters
tried every trick they knew but lost anyway. The heroism of the democratic forces at that time inspired
many Filipinos. [Source: Library of Congress *]
 The commission to "accredit citizens' arms of the Commission on Elections” is known as the National
Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL). A private NAMFREL was instrumental in the election of
President Ramon Magsaysay in 1953, and played a minor role in subsequent presidential elections. It
lapsed into inactivity during the martial law years, then played an important role in Aquino's 1986
victory. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The first congressional elections under the 1987 constitution were held on May 11, 1987. Political
parties had not really coalesced. Seventy-nine separate parties registered with the Commission on
Elections, and voters had a wide range of candidates to choose from: 84 candidates ran for 24 Senate
seats, and 1,899 candidates ran for 200 House seats. The elections were considered relatively clean,
even though the secretary of local government ordered all governors and mayors to campaign for
Aquino-endorsed candidates. There were sixty-three electionrelated killings. Some of these deaths were
attributable to small-town family vendettas, whereas others may have had ideological motives. The
armed forces charged that communists used strong-arm tactics in areas they controlled, and the
communists in turn claimed that nineteen of their election workers had been murdered. Election results
showed a virtual clean sweep for candidates endorsed by Aquino. *

The next step in redemocratization was to hold local elections for the first time since 1980. When
Aquino took office, she dismissed all previously elected officials and replaced them with people she
believed to be loyal to her. Local elections were originally scheduled for August 1987, but because many
May 1987 congressional results were disputed and defeated candidates wanted a chance to run for local
positions, the Commission on Elections postponed local elections first to November 1987 and then to
January 18, 1988. More than 150,000 candidates ran for 16,000 positions as governor, vice governor,
provincial board member, mayor, vice mayor, and town council member, nationwide. *

The final step in redemocratization was the thrice-postponed March 1989 election for barangay
officials. Some 42,000 barangay captains were elected. At this level of neighborhood politics, no real
money or power was involved, the stakes were small, and election violence was rare. The Commission
on Elections prohibited political parties from becoming involved. *

Election Campaigns in the Philippines

 Before elections in May 2010, Blaine Harden wrote in the Washington Post: “Elections in the Philippines
are personality-driven, a kind of national soap opera in which distinctions between infamy and celebrity
tend to blur over time. In the chaotic run-up to national elections on May 10, about 85,000 candidates
are clamoring after 17,000 positions, from town council member to president. Political violence has
claimed at least 80 lives, including 57 in one incident. And families that have long called the shots in the
Philippines are angling for advantage. [Source: Blaine Harden, Washington Post, April 22, 2010]

Campaigns in the Philippines have been called charades and compared to con games. They are generally
long on impossible-to-fullfilll promises and entertainment and short on policy statements, positions on
issues and substantive debate. There are rules that limit campaign spending, advertising and television
air time but these rules are often broken. The campaign period for presidential and legislative elections
is theoretically about 60 days but is often much longer than that in reality.

Political rallies are entertainment extravaganzas. Candidates uses comic books to radio jingles to reach
the voters. In a typical campaign rally the crowd wears caps with the names of the candidates they
support and chant their names. It is not unusual for many of the members of the crowd to be paid to
show up. In some cases candidates have been accused of using taxpayer money for their campaigns.

In the early 2000s it became fashionable for politicians to appear in advertisements and commercials,
peddling everything from milk to detergents, to make money and get their names and faces recognized.
Politicians have appeared on television, radio, billboards and posters. One presidential candidate
plugged a Philippine-made brandy. President Arroyo appeared in ads endorsing low-price medicines,
cheap rice and a commuter train service. Government -owned mobile stores that sold rice and other
basic foodstuffs were called Gloria’s Stores.

Describing the scene six months before presidential in 2004, Ellen Nakashima wrote in the Washington
Post, “In just one week in the Philippine capital, a former air transportation official was shot dead in a
control tower at the international airport, lawmakers clashed over whether to impeach the nation's top
judge and police dispersed thousands of protesters with tear gas and water cannons. And that, many
Filipinos fear, was just another typical week as the May 2004 presidential election season opens and
opposition forces sense that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is vulnerable. [Source: Ellen Nakashima,
Washington Post, November 23, 2003]

“More than 7,000 protesters were brought in from the slums to Manila's financial district on Nov. 12,
organized and in some cases paid by anti-administration activists. They carried signs urging the ouster of
Arroyo and the Supreme Court justice who swore her in three years ago. Anti-government sentiment
rising in wake of President Arroyo’s u-turn announcement to run in 2004 elections. Fernando Poe, film
actor and close friend of deposed President Joseph Estrada, also announced intention to run.
Government declared military “red alert” 3 November to preempt instability from opposition-led
impeachment bid against chief justice; military vowed to stay neutral.Three-hour siege by two armed
men (including former aviation official with links to July mutineers) at Manila airport 8 November
protesting corruption resulted in deaths of both. Thousands took to streets 11 and 14 November calling
for president to step down. Formal peace negotiations with MILF expected to resume soon after
Malaysia agrees to send team of 25 observers to Mindanao. Despite July ceasefire, government forces
clashed with MILF rebels 11 November, killing 13, including two rebels and two police. [Ibid]

Election Irregularities and Problems with Philippine Electoral System

Philippine elections are often marred by violence, fraud and irregularities. Polling stations run out of
ballots; ballot boxes go missing; names of legitimate voters aren’t not on voting lists; dead people
remain on lists that have not been updated; stations run out of ink that keeps voters from voting twice.
There has also been allegations that computers have been manipulated to change results.

"Politicians routinely" employ "election techniques that would embarrass a Chicago ward heeler,"
William Branigin wrote in the Washington Post. " Vote buying and dirty tricks are run-of-the-mill.
Political groups here have resorted to such methods as moving polling stations at the last minute,
kidnapping opposition voters, switching ballot boxes and tally sheets, voting not only involving the dead
but entire ghost precincts and, when all else fails, blowing away rival candidates or local organizers."

Vote buying is common. "Election in the Philippines function something like a national welfare system,"
Mimi Swartz wrote in New Yorker, "In a country where the minimum wage is five dollars a day, an
undecided vote is one who has not yet received gifts of food and cash from a candidate." The Marcos's
spent an estimated $1 billion to win one election and that was when they were in power.

Carlos H. Conde wrote in the New York Times, “Here, politicians have no qualms about using what
critics call "guns, gold and goons." Votes are still being counted by hand, while vote-counters are
appointed by politicians who are also candidates. Vote-buying is said to be rampant - a charge
frequently leveled by defeated candidates - and it is widely reported that many ordinary voters have
come to expect bribes from politicians. The padding and shaving of votes - the practice of which Arroyo
is now accused - is also apparently prevalent. [Source: Carlos H. Conde, New York Times, July 1, 2005
*=*]

The electoral infrastructure “is the Commission on Elections, which had been a credible institution until
Marcos politicized it and used it to lend legitimacy to his regime. Among other things, he packed it with
his own appointees. When Marcos was ousted in 1986, his successor, Corazon Aquino, wanted to
rebuild and strengthen the democratic institutions that Marcos destroyed, among them the commission.
She appointed people with acknowledged credibility to run these institutions. *=*

“One of them is Christian Monsod, whom Aquino appointed as chairman of the commission in 1992, her
last year in office. But, according to Monsod, who left the commission in 1995, "the three presidents
after Aquino did more to weaken than to strengthen the commission." Monsod said the succeeding
regimes "did not appoint good commissioners because they were more interested in their political
agenda." This had the effect of restoring what Marcos had done - to pack the commission with the
politically connected to control the outcome of votes. As a result, a "creeping rot" threatens the
foundation of Philippine democracy, Monsod said. "The commission has zero credibility and is part of
the problem." *=*

“In 1993, Monsod modernized the commission, overseeing the drafting of a new election code and
improving its systems, most especially procedures for the counting of votes. More than a decade later
and after spending close to 2 billion pesos, or about $36 million, on equipment and projects that never
got off the ground, the commission still uses hand-counted votes and final results are not known until
weeks after an election. Under the present setup, fraud apparently remains prevalent. *=*

“Every election since Marcos has brought complaints of cheating. Sulay Alipa, a former mayor of
Bongao town in the southern Philippines, says he was cheated in the 2004 elections. The cheating took
on many forms, he said by telephone. Some towns in his province had 98 percent voter turnout rates,
which, he said, was statistically improbable. In one town, 10,000 were listed as voters when there were
only 6,000 people of voting age. The teachers who did the counting, Alipa said, were appointed by
officials who were also candidates, opening the way to fraud. And because elections here are often
accompanied by violence, the police and military are usually put under the commission's control during
the voting, which also raises the likelihood of fraud. In past elections, state security forces were involved
in snatching ballot boxes or preventing people from voting.

Need to Reform the Philippine Elections

 In 2005, after Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, went on national television to apologize for
election-related improprieties, Carlos H. Conde wrote in the New York Times, “Election experts say that
Filipinos must have honest elections before they have even a chance of becoming prosperous and
politically stable. Electoral reforms are crucial in a country whose politics are still dominated by decades-
old political dynasties. “The current political crisis is the result of our faulty and corrupt electoral
system," said José Concepción, chairman of the National Movement for Free Elections, an election
monitoring group. "Either we reform this system or this is not going to be the last of these crises. It's
now or never." [Source: Carlos H. Conde, New York Times, July 1, 2005 *=*]

If shady election “practices are eliminated, according to the experts, the Philippines may finally see an
end to the political upheavals that roil it with worrisome frequency - upheavals that are often caused by
the questionable mandates that election fraud often creates. Only then, they say, can the country attain
political maturity and the full flowering of its democracy. “The current political crisis is the result of our
faulty and corrupt electoral system," said José Concepción, chairman of the National Movement for Free
Elections, an election monitoring group. "Either we reform this system or this is not going to be the last
of these crises. It's now or never." "The electoral process is at the very center of this crisis," said Ronald
Meinardus, country representative for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation of Germany, which has been
funding programs here for election reforms. "Had it not been for the flawed electoral process, this
wouldn't have happened." *=*

“Alipa says his experience is all too common in many parts of the country. "We should really change our
electoral process," he said. But change can only happen if Filipino leaders have the political will to do it,
according to Meinardus of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. "The political class is happy with the
status quo because they could have their privileges, no matter that it does not allow for true democracy,
that it only allows for manipulation of the process," he said. "Looking around, I don't see anybody
among them calling for electoral reforms." *=*

In Isabela Province, the Catholic church deployed 3,000 parishioners to help guard ballot boxes after a
powerful local family unplugged a radio station and took other actions when it appeared there was a
good chance they might lose the governorship.

In the mid 2000s there was a trend to contest elections in the courts. One the eve of the 2004 election
more than half a dozen disqualification cases were heard in the courts. They involved allegations of
excessive campaign spending, breaking limits on political advertising, vote-buying and illegal use of tax
payer money for elections.