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.