Observations on an Election - May 10th

How fascinating it is to be in a country but be slightly removed from the election process because you cannot vote.  We have discovered many things as observers and thought you may be interested in some of them.

The size of the vote is almost unfathomable by our standards.  In a country the size of Arizona and with a population of approximately 98,000,000 spread over 7,107 islands how do you run an election?  Also, the election on May 10th was for every level of government - federal including president, vice president, members of congress and senators.  This year they were voting for half of the 24 senators (12 seats to be filled by popular vote across the country), and all of congress (267 seats by district).  Also, the election included for the positions of governor of the province (80 provinces in this nation), vice-governor,  mayor of cities (120 chartered cities in this country), vice-mayor and city councillors.  There may have been more but I am not sure.  I know the neighbourhood elections are in the fall. With a voting population of almost 55,000,000 (Canada's was 22, 466, 621 in 2004) in 333,270 places to vote,  and a total of 17,000 positions to be filled across the nation, just think of the logistics.  My head hurts.....!  As you can imagine, the ballot sheets were very large. 

People must vote in the area they are recorded as living in (much like in Canada) - HOWEVER, the process and paperwork to have the records of your residency changed are long and very time consuming as some women from my Bible study shared.  So for many of the house help (drivers, ya-yas, housekeepers, cooks, etc) and day labourers, the time off to do the leg work is not possible so never change their residency.  This means millions of Filipinos travel back home to vote....which means roads were extremely busy on Sunday and Monday evening.  Election day is a non-working holiday to allow this to happen.

Oh, and if you think all the travelling and overwhelming number of people to vote for will keep people away, think again. This nation usually has a 85% election rate....in Canada for the 2004 election only 60.9% of people who could vote did.  Discuss amongst yourselves...why?  Why in Canada is it so low?  Why is it so high in the Philippines?

That is probably enough background, but it will help you appreciate the foundation of some of the differences in the logistics of this election to ones we have experienced in Canada.  One last background...all voting is done in schools (like in Canada) but teachers are the ones who are trained to run the voting.  It is just part of the expected job (which of course caused issues for some teachers who had to travel back home to vote).

The last few weeks of the campaigning was full of lots of activity! (the campaign period lasts for a few years...yes, you read that right!  A friend here was shocked that in Canada it would be just a few weeks).  I lost count of how many taxi rides and car trips were slowed down due to parades of vehicles all draped in their party's colour and  blaring their favourite candidate's song.  Once when I was walking one of the caravans went by and I counted 47 cars and jeepneys, plus at least 20 motorcycles.  Just to make sure you heard the candidate's song, there were loudspeakers mounted on every 10th car or so! These caravans even started by 6:30 am to make sure you woke up thinking of their candidate.  I think I prefer the sounds of roosters waking me up like they did at camp and when we go diving.

Two days prior to the election, the music stopped.  Thankfully there is a law that forbids campaigning, including rallies and gatherings, the two days heading up to the election.  There were still tv ads and lots of posters, but no noise and blocking traffic.  Seemed rather peaceful!  To help keep the peace, they also stop all alcohol sales on Monday, the day before the election, unless a place is a tourist location and has prior permission.  Oh, and gun bans have been in effect since January to try and keep the violence under control. 

Well, the violence did not stop completely, but it was a relatively peaceful election.  It seems like most politics is run by a few very powerful families and at the local level they are serious about keeping their positions.  This is where the intimidation violence and just "get rid of the other guy" violence appears.  I am thankful that most of that takes place in the southern islands of the Philippines, no where near where we live.  As one editorial wrote, how can a nation that has had two "people power" uprisings that turfed two presidents in the last 25 years peacefully still have this kind of gang-warfare happen?  It makes no sense at all.

Speaking of the past presidents that have been kicked out of office through people power (which rightfully so the Filipino are quite proud of), like bad kare-kare they keep coming back.  Estrada, who was forced out of office in January 2001 due to corruption and impeachment, had come back.  He fought the impeachment while he stayed as president, until the second people power forced him out. Discuss: In a government that seems to run on corruption, how corrupt do you have to be to actually be charged, found guilty and forced from office?  Anyway, he was back running in this election for president.  Legally, a president can only have that position for one six-year term, but he said he did not have the opportunity to finish his six years, so legally he could run again.  Courts agreed....and somehow he seems to be coming in second.  Go ahead, shake your head, I did.

And the other family removed from power by the first people power in 1986 after 20 years of presidency/dictatorship?  The Marcos family...remember them with their millions of dollars and Imelda with her thousands of pairs of shoes?  Well, you will be happy to know that she won her seat in congress (at 80 years old), her son is now a senator, and her daughter a mayor of one of the cities.  Go ahead, shake your head again, I did.  There are so many other examples of family links in politics, it would cause most human resource departments around the world to shake their heads also...nepotism rules in this country.

The day before the election, there was an obvious increase in security everywhere, both of foot and in the number of police and security vehicles on the streets.  That day was Mother's Day so there were lots of people everywhere just dealing with the presence of sniffing dogs, extra security checks and extended security parameters around shopping areas.  What I mean by that is that in a shopping area called Greenbelt there is always a security parameter that you must go through to get into the area.  These checkpoints were moved about ten feet further out from the shopping area and therefore created a greater buffer from the public and those who had gone through the metal detectors, etc.  Even in our neighbourhood (remember the crossing guards?) had more security than usual on the streets and sidewalks.  The country was holding its breath just waiting for Monday to come.

As the sun came up on Monday, the city was unusually quiet.  As I looked out there was very little traffic, and all of it was taxis.  Most drivers were elsewhere voting in their hometowns. Being a non-working holiday, all offices were closed, and most stores were closed.  In a neighbourhood next to us I could see a lineup down the sidewalk, and realized that those people were lined up at the school to vote - at 7:30 am!  The line seemed to be moving, but was there most of the day. 

Thankfully the day was relatively quiet, and though there were a few glitches, the country's first automated counting has gone well.  Once a voter filled in their choices, they scanned their ballot into the machine that registered their votes.  Some people who were elderly or could not read very well had people helping them complete the extensive ballot.  With the brownouts of power that happen in parts of the Philippines, the back up batteries were sufficient in most circumstances - not all, but those where the batteries started to fail were quickly supplied other batteries. Even the president elect (the one WAY ahead as I type this) had to wait four hours because of a system glitch, but once that was fixed all was fine. 

The headlines on Wednesday says it all "Fast Count Stuns Nation" and "Take a Bow, Filipino Voters".  Despite the many people who were sure the automation would not work, would be corrupted and would cause the whole election results to be negated, all is well.  The country is very close to having its president and vice president solidified, deaths have been minimal and much less than past elections.  There is great happiness in the nation and everyone is relieved.  This morning as I awoke I heard crowds outside chanting something - I must confess my first thought was "oh no, here it comes.  Someone does not like what has happened", but no.  As I listened more carefully I realized they were cheering and clapping, and "Hip hip hurray" was being yelled.  It is good to hear the rejoicing not the fighting.  Maybe peace is coming...

The country thanks you for your prayers for this elections process.  The prayer now is that the new government will work with minimal corruption and do all that they have promised.  The front runner for president is the only son of Benigno (Ninoy) and Corazon (Cory) Aquino - he was assassinated leading the People Power against Marcos in 1986, she was the first president after Marcos finally left.  Noynoy Aquino, 50 years old, has little political experience (one term as senator) and yet that is probably a good thing in the Philippines.  He is promoting no corruption and an increase in the middle class for the country.  Already he seems to be picking his cabinet based on those with minimal corruption issues in their past.  It is a start....there is a renewed hope when you have conversations with people.  Keep the country and the new government in your prayers.  It is a long road ahead to bring about the stability and fairness the country needs to develop even further.  This election is a step in the right direction....

Thanks for listening to our observations....I know this has been long, and yet there is more we could have shared.  Buy me a coffee this summer and I will share more! 

Love you all, and Jeff has arrived home safely a few hours ago (now napping on the couch) - thanks for the hugs you sent back to me with him - I have enjoyed each and everyone of them.