Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume IV, Number 21 June 27 - July 3, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
UN
Expert Sees Political Instability in Philippines By
Bulatlat.com An
academic expert in United Nations reforms says that many Filipinos
question the legitimacy of the May 10 elections and that if concerns
raised in Congress remain unsettled, political instability may ensue. In
a June 26 report, “Philippine Elections 2004 – Final Observations,”
Dr. Hans Koechler, president of the Vienna-based International Progress
Organization (IPO), said that “this situation may also undermine the
legal and constitutional system in the Philippines.” Koechler
was in the Philippines in June to observe the elections and the canvassing
of votes by Congress. He also delivered lectures in various universities. Chairman
of the Philosophy Department of the University of Innsbruck, Koechler is
the leading authority on UN reform, international democracy, globalization
and international “terrorism.” Since 1972, UN secretaries-general have
acknowledged his contribution
to international peace. He has also authored 280 books and articles
dealing with philosophy, human rights and international law. His
report follows: Philippine
elections 2004 – Final observations On
23 June 2004 the President of the International Progress Organization (I.P.O.),
Dr. Hans Koechler, concluded a 12-day fact-finding mission to the
Philippines. During his visit he met with politicians, legal experts,
intellectuals, NGO representatives and journalists representing a broad
political spectrum in the Philippines. He also held consultations with
representatives of the civil action group Vote Watch Philippines
with which co-operation had been established prior to the May 10
presidential and legislative elections. On
17 June he observed the canvassing of the votes by the joint congressional
committee at the House of Representatives in Manila. He was accompanied by
a group of 10 Austrian graduate students of philosophy and political
science. His observations on the slowness of the counting of the votes
were widely covered by the Philippine media. Mr. Christoph Wurnitsch and
Ms. Carla Berg, MA, members of Dr. Koechler's delegation, also shared
their observations with reporters of Philippine TV stations. Dr.
Koechler took note of opposition allegations of widespread vote-buying and
electoral fraud, particularly in the Mindanao provinces of Sultan Kudarat,
Zamboanga Sibugay, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Saranggani, Tawi-tawi,
North Cotabato and Davao. In view of persistent allegations by opposition
politicians, the lead of the incumbent President, Ms. Macapagal Arroyo,
over her main rival, Fernando Poe Jr., by about 3 percentage points (1.1
million votes) would have had to be scrutinized by an independent
commission. In many instances, politicians and independent observers have
pointed to inconsistencies between the actual election results and the
figures in the CoCs, details of which have been published in the country's
media. Regrettably, this has had a very detrimental effect on the Muslim
minority in the Philippines as outlined by KNP Senatorial candidate Amina
Rasul who said that Muslims are very upset with the dismal picture painted
of the minority areas in Mindanao: "The word fraud is now synonymous
with Muslim communities. There is already a notion that one does not have
to campaign there since Muslim votes can be bought." Serious doubts
have also been raised about the authenticity of the CoCs from Cebu City
and Cebu Province. The
handling of the vote count – it took almost six weeks from the
election day to the proclamation of the results – has exposed the
systemic weaknesses of the electoral process in the Philippines. The
entire procedure, including the canvassing of the votes at the national
level, should be taken out of the context of party politics in which it is
presently located. The establishment of the final results by adding up the
numbers contained in the Certificates of Canvass (CoC) should not be
undertaken by a political committee (such as the joint congressional
committee which was composed of members of the legislature according to
the majority relations in the outgoing parliament), but by civil servants
attached to a constitutionally independent office. Because of the
political nature of the Joint Committee, all requests to scrutinize the
CoCs (i.e. to open the election returns so as to verify the authenticity
of CoCs) have been voted down by the deputies of the governmental
majority. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has not proven to
be sufficiently independent – and, in any way, does not have an adequate
mandate under the present regulations. The same holds true, to a certain
degree, for the government-sanctioned National Citizens Movement for
Free Elections (Namfrel). According
to Section 17 of the House of Representatives' rules on canvassing and
Section 30 of Republic Act 7166, Congress or the joint committee of the
Senate and the House should refer to the election returns whenever there
are questions raised as to the authenticity of a CoC. Section 30 expressly
provides: When
it appears that any certificate of canvass or supporting statement of
votes by precinct bears erasures or alterations which may cast doubt as to
the veracity of the number of votes stated therein and may affect the
result of the election, upon request of the Presidential or
Vice-Presidential candidate concerned or his party, Congress shall, for
the sole purpose of verifying the actual number of votes cast for
President and Vice-President, count the votes as they appear in the copies
of the election returns submitted to it. Because
of the congressional committee's refusal to scrutinize the results of
electoral precincts – not even the scrutiny of one single CoC, as a
sample, was granted by the governmental majority –, the legitimacy of
the final election result may be in doubt in the eyes of many Philippine
citizens, something which will be detrimental to political stability in
the country. This situation may also undermine the legal and
constitutional system in the Philippines. Protracted legal battles are to
be expected and a series of complaints may be filed with the country's
Supreme Court. Dr.
Koechler concluded that the slowness of the entire process was not due to
the manual counting of the votes (a system which is also practiced in many
European countries), but mainly due to allegations of irregularities and
the subsequent doubts and objections, raised by the opposition, in the
joint canvassing committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The President of the I.P.O. suggested that a future constitutional reform
shall pay attention to this serious problem of the rule of law in the
Philippines and redefine the entire process of canvassing in a framework
which is to be situated outside of party politics. In that regard, one may
build on practices in member states of the European Union, not necessarily
the United States (where the electoral process also requires urgent
systemic and procedural reform). The International Progress Organization will remain seized of the matter and will continue an exchange of views with all sectors of Philippine society on the basic issues of democracy and the rule of law. Posted by Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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