The Philippines
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    Testing of the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines in an elementary school in Malolos City. John Lawrence/IFES

    New Technology and Elections in the Philippines

    The public thirst for rapid and objective results has increasingly led countries to adopt new technology in the electoral process. Automation is often a complicated process, especially in countries with limited infrastructure, and where frequently the attention of decision-makers gets overwhelmingly focused on technical aspects. Technology, impacts all aspects of elections, including those that might at first seem immune, but eventually may lead to unintended consequences.

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    Voting Technology, Voter Registration, Election Procedures, Election Ballots, Electoral Systems

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    Forty-eight hours before Election Day, volunteers fill in the sample ballots. John Lawrence/IFES

    The Philippines Goes to the Polls

    On May 10, 2010 Filipinos went to the polls to cast ballots for president, vice-president, senators, congressmen, governors, mayors and other key offices in their national and local election. For the first time ever, Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines were used nation-wide. These images, taken by John Lawrence, IFES congressional affairs manager, provide a glimpse into the preparations for Election Day and the polling day itself in the Manila metropolitan area.

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    Elections, Election Observation, Voting Technology, Democracy Assistance, Voter Turnout

Participants during the Provincial TOT on Voter Education and Election Monitoring held at Farmland Resort, Barangay Lanote, Isabela City, Basilan. Photo by Mariam Ali/IFES.

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IFES' local Filipino Partners Recognized by the Election Commission

August 05, 2010

The Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) held a meeting on July 27 for the accredited election watchdogs and other local organizations that monitored the recently conducted May 2010 elections. Included in this reunion were two of IFES-Philippines’ partners—the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-based Citizens CARE and the Lawyers Network for Truthful Elections.

Elections

IFES Philippine Project Officer is Honored with Award

July 19, 2010

On July 19, 2010, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), led by Director Rosendo Dial, presented a Plaque of Appreciation to May Gladys Butoy, IFES Philippines’ Project Officer for the Vulnerable Sector Project funded by the British Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO), for her contributions to “the realization of the exercise of the right to suffrage of inmates nationwide, which was carved in the annals of Philippine history during the May 2010 national and local elections.”

Civil Society, Democracy Assistance, Post-conflict, Rule of Law

Philippines Election and President Noynoy Aquino's Taking of Office

July 01, 2010

Juhani Grossman, deputy chief of party in the Philippines, comments on the May 10, 2010 election and President Noynoy Aquino’s taking of office.

Election Observation, Elections, Voting Technology, Election Management, Election Disputes

Reflecting on the Philippine’s 1986 and 2010 Elections

June 23, 2010

Bill Sweeney, IFES President and CEO, was in the Philippines to observe the 10 May 2010 elections. It was a historic election as it was the first time the Philippines used automated voting across the entire country. It was an especially memorable election for Mr. Sweeney as the first international election he monitored was the high-stakes 1986 Filipino presidential election between the infamous Ferdinand E. Marcos and highly-esteemed Corazon C. Aquino. In this essay, Mr. Sweeney shares his thoughts on the two elections, taking place in extremely different circumstances, and the changes he noticed in the Philippines.

Elections, Voting Technology, Election Disputes, Electoral Systems

Filipino Detainees, Volcanoes (and Elections, Too)

June 23, 2010

As I left for the Philippines on 5 May to observe its elections, it was bittersweet since the day before was Election Day in my hometown in Virginia and I’d just lost my election for City Council by 80 votes. Going 8,000 miles away seemed like a good idea.

Elections, Voting Technology, Voter Turnout

IFES Observes Historic Philippines Election

May 27, 2010

IFES President and CEO Bill Sweeney and other DC-based staff joined Philippines Chief of Party Beverly Hagerdon Thakur, Deputy Chief of Party Juhai Grossmann and other IFES-Philippines staff members in observing the May 10, 2010 national and local election. Filipinos went to the polls to cast ballots for president, vice-president, senators, congressmen, governors, mayors and other key offices.

Elections, Voting Technology, Electoral Systems, Voter Turnout

New Technology and Elections in the Philippines

May 2010

The public thirst for rapid and objective results has increasingly led countries to adopt new technology in the electoral process. Automation is often a complicated process, especially in countries with limited infrastructure, and where frequently the attention of decision-makers gets overwhelmingly focused on technical aspects. Technology, impacts all aspects of elections, including those that might at first seem immune, but eventually may lead to unintended consequences.

Voting Technology, Voter Registration, Election Procedures, Election Ballots, Electoral Systems

Board of Election Inspectors: Quick Guide

May 2009

This report provides a quick overview for election inspectors to review election procedures.

Election Management, Election Procedures, Electoral Systems, Elections

Citizens CARE fields 7,501 monitors for the May 10, 2010 Automated Elections

May 10, 2010

Citizens CARE, the COMELEC accredited pollwatcher for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ARMM, deployed 7,501 volunteers to observe the Region’s 3,377 clustered precincts in 1,939 voting centers in 114 municipalities and 4 cities on May 10, 2011.

Elections, Voting Technology, Electoral Systems, Voter Turnout

Top Experts in Complaints Adjudication Discuss the Upcoming Elections in the Philippines

April 27, 2010

For an entire week, from February 8 to 12, 2010, IFES and the American Bar Association, with funding support from USAID, brought two of the foremost legal experts on election adjudication from the US – Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul H. Anderson and election law expert John “Jack” Hardin Young – to Manila in order to meet with the Commission on Elections and other stakeholders and advise on complaints adjudication with this new technology. Both Justice Anderson and Mr. Young have experience litigating and adjudicating cases using Precinct Count Optical Scan systems, which are similar to those which will be used in the Philippines.

Election Disputes, Voting Technology, Election Ballots, Election Law, Governance

Country In Brief

IFES’ initial involvement in the Philippines began in March 2004, when a team of IFES consultants traveled to Manila to assess the political situation and propose recommendations for supporting a modernized electoral reform process. Operational challenges, such as the use of manual election methodologies and the need for improved training of election officials by the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC), helped shape immediate and long-term recommendations that today guide IFES’ work with COMELEC and civil society organizations to address priority needs in the Philippine electoral reform agenda.

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