Violence And Cheating Expected In RP Polls

COTABATO CITY - With only a few days to go to the crucial middle-term elections, the spectre of gunfire and massive fraud hovers threateningly over the Philippines.

On May 14, about 45.5 million Filipinos will be called to choose among 87,000 candidates vying for 17,000 national and local positions, which include the 250 House of Representatives seats and half of the 24 Senate.

Despite the country’s massive problems – corruption, widespread poverty, internal wars, and extrajudicial killings – the electoral campaign has been limited to a virtual referendum on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, accused of cheating at the 2004 elections and tainted by allegation of corruption and abuse of power.

In short, the opposition, gathered around the Genuine Opposition (GO) coalition, wants to win enough seats in the Lower House to impeach her.

Two previous attempts failed due to Arroyo’s supporters being the majority in the House.
The government coalition, Team Unity, wants to maintain this majority so to stave off any new attempts.

In addition to the barren political debate, the run-up to the vote has been tarnished by accusation of frauds and widespread politically-motivated violence - pretty much routine occurrences in the country during elections.

Police said almost 100 people have already been killed in politically-motivated incidents since the election campaign started in January.

Nowhere is the fear greater than in the southern island of Mindanao, where the Muslim minority has been fighting for independence since 1976.

Here, politics is bathed in a trigger-happy culture and is marked by violent episodes involving rivalries among political clans.

Police said a significant proportion of militias known to be active in the Philippines operate in Mindanao. They are believed to be linked to warlords-cum-politicians. There are 91 such groups nationwide.

Muslimin Sema, rebel leader turned politician, wants Manila to strictly implement the policy that only police and military can carry firearms. "Maintaining a private army is against the political exercise.

You know politicians who maintain armed groups and yet they are not disarmed," Sema, a concurrent secretary general of the Moro National liberation Front, once the largest Muslim rebel organisation in the country, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

Sema, the current mayor of Cotabato City, lost his cousin Arnel Datukon last November, in which authorities considered an election-related incident.

Yet he is undeterred as he seeks re-election. "I am needed by the people. I think other politicians too are driven by their desire to serve. But others might see financial gains in running for office," he said.

And money must be the drive behind those who forced the then 14-year old Arlene Sedig to lie about her age, and vote in 2004.

"They threatened to hurt my parents. They were in control of the polling precincts, it was that easy for them," she told AKI, mentioning some private armies linked to politicians in Pagalungan, her hometown.

"Politics is really dirty in this country. It's always marked by violence and I am afraid that someday I will lose one of my loved ones,” she added without showing any hope for an improvement in the forthcoming ballot.

However, despite it all, Omar Sumail, a 45-year old farmer in the same town, said that he has not given up hope. "I am hoping for a zero incident of violence on the day of election. We are tired of always having ‘bloody’ elections," said Sumail. “Hope is all we have left, at the end of the day,” he added.

The Commission on Elections has granted accreditation to 219 foreigners from 12 countries, including those from Europe to monitor the vote. Arroyo has mobilized the military to work alongside the police and ensure safety for the ballots.