BY LISA ITO
BULATLAT
ELECTION WATCH/ BREAKING NEWS
May 16, 2007 – 1:57 p.m.
As the canvassing of party-list votes start today, foreign delegates from the Peoples International Observers Mission (Peoples IOM) expressed concern over reports of disenfranchisement, black propaganda, and harassment of progressive party list organizations in the urban poor communities of Tondo.
Members of the IOM Manila team visited the communities of Smokey Mountain II, Parola and Baseco
in Tondo yesterday, in response to reports of voter disenfranchisement and election irregularities
Party list supporters missing from voting lists
Canadian journalist and foreign observer Stefan Christoff said that hundreds of deactivated voters in Tondo are a lot of votes lost by the progressive party-list groups.
In Brgy Isla Puting Bato, the team interviewed residents who reported that over 225 registered voters in Precincts 51S & 51N of the area were excluded from the voting lists.
A lot of voters supporting progressive party-lists, specifically Bayan Muna and Gabriela, reported serious problems with the voting lists, Christoff noted.
“We heard the sentiments of community members who felt they were excluded them from the democratic process as their names disappeared from the official voting lists,” Christoff said.
Christoff cited the team’s visit to Katuparan Homes in Vitas, Tondo, where residents expressed their anger at the absence of their names from the lists and the absence of COMELEC representatives who could resolve the issue.
“If indeed there is vibrant democracy under the Arroyo administration, we believe that there should be no voter disenfranchisement,” explained Christoff.
Troop deployment in Tondo
Bianca Miglioretto of Switzerland, meanwhile, expressed concern over the impacts of military troop deployment in Tondo on the electoral process.
“The elections have to be seen in the context of the militarization of barangays Smokey Mountain II and Vitas. Militarization clearly violated the right to campaign for progressive parties that are the clear targets of repression by the AFP,” Miglioretto stressed.
Members of the 202nd Infantry Battalion were deployed for civil-military operations in the communities of Parola, Baseco and Islang Puting Bato in November 2006 and have remained in these areas up until the elections.
Miglioretto compiled reports of how the soldiers patrolled the communities with arms and interrogated residents on the presence of progressive party list groups such as Anakpawis, GABRIELA, Kabataan, Suara Bangsa Moro and Bayan Muna.
“Most of the people we talked to said they did not know the leaders and organizers [of the party list organizations]. What they know is that these organizations existed to help them when they face problems such as demolition in the community,” Miglioretto said.
Soldiers violated election campaign code
In Baseco, the foreign observers talked to residents who recounted that the military conducted open smear campaigns against the said party list organizations.
The soldiers also reportedly organized film showings where Bayan Muna, GABRIELA, Anakpawis, Kabataan and Suara Bangsa Moro were labeled as front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA). The film showings ended on the note that residents should not vote for them on May 14, the team said.
“The fact that the AFP uses propaganda films proves that these are not isolated acts of individual commanders but a planned strategy of the AFP as such and this constitutes a clear violation of the electoral campaign code,” Miglioretto said.
The soldiers officially left the areas on May 9. However, the IOM team gathered reports from local residents who claim that some soldiers still remain in Tondo, this time in civilian clothing.
“We support the people’s demand for the immediate withdrawal of all military forces the communities of Smokey Mountain II, Vitas, Parola and Baseco, including those in civilian clothes. And we join the people in saying no to return of AFP troops after the elections,” Miglioretto stated.
Counter to democratic process
The deployment of troops and their conduct against selected party lists in the area runs counter to the democratic process, the foreign observers concluded.
“In our assessment the AFP actively intervened in voting decisions throughout urban poor communities attempting to limit support for progressive party-lists, which undermines the democratic process in the Philippines,” Christoff said.
Miglioretto said that militarization has clearly violated the right to campaign for progressive parties that are the clear targets of repression by the AFP.
“Voters must be allowed full freedom of choice to cast ballots for which ever candidate or party-list they choose,” ended Christoff. (Bulatlat.com)
