3 foreign poll observers here in Iloilo
Three of the 219 international observers from 12 countries and seven foreign groups who were accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to observe on the country's electoral process are here in the city. They will make an observation report on the conduct of the election.
Records from the poll body showed that US Vice Consul Rebecca S. Phelps, Deng Abarientos of the U.S. Embassy and Theressa De Haan, second secretary of the Canadian Embassy are currently in Iloilo to make observations on the conduct of national and local elections in the country.
These three foreign nationals will observe the canvassing of returns at the Iloilo Social Hall beside the Department of Education (DepEd) City Division Office in Mabini Street, City Proper. These foreign observers were not seen yesterday in polling precincts because they were prohibited from entering polling precincts. They were only allowed to observe at a certain distance.
The international observers will make a report on the outcome of the elections. The report would determine the strength of democracy in the country.
In 2004 elections, two American observers from the Consortium for Elections and Political Processes Strengthening (CEPPS) were sent in Iloilo to observe the conduct of the elections.
Out of the 219 foreign observers, 86 observers were sent by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. There were 10 from the Canadian Embassy, 11 from the British Embassy, 26 from the Japanese Embassy and one from New Zealand Embassy. The Comelec has also accredited the observers from the embassies of Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and Sweden.
The international organizations accredited by the Comelec were The Asia Foundation, ACF Compact, the European Commission, Friedrich Naumann, USAID Philippines, National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Foundation for Election Systems.
The NDI is identified with the U.S. Democratic Party. It is one of the four organizations affiliated with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an organization funded by the US government ostensibly to carry out democracy initiatives internationally.
Other organizations affiliated with the NED are the IRI, representing the U.S. Republican Party, the Center for Private International Enterprise (CPIE, US Chamber of Commerce) and the Free Trade Union Institute (FTUI, American Federation of Labor-Congress of International Organizations). Earlier, the US government expressed interest on the outcome of the 2007 midterm Philippine elections.