US envoy lauds high voter turnout in polls
BAROTAC NUEVO, ILOILO--Even as reports of fraud continue to mar the May 14 elections, United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney lauded the high voter turnout in the elections and the number of poll watch volunteers.
Kenney who was among the foreign observers who monitored the synchronized elections last week said the 80 percent voter turnout was "exhilarating."
"Any election in a democracy is a good thing. What we want to do is to be able to choose our leaders. So any time you have that option, where you have a lot of candidates, lots of choices and when 80 percent of the (voting) population vote and it's voluntary, that's a very good thing," Kenney said in an interview.
Kenney was here on Monday to lead the opening program of a US Embassy-sponsored soccer clinic for youth in Iloilo at the national football training center at Barangay Tabucan in Barotac Nuevo 30 km northeast of Iloilo City.
She said the high number of Filipinos who voted "shows that the people really care about who runs the country."
Kenney who visited three polling precincts in the Intramuros area said she was also impressed with the number of poll watch volunteers.
"There were lots of people checking to make sure people know where to vote, how to vote. There were a lot of observers, not just political party observers but different NGO (non-government organizations) groups. And I find that very heartening," said Kenney.
Asked to comment on reported electoral fraud including vote buying and vote shaving, Kenney said she did not have a good basis to assess the elections.
"You have Filipino NGO groups who will no doubt have their views on that. But on the basis of seeing three polling precincts, I can't judge, she said.
When asked on her perception on the continued killings and abductions of political activists, Kenney said the United States is "very worried about that."
"It's a beautiful and peaceful country and the rule of law is always important. We have a longtime presence here working precisely to strengthen human rights," said Kenney.
She said the US Embassy sponsored a seminar and training for police and prosecutors on how to deal with human rights cases and how to work on prosecuting and bringing violators to trial.
"That's the kind of work I want to do. Very practical, focused, very much on giving the people the skills they need to make sure that human rights are respected," said Kenney.
The US Ambassador said the Philippine government has a "very serious action plan" to deal with the human rights cases.
"But it is incumbent on all of us to work together to do this," said Kenney.