VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #1074/01 0670856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080856Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9810

UNCLAS MANILA 001074 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID FOR ANN/ANE; AA/DCHA; DA/ANE; 
INFO ANE/EAA/PHIL DESK; 
ANE/SPOTS FOR RICKI GOLD 
USAID/DCHA/DG FOR JOSH KAUFMAN AND BARBARA SMITH 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL/CRA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PGOV PREL RP
SUBJECT:  PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR WELCOMES USG SUPPORT FOR 
PHILIPPINE ELECTORAL REFORM 
 
REF: A. 05 MANILA 5914 
¶B. 05 MANILA 4810 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED  NOT FOR INTERNET  PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU) On February 27, 2006, representatives of USAID 
and the International Foundation for Election Systems 
(IFES), a USAID/Philippines grantee, met with former 
Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. 
to discuss opportunities to collaborate on electoral 
reforms.  President Arroyo appointed Davide as her Senior 
or 
Advisor on Electoral Reforms on January 24, charging him 
with drafting an electoral reform roadmap for the May 2007 
legislative elections and beyond.  During the February 27 
meeting, the USAID Mission Director told the former Chief 
Justice that the USG is particularly encouraged by Davide's 
appointment and expressed the USG's desire to support much- 
needed electoral reforms in the Philippines.  Davide 
welcomed USG and IFES support. (End Summary.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Davide Offers Preview of Electoral Reform Agenda 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  (U) On January 24, 2006, President Arroyo appointed 
Hilario Davide Jr. as her Senior Advisor on Electoral 
Reforms.  Davide had retired a month earlier from the 
position of Chief Justice of the Philippines Supreme Court 
after an impressive seven-year tenure presiding over a far- 
reaching program to reform the Philippine judiciary. Davide 
also has extensive elections experience, having served as 
Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) from 1988 
to 1989.  As the new Senior Advisor on Electoral Reforms, 
Davide agreed to conduct a thorough study of the electoral 
system, recommend reforms for the 2007 legislative 
elections and beyond, and preside over the nominations 
process to fill three vacant positions as commissioners at 
COMELEC. President Arroyo charged him with completing these 
tasks in 60 days, and Davide is expected to present his 
findings and recommendations to the President by mid-March 
¶2006. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Recognizing the opportunity presented by Davide's 
appointment to support electoral reforms in the 
Philippines, CDA Paul Jones offered USG assistance in a 
January 31, 2006 letter, particularly through the 
USAID/Philippines' ongoing project with IFES, a two-year, 
$1 million grant to support reforms in election management 
and administration.  The CDA also sent Davide a copy of the 
USAID-funded comprehensive assessment of the 2004 elections 
conducted by a team of elections experts from IFES, the 
National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International 
Republican Institute (IRI).  USAID subsequently met on 
February 27 with the former Chief Justice and IFES to 
discuss opportunities to collaborate on electoral reform. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Former Chief Justice Davide welcomed the 
opportunity to work with USAID and IFES on electoral 
reform.  He thanked the USG for CDA Paul Jones' offer of 
support and for the USAID-funded elections assessment, 
remarking that the assessment contains very useful 
recommendations, which he has already drawn on in making 
interim recommendations to President Arroyo.  Davide told 
USAID and IFES that on February 10 he submitted an interim 
report to Arroyo with short-term recommendations for 
essential reforms to be in place for the 2007 legislative 
elections.  These include automating the vote in selected 
areas of the country such as Metro Manila, the Autonomous 
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and Region Seven (Cebu, 
Bohol, and Negros Oriental); revising the election 
modernization law to allow for greater flexibility in 
implementation; President Arroyo certifying pending 
election legislation as particularly urgent; simplifying 
the ballot; and increasing emphasis on voter education to 
improve civic responsiveness and explain changes in the 
election's conduct.  Davide confirmed that he is also 
working to select nominees to fill three vacant 
commissionerships at COMELEC; he said that he already has 
drawn up a list of people he intends to recommend, 
 
including several highly qualified women.  Davide told 
USAID and IFES that he welcomed civil society input to 
improve the transparency and quality of the selection 
process. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The former Chief Justice also told USAID and IFES 
that he recently briefed senior administration officials on 
these and other interim recommendations and expressed his 
satisfaction that he had received a positive response. 
Davide added that he plans to continue his job as Senior 
Advisor on Electoral Reforms to oversee implementation 
after submitting his final report and recommendations in 
mid-March 2006. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
USG Assistance Complements Electoral Reform Agenda 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) USAID and IFES briefed former Chief Justice 
Davide on USG's support for electoral reform in the 
Philippines, and all present identified possible areas for 
collaboration.  Building on the assessment of the 2004 
national elections and support for voter education and 
domestic election monitoring in the August 2005 ARMM 
regional elections, USAID issued a two-year, $1 million 
grant to IFES in September 2005 to continue support for 
Philippine electoral reform.  At the February 27 meeting, 
IFES outlined IFES's engagement with COMELEC, which 
includes support for series of recently completed strategic 
planning and capacity building workshops at COMELEC to 
chart a course forward for administering the 2007 
legislative elections and making longer-term reforms. 
IFES, USAID, and Davide agreed that there appeared to be 
fertile ground for collaboration as Davide makes his own 
recommendations for reforms at COMELEC to the President, 
and as IFES assists COMELEC with implementation of the 
reforms agreed to in COMELEC's strategic planning exercise. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Those present also agreed that plans for election 
automation also offered an opportunity for collaboration, 
and Davide noted IFES' particular expertise in assessing 
the options for voting machines and related IT systems.  In 
May 2005, IFES conducted an assessment of COMELEC's IT 
systems and plans for automation.  IFES plans to sponsor a 
vendor fair for elections equipment if the government moves 
forward with Davide's recommendation for automating the 
2007 legislative elections on a pilot basis. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Finally, USAID and IFES described to Davide their 
engagement with civil society, both at the national level 
and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 
Davide welcomed USAID's and IFES' plan to support the 
Transparency and Accountability Network, a local 
nongovernmental organization (NGO), to conduct a 
"Commissioners Watch" to improve transparency and quality 
of the vetting process for the selection of the three new 
COMELEC commissioners.  Davide also noted his interest in 
USAID's and IFES' work with civil society in the ARMM, 
which facilitated the creation of the first ever consortium 
of Muslim NGOs, the "Citizens Coalition for ARMM Elections 
(CCAE)," to conduct voter education and monitor the ARMM 
regional elections in August 2005.  USAID and IFES will 
continue to help build the capacity of CCAE in recognition 
of the nationwide impact of alleged electoral fraud in the 
ARMM during the 2004 elections and in past electoral 
exercises.  Here too, the former Chief Justice saw 
possibilities for collaboration and voiced his support for 
USAID's and IFES' work to improve voter education and 
election monitoring. USAID, IFES, and Davide agreed to meet 
again after the former Chief Justice presents his report 
and recommendations to President Arroyo to flesh out 
modalities for collaboration. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9.  (SBU) Former Chief Justice Davide's appointment as 
Senior Advisor on Electoral Reforms represents a much- 
needed boost to a stalled electoral reform agenda.  Known 
for his moral leadership and strong record as a reformer 
during his tenure as Chief Justice, Davide brings with him 
tremendous stature and respect to his new job.  He will 
need these qualities in abundance to successfully break 
 
through the current deadlock on electoral reformdeadlock 
caused by weak leadership and allegations of high-level 
corruption at COMELEC and a lack of political will among 
many incumbent politicians to commit seriously to electoral 
reforms.  Of late, however, a growing number of politicians 
and media commentators have highlighted the need for 
electoral reforms, many citing credible allegations of 
fraud in the 2004 elections as evidence of a broken 
electoral system. Calls for electoral reform have gathered 
an added sense of urgency in recent weeks as more realize 
that time is already running short to prepare for 
legislative elections scheduled for May 2007.  Many also 
acknowledge that any move to a parliamentary system of 
government, a stated priority of President Arroyo and many 
in Congress, will, in the end, depend on the ability of the 
government to hold credible elections. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) While the impediments to electoral reform remain 
significant, former Chief Justice Davide's engagement 
represents the best chance for progress in recent memory. 
His efforts are therefore particularly deserving of USG 
support.  We will continue to engage with Davide to take 
advantage to opportunities to move the electoral reform 
agenda forward. (End Comment.) 
JONES