VZCZCXRO3721
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #1694/01 1430938
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230938Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6622
INFO RUEHZS/ASEAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 001694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM RP
SUBJECT: ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD IN PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS 
 
Ref: A.  MANILA 1647 
 ¶B.  MANILA 1613 
 ¶C.  MANILA 1544 
 ¶D.  MANILA 1521 
 ¶E.  MANILA 1494 
 ¶F.  MANILA 1467 
 ¶G.  MANILA 1215 
 ¶H.  MANILA 1073 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  New allegations of fraud in the 2007 Philippine 
mid-term elections have again weakened the credibility of the 
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and led to renewed calls for 
automation in time for the 2010 elections.  Common charges included 
vote buying, vote shaving, ballot box snatching, use of "flying 
voters," and disenfranchising voters.  Some new measures, such as 
posting election returns at precincts and digital photographs on 
return lists, helped to lessen possible poll irregularities, along 
with the presence of vigilant poll watchers from the dominant and 
minority political parties, party-list organizations, and civil 
society watchdogs.  It is difficult to assess the magnitude or 
impact of any alleged irregularities, and analysts are not 
questioning the elections overall, but rather conduct in certain 
localities.  This report conveys anecdotal information on major 
allegations of irregularities.  Septel will discuss problematic 
elections in Maguindanao province, as well as the May 26 make-up 
elections in other parts of Mindanao.  End Summary. 
 
----------- 
Vote Buying 
----------- 
 
¶2.  (U) As in previous elections, there were persistent allegations 
of local vote buying in the May 14 elections.  Newspapers reported 
that in the poor sections of Dagupan City, Pangasinan Province, a 
vote was worth only 20 pesos (.40 USD).  In Palawan Province, 
Embassy observers heard that the price ranged from 250 - 500 pesos 
(5-10 USD), while in Albay Province, the alleged range was from 100 
- 700 pesos (2-14 USD).  In Tacloban City, Leyte Province, a 
government agency reportedly paid 1,000 pesos (20 USD) to each of 
its employees to vote for a non-leftist party-list organization. 
The highest amount reported was in Zamboanga del Norte Province, 
where votes allegedly sold for as much as 1,500 pesos (30 USD). 
 
------------ 
Vote Shaving 
------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) COMELEC's national canvassing center detected and corrected 
discrepancies in provincial returns, dismissing them as "clerical 
mistakes."  The provincial certificate of canvass from Zambales 
province -- homeland of "Team Unity" senatorial candidate and 
current Governor Vicente Magsaysay - listed only 85,923 votes for 
Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Francis "Chiz" Escudero, 
while the actual statement of votes gave Escudero 185,923. 
Similarly, opposition senatorial candidate Alan Peter Cayetano was 
credited with only 29,198 votes, when the actual returns read 
129,198.  The opposition candidates were credited with the correct 
number of votes, but the discrepancies led to suspicions of attempts 
to "shave" votes. 
 
-------------------- 
Ballot Box Snatching 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Against the backdrop of a tight three-way fight for the 
Pampanga gubernatorial seat involving the moneyed wife of an alleged 
drug lord, an absentee actor-governor busy making movies, and a dark 
horse from the clergy who eventually won by a slim margin of votes, 
unidentified armed men snatched 12 ballot boxes from election 
workers en route to the canvassing center to deliver the election 
returns.  Authorities later found the boxes along the shore of a 
nearby river.  In Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan, armed men 
barged into poll precincts and snatched ballot boxes while voting 
was in progress.  In Batangas province, men later identified as 
police burned a local school holding some ballot boxes 
(inadvertently killing two election workers in the fire), allegedly 
at the behest of a local politician facing defeat.  The Philippine 
National Police have identified and now filed charges against the 
policemen involved in the incident. 
 
¶5.  (U) In a separate incident, eight soldiers died in an encounter 
in Abra province with suspected New People's Army insurgents 
apparently seeking to seize ballot boxes on behalf of a local 
candidate (ref b). 
 
--------------- 
"Flying Voters" 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Another Philippine practice is to hire "flying voters" to 
vote for certain candidates under fictitious names in polling 
 
MANILA 00001694  002 OF 003 
 
 
centers other than their own.  In Lanao del Sur province, residents 
claim to have spotted a busload of 70 "flying voters" arriving in 
Marawi City from neighboring Iligan City to vote for a certain 
candidate in exchange for 1,000 pesos (20 USD).  In Occidental 
Mindoro Province, truckloads of Mangyan (indigenous) voters, 
identified with name tags and precinct numbers, were reportedly 
ferried to polling places by Tagalog-speaking people.  On a more 
positive note, a field election supervisor in Cagayan de Oro City 
won commendation for successfully cleansing the voters' list of as 
many as 20,000 apparent "flying voters" before Election Day. 
 
---------------------- 
Disenfranchised Voters 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Perhaps the most common complaint among voters was not 
finding their names in the master list of voters in their polling 
centers and thus not being able to cast their ballots.  In some 
cases, the voters themselves may have failed to re-register in time, 
while in other cases new procedures to organize voters by date of 
registration or address rather than in alphabetical order 
complicated the search for the right precinct list.  However, many 
alleged that precinct officials sometimes eliminated the names of 
voters whose votes might go to a rival candidate (usually for local 
office rather than national).  It is difficult to assess how 
extensive this problem was. 
 
-------------------- 
Military Campaigning 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) The Department of National Defense and the COMELEC in 2006 
signed a memorandum of agreement limiting the military's 
participation in election work to securing polling places in 
election hotspots.  (Note: The Constitution prohibits members of the 
military from engaging "directly or indirectly in any partisan 
political activity, except to vote."  End Note.)  However, there 
were numerous but unsubstantiated reports that some local military 
commanders actively campaigned against leftist party-list 
organizations and/or "ordered" troops to vote only in favor of "Team 
Unity" Senate candidates. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
New Measures Helped Lessen Possible Fraud 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) COMELEC instituted some additional measures to prevent 
election fraud, notably, publicly posting election returns at 
polling precincts for 48 hours after counting of votes.  The poll 
body also agreed to give accredited poll watchdog organizations and 
the official minority Liberal party a copy of the election returns 
and the certificates of canvass.  However, there were complaints in 
some areas that accredited poll watchers did not always receive 
these copies, as well as complaints from the National Citizens' 
Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) that its officials had 
detected in some places bogus NAMFREL officials trying to obtain 
these copies. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Poll Watchers Also Deterred Election Fraud 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (U) The presence of poll watchers from the dominant LAKAS and 
minority Liberal parties, party-list organizations, and civil 
society watchdog organizations -- such as the Parish Pastoral 
Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and NAMFREL -- contributed to 
lessening possible poll irregularities.  In Pampanga, followers of 
governor-elect Father Ed Panlilio lit candles, sang religious hymns, 
and kept a vigilant watch during the canvassing of votes.  In some 
precincts, these observers were allowed in the room during the 
actual counting of ballots, while in most precincts they had to 
monitor through open windows or doors. 
 
------------------ 
Delayed Canvassing 
------------------ 
 
¶11.  (U) Nine days after the elections, election officials have 
proclaimed only approximately 50% of the municipal, city, 
provincial, and Congressional winners.  Losing candidates have 
already begun to complain and/or file charges of fraud or other 
irregularities.  In Isabela province, gubernatorial candidate and 
former Governor Benjamin Dy, who trails behind incumbent Governor 
Grace Padaca by some 5,000 votes, has sought the exclusion of votes 
in 182 precincts due to alleged irregularities.  Abra Province has 
temporarily suspended canvassing due to allegations of 
irregularities by Congressional candidate and outgoing Governor 
Vicente Valera against winning opponent Cecilia Luna, who lost six 
relatives to election-related violence allegedly perpetrated by the 
Valera camp.  Accusations of irregularities between gubernatorial 
candidates Gerry Salapuddin and Wahab Akbar have also delayed the 
 
MANILA 00001694  003 OF 003 
 
 
final canvassing in Basilan Province. 
 
¶12.  (U) COMELEC's National Canvassing Board estimates it can 
complete the canvassing of votes for the Senate and party-list race 
by the first week of June, when special make-up elections and 
canvassing for certain areas -- Lanao del Sur, Sulu, and Basilan as 
well as parts of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao -- will be 
complete following COMELEC's decisions to declare local elections as 
failed or to delay them due to the absence of election workers, poll 
irregularities, and/or violence.  NAMFREL hopes to finish its 
parallel "quick" count (apart from Maguindanao and the above 
mentioned sites) on May 24. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Automated Elections for 2010 - Really and Truly? 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶13.  (U) Presidential Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye announced on May 
21 that the Arroyo Administration was determined to automate the 
electoral process in time for the 2010 presidential elections.  He 
stated that, with "political will," three years would be sufficient 
to implement the needed reforms.  Earlier this year, Congress passed 
the Automated Electoral System Act, but COMELEC successfully 
protested that it did not have sufficient time to implement even on 
a trial or partial basis for the May 14 polls. 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/ 
 
KENNEY