VZCZCXRO0016
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHML #3547/01 2990934
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 260934Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8747
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 003547 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RP
SUBJECT:  PHILIPPINES TO HOLD FIRST NATIONWIDE VILLAGE ELECTIONS 
SINCE 2002 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY: Nationwide village council elections will take 
place on October 29 for the first time since 2002.  More than 
335,000 seats are at stake.  These elections do not directly involve 
national political parties, but the newly elected village 
chairpersons will be in a good position to control modest resources 
and influence local voting in future elections.  There have been 
only 13 election-related fatalities throughout the 42,000 village 
districts so far, suggesting that the final figure will likely be 
lower than the 75 deaths recorded in the 2002 elections.  Simple 
vote-counting procedures should mean that election results will be 
available more quickly and could decrease vote fraud compared to 
previous national elections.  The Mission's election observation 
efforts will include the dispatch of political staff to polling 
places in Metro Manila and an extensive USAID training program in 
Mindanao.  Indicative of the very local nature of these elections, 
there has been minimal campaigning thus far and press interest has 
also been low.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BARANGAY: THE BASIC POLITICAL UNIT 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The village and neighborhood districts, or barangays, are 
the smallest political units in the Philippine system.  Their 
populations can range from a minimum of 2,000 in rural areas to over 
100,000 in urban areas.  Councilors manage day-to-day government 
affairs, basic infrastructure projects, and some services.  Their 
political significance is enhanced when councilors - and especially 
the chairpersons, or captains - are able to deliver votes for 
candidates seeking higher office. 
 
¶3.  (U) Approximately 335,000 youth councilors, aged 15 to 18, will 
also be elected on October 29.  There are 3.1 million youths 
registered to vote in these separate elections.  The positions are 
intended to raise the profile of youth concerns and hone the 
leadership potential of the younger generation. 
 
¶4.  (U) According to the Commission on Elections, voter turnout on 
October 29 could be slightly higher than in the national midterm 
elections in May.  The Commission predicts a turnout rate greater 
than 75%, which would surpass the 73% of the May 2007 vote.  There 
are 51 million voters registered for the barangay elections, which 
is more than the 45.5 million who registered in the May elections. 
The difference may be due to simultaneous youth council elections or 
heightened interest in issues closer to home. 
 
NATIONAL INTEREST AND INVOLVEMENT 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Political parties are banned from supporting campaigns at 
the barangay level.  However, it is clear that these elections 
matter to national politicians, many of whom look to barangay 
captains as their front-line soldiers in turning out the vote for 
congressional and presidential polls.  The timing and format of the 
local elections have also been subject to Congressional tinkering. 
For example, barangay councils are supposed to serve just three 
years, and the last round of local elections should have been held 
in 2005.  But the Congress delayed the election, arguing that it 
came too quickly on the heels of the 2004 presidential and 
congressional votes, and reset the election date to 2007. 
 
¶6.  (U) Congress almost delayed the elections again this year, as 
the House of Representatives passed a bill to postpone the poll 
until 2009, but the Senate defeated the bill, noting that candidates 
had already filed for office and the election commission had spent 
funds to prepare for the vote, sitting village officials had already 
served for five years and many of the youth councilors were no 
longer so youthful.  A former congresswoman stated publicly that 
congressmen needed time, following the May elections, to replenish 
their war chests, which would enable them to support handpicked 
barangay captains.  Unlike representatives, who are elected in local 
districts, senators are elected in at-large national contests and 
would not benefit from such a move. 
 
QUICKER PROCESS THAN NATIONAL ELECTIONS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The winners will take office on November 30, and the 
Commission on Elections has until November 1 to proclaim winners, if 
there are no challenges.  Most of the winners will be determined on 
the same day, since vote tallies need not be re-tabulated at higher 
levels, as is the case with municipal, provincial, and congressional 
elections. 
 
VOTING CHALLENGES 
----------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Election Commission officials believe that the simple 
vote-counting procedures will both speed the issuance of final 
 
MANILA 00003547  002 OF 002 
 
 
results and reduce opportunities for fraud, because cheating often 
occurs through "vote padding" as votes get tabulated at each 
successive level during national polls.  However, the presence of 
observers will be reduced compared to national elections. 
 
¶9.  (U) To help remedy the lack of observers, USAID has supported 
training of Filipino observers in the Autonomous Region of Muslim 
Mindanao (ARMM). The Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reform (Citizens 
CARE) is a consortium of 24 Muslim nongovernmental organizations 
that USAID has worked with, through the International Foundation for 
Election Systems, to support improvements in the electoral process. 
During the upcoming elections, Citizens CARE will field some 3,000 
volunteers to monitor the voting and counting of votes with coverage 
in 710 barangays throughout the ARRM.  This training advances the 
USG's larger goal of supporting freer and fairer elections in the 
Philippines by improving election processes and building the 
capacity of locals to do election monitoring. 
 
¶10.  (U) The Philippine National Police have so far recorded 17 
election-related violent incidents, resulting in 13 deaths.  This 
compares with 114 deaths associated with the national elections 
carried out in May, and some 75 fatalities that took place during 
the last local elections in 2002 - 30 of whom were candidates.  A 
police task force has been formed to reduce violence, and a ban on 
carrying guns in public is in place until November 13. 
 
¶11.  (U) Post will follow up with election results as they become 
available. 
 
 
 
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