Foreign observers in RP for May 10 polls

Twenty five international observers from 11 countries are in the Philippines to witness the country's first nationwide automated polls on Monday.

The group of observers is composed of members of parliament, political scientists, development and peace advocates and journalists from the US, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Burma, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia. On Friday, the group gathered at a press conference arranged by the Compact for Peaceful and Democratic Elections (Compact) in Quezon City, where each member was introduced to the media. "We would like to send a message to the people of the Philippines that while the fate of the automation is in your hands, you are not alone in this because this is a global quest," said Sim Chee Keong of Malaysia. The foreign observers would be divided into four groups and deployed to Pasig City in Metro Manila, Pampanga in Central Luzon, Maguindanao in southern Philippines and Negros Occidental in central Philippines. Rosetta Ann Rosales, Compact convener, stressed the importance of having foreign individuals witness the conduct of Philippine elections, as what had been done in previous polls. "We are already at the home-stretch. So right now, it's time to press the panic button," Rosales said during the press conference at the Sulo Hotel. Faye Laquio, overall coordinator of the international observation mission, said their group specifically assigned foreign observers in Pampanga and Pasig City due to the "interesting electoral races" in those areas. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is vying for a House seat in Pampanga's second district, where she is favored over her lesser known rivals. In Pasig City, social movement leader Ricardo Reyes will be attempting to take the mayoral post away from re-electionist Mayor Vicente Eusebio. "Beyond the violence and the numerous cases of fraud, the foreign observers want to make an appraisal of how we conduct our election and how it helps in deepening our democracy," Laquio said. At the end of elections, the foreign observers are expected to supply first-hand information to the international community through an election observation report, which would be presented to various government and international institutions like the Comelec and the United Nations. —RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV