SIX foreign election observers arrived in Cebu City yesterday to witness the national elections on Monday.
The six observers affiliated with the Compact for Peaceful and Democratic Elections (Compact) are part of the 30-man “International Team Bantay” who come from 16 countries.
They are accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“We have chosen the concerned areas according to some factors like political violence, political dynasty or clans, and how the election runs in the said area,” said Faye Laquio, the team leader.
Aside from Cebu, foreign observers were deployed in the provinces of Cagayan, Pampanga, Camarines Sur, Masbate, and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
In Cebu, the observers will focus on Daanbantayan town in the north which was among those placed by the Comelec and the police in its watchlist.
The observer team consists of parliamentarians, academics, youth and student leaders, as well as leaders of foreign political parties, media and non-government organizations.
Cynthia Domingo, a Filipino-American, traces her roots in Camotes Island. “I wanted to experience how democracy and elections runs here in the Philippines. I also want to share my experience,” said Domingo, a member of the Washington-based Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing.
Dante Garcia, another Filipino-American, said it was his first time to get acquainted with the Philippines. “I am here because I wanted to support democracy, the act of solidarity, and to understand the conditions here in the Philippines,” he said.
The other members of the team are Ruby Langeveld (The Netherlands), Ton Van Naerssen (The Netherlands), Mayasara Lohse (Denmark), and Harrison Ellis (Canada).
Compact monitored the national and local elections in the Philippines in 2004, 2007 and 2010. Countries are under the Compact are: Sweden, Denmark, USA, Japan, Australia, Germany, Spain, Burma, The Netherlands, Thailand, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. /Correspondent Michelle Joy I. Padayhag