The Gazette June 03, 2007

The Philippines is a not a “vibrant, thriving democracy” and the federal government should review Canada’s ties with the Pacific island nation, a group of Montreal observers who witnessed the country’s mid-term elections said yesterday.

“We didn’t see a vibrant democracy. What we did see was coercion, corruption, and violence,” journalist and observer Stefan Christoff said at a news conference outside St. James United Church.

According to the Centre for Philippine Concern, the May 14 legislative elections are of major political significance because U.S.-backed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is attempting to hold on to power in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2010.

“What we witnessed first hand was vote buying (and) the effects of the military violence,” said Christoff.

“We interviewed dozens of community residents who vividly described the armed forces of the Philippines entering communities and demanding that people vote in certain ways and not vote in other ways.”

Observers from 12 countries summarized that this wasn’t a random occurrence, Christoff said.

Observer and visual artist Freda Guttman recounted how Efraim Genuino, the head of the country’s gaming corporation who has close ties with the president, intimidated vote counters.

“He strode into this vast sort of arena-like area, looking like Mussolini and with body guards who were armed,” she said.

“He went in with two bodyguard into the rooms where the counting was taking place and would ask people who were counting which party they were from.”

Guttman added that two of Genuino’s sons were running in the riding.

There have been more than 850 political killings and 200 abductions in the Philippines since 2001, Christoff said. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have accused the current government of complicity in the killings.

Canadian companies have mining interests in the Philippines and the federal government offers military assistance to the country’s army the same army the observers implicate in the killings and other human rights abuses.

“The Canadian government should stop holding a hypocritical position where its willing to point out human rights abuses in certain countries and not others,” Christoff said.

Ottawa needs to take a stand, he said, because by supporting the government economically, Canada is inherently supporting the “political situation the government is maintaining, which is human rights abuses, fraud, and fraudulent democracy.”

Beaconsfield United Church clerygman Shaun Fryday said that the country’s president has the power to stop the killings and abuses.

“The president is, unlike other governments, the head of the government, the head of state, and the head of the armed forces. So she has all the power within her office to end this but she chooses not to because she continues to manipulate the system,” Fryday said.

Officials at the Philippines embassy in Ottawa weren’t available for comment.

shashmi@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette 2007

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