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South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine political dynasties under fire from EU watchers amid calls for electoral reform
The stranglehold of political dynasties on Philippine democracy risks deepening public disillusionment and limiting political pluralism, the European Union 's election mission has warned, as it called for sweeping reforms to the country's 'outdated' election code and party-list system. In its final report released on Thursday, the EU Election Observation Mission said political power in the Philippines remained concentrated within a small circle of elite families, even in institutions meant to promote inclusive governance. The delegation had monitored the country's May midterm polls at the invitation of the Philippine government. 'Political power is concentrated in dynastic families which, according to civil society organisations, have held four out of every five congressional seats in the outgoing convocation, including two-thirds of party-list seats reserved for under-represented sectors,' said Marta Temido, the mission's chief observer and a member of the European Parliament. Despite praising the 'commitment to democracy' shown by Filipino voters – turnout stood at 81.65 per cent, the highest ever recorded for midterm elections – Temido said enduring problems such as vote-buying, election-related violence and an outdated legal framework continued to mar the electoral process. (From left) Philippine President Marcos, his sister Imee, who is a senator, and their mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos in 2017. Photo: AFP Nearly half of the provisions in the Philippines' 1985 omnibus election code were now obsolete, she said, having been superseded by the 1987 constitution or other laws. This left electoral legislation 'scattered and not harmonised', raising barriers to accountability and reform.
GMA Network
03-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
EU poll observers: Almost 50% of PH election code outdated
Poll observers from the European Union turn over their final report on the 2025 Philippine midterm national and local elections on July 2, 2025. Photo by: Comelec Nearly half of the provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, including those for campaign finance and election offenses, are already outdated, the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission reported Thursday. The EU poll observers, led by its chief Marta Temido, highlighted this in their report following the conduct of the May 12, 2025 midterm polls. "Although the election code remains the main source of electoral legislation, it is estimated that nearly half of its provisions are outdated, having been superseded by the Constitution, enacted two years after, and by numerous subsequent laws and regulations," the report read. "Specific provisions and entire sections of the electoral code that are no longer valid refer, for example, to the registration of voters and candidates, the campaign and campaign finance, voting and counting procedures, election observation and electoral offenses," the report read. Further, the poll observers' report stated that the election code has not been updated, as articles that are no longer applicable have not been repealed yet remain in place. "This [situation] is making it difficult to determine which provisions are still in force and which have been rendered inoperative by more recent legal acts," the report said. The Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, or Batas Pambansa 881, was enacted in December 1985 during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Fact-checking 'uncommon' The country's social media environment, the report added, is divided along political dynasties and the supporters, while the digital literacy of the Filipino population was deemed low to moderate. "While there are several fact-checking initiatives, the EU poll observers said verifying online news remains relatively uncommon among Filipinos," the report said. While articles and videos generally maintained a high level of discussion, the EU poll observers said the authenticity could not be said for comments sections and reactions. "EU EOM interlocutors noted that troll farms have become harder to detect due to their decentralised operations, unlike past tactics using identical messages and hashtags," the report pointed out. "The DICT reported several cases to Meta when coordinated naratives stemmed from a foreign source or when mass messages were identical, while TikTok removed three troll farms. Despite broad agreement on the issue's scale, some groups... were seen as both trolling and expressing authentic political views," the report read. To address these problems, the EU poll observes called for a sustainable support system for independent media and investigative journalism and fact checking. "Fact checking should be further strengthened and maintained, alongside continued expansion of media and digital literacy programmes for all strata of society," the report added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
South China Morning Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Violence, ‘credible' signs of vote-buying mar Philippines midterm election: EU observers
Vote-buying, entrenched political dynasties and deadly violence cast a shadow over the Philippines' midterm election , according to European Union observers, who warned the country's democracy faced serious structural challenges despite a strong turnout at the ballot box. The May 12 poll, overseen by the EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) witnessed high turnout and robust media coverage, but also 'unacceptable levels of election-related violence' and 'credible indications' of vote-buying through cash, goods and partisan welfare handouts, the mission's chief observer Marta Temido told a press conference on Wednesday. Temido, a member of the European Parliament, said voters had shown 'strong commitment to democracy and civic values despite the persistence of vote-buying' – a practice the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had only 'partially addressed' through stricter regulations. The EU deployed its mission following a formal request from the Philippine government, with observers monitoring campaign activities, voter turnout and security conditions across dozens of provinces. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr shows his inked finger to the media after casting his vote in the country's midterm election on May 12. Photo: Kyodo Temido said the election had taken place against the backdrop of limited electoral competitiveness due to 'the continued dominance of a few political families' and 'subjective limitations on the right to stand'.
