NATIONAL CITIZENS MOVEMENT FOR FREE ELECTIONS (NAMFREL)

Room 601, DMG Center, Domingo M. Guevara St., 1550 Mandaluyong City, Philippines elephone! ele*a+! -(Mail 0e1site! "6# $%& '51(15)6 "6# $%& ',0('151 se.retariat/nam*rel..om.ph 222.nam*rel.org.ph

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL CITIZENS MOVEMENT FOR FREE ELECTIONS (NAMFREL) ON THE CONDUCT OF THE 2013 BARANGAY ELECTIONS
The Barangay Elections conducted on October 28, 2013 passed with considerable success and was generally peaceful despite reports of sporadic violence across the country The occurrence of sporadic violence is due to the intense rivalry in local politics !owever there are still practices and serious election offenses that continue to cast a dar" shadow on the electoral process #irst is the i$punity and bra%enness of candidates and their supporters in violating election rules &'(#)E* abhors the corruption of voters through ra$pant vote buying and selling in various for$s and the use of violence to settle differences and to e+act a win at all cost One of the $ost abused and fre,uently violated offenses but often tolerated is the unlawful electioneering and the abuse of children -oliciting votes through the ra$pant distribution of sa$ple ballots and ca$paign paraphernalia have been co$$onplace inside and around the polling place in direct violation of -ec 2.1/"0 'rticle 1122 of the O$nibus Election 3ode (ore ob4ectionable is the e$ploy of $inors and children for these illegal ca$paigns in direct contravention with -ec 3/b0 of our 3onstitution5 the 6& 3onvention on the )ights of 3hildren5 the 3hild 7 8outh 9elfare 3ode /:; no .0305 and )epublic 'ct &o <.10 = -pecial :rotection for a 3hild 'gainst 'buse, E+ploitation 7 ;iscri$ination 'ct5 all of which ensure that children have the right to protection fro$ abuse and e+ploitation 2t is ironic that the Barangay 3hair$an and its council are so$e of those $andated and tas"ed to >le a co$plaint for child abuse and e+ploitation 9e call on the 3o$elec to run after these erring candidates, politicians and supporters who blatantly co$$itted these election offenses, and to focus on the issues $entioned li"e it has strongly focused on illegal and e+cessive posters and other for$s of illegal ca$paigning To ignore the$ di$inishes the sanctity of the vote and under$ines the election process The i$punity by which they are being co$$itted every election also dares to $oc" not only the elections as a de$ocratic process but also the 3o$elec as an institution &'(#)E* encourages citi%ens to >le sworn state$ents and af>davits if they have personal "nowledge or had e+perienced vote buying, harass$ent and coercion The i$$ediate >ling of cases, with the 3o$elec and local courts, and their eventual prosecution will show these violators that they should not tri?e with the ballot or the election -econd is the confusion and chaos resulting fro$ $issing na$es in the voters list $arred the so$ewhat orderly conduct of the polls 2t is incu$bent on 3o$elec to address and resolve this proble$ with >nality by providing an accurate voters list 2t should continue to purge the list and fully i$ple$ent the $andatory bio$etrics registration law passed early this year to once and for all generate a reliable, accurate 7 fully accessible voters list Thirdly, dif>culties were also observed for :9;s, the elderly and pregnant wo$en in e+ercising their right to vote To further i$prove access to the polls and prevent their disenfranchise$ent, we reco$$end that public structures, schools and public infrastructure be co$pliant with the law $andating ease and access to :9;s The voters list should also be updated to contain the status of the :9; voter 3o$elec has to ensure that special polling precincts are situated at the ground ?oor of a polling center 3o$elec@s initiative to set up special polling centers for :9;s and the elderly is co$$endable &'(#)E* encourages the 3o$elec to partner with $ore $erchants and $all owners to open $ore of these special polling centers during elections On a positive note, &'(#)E* co$$ends the teachers who served as Board of Election Tellers /BET0 and the policeA$ilitary for ta"ing on responsibilities above and beyond their deputi%ed duty, such as the police serving as BETs and poll wor"ers, to $a"e sure that each voter can e+ercise their right to suffrage and ensure the success of the elections 9ith the renewed awareness that the Barangay is the >rst line of govern$ent to deliver basic services, there has been a resurgent public interest and acco$panying scrutiny on the barangay of>cials and their perfor$ance 's one of the >rst acts to establish the trust and con>dence with their constituents, &'(#)E* would li"e to re$ind these newly elected of>cials /as well as losing candidates0 to >le and disclose their contributions and e+penses incurred during the ca$paign period 3o$pliance to the #air Elections law and ca$paign >nance regulations is a positive step towards Transparency B one of the hall$ar"s of good governance To be consistent with the $ove to auto$ate :hilippine elections and ease the dif>culty of conducting a $anual election, we reco$$end to 3o$elec and various sta"eholders to study the feasibility of synchroni%ing the ne+t Barangay Elections with the 201. &ational 7 *ocal elections CCC