Philippine Elections and National Security after 9/11: inking Outside the Ballot Box?

Introduction Although the Philippines has the longest history of democratic elections in Southeast Asia,1 the conduct of the May 10, 2004, elections revealed the archaic characteristic of the Philippine electoral system. Despite earlier attempts to computerize the counting procedure to modernize the electoral process, paper ballots were counted manually. From voters’ registration to the canvassing of ballots, the whole electoral exercise was no different from previous elections — personality-oriented and surrounded by traditional issues of frauds, irregularities, and violence.2 Because of the failure of the Philippine government to implement a genuine electoral reform after the May 2004 and May 2007 elections, the conduct of the 2010 elections and beyond is bound to repeat the terrible mistakes of the past.