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As elections for the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) draw near, women are taking the helm as election
watchdogs to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
The proposed election date is
August 11, 2008.
Known as a region that was at the
center of controversies during the 2007 senatorial elections, the
ARMM has become a swing vote that determined the fate of national
elective positions. President Gloria Arroyo owes her victory to an
unprecedented and overwhelming victory in Maguindanao province.
Lawyer Laisa Alamia of the
Bangsamoro Lawyers Network emphasized the need for election
watchdogs to be vigilant against any attempts to manipulate the
elections, especially in the light of plans by the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) to implement an automated system of voting in
the ARMM as mandated by Republic Act 9369.
Volunteers, many of who are
women, have been trained to oversee the electoral process starting
from the precinct level to the canvassing level. Volunteers
have been tapped to serve in 1,500 barangay units (or villages) and
80 municipalities in ARMM.
“Women are less prone to
pressure and influence from partisan interests,” said Salic
Ibrahim, chairman of the Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral
Reforms Inc., an organization of 13 women coordinators and only nine
men.
Agreement with PPCRV
Fourteen Muslim and ARMM-based
civil society organizations, two media outfits, and the Parish
Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), signed a memorandum
of agreement which provides for the merging and sharing of resources
to “establish a single network of volunteer monitors and watchers
which shall take the lead in monitoring, watching and canvassing of
votes in the 2008 ARMM elections.”
This historic agreement is the
product of a workshop among electoral reform partners last March 10,
2008 in Davao City—following similar efforts in the national
elections of 2007.
Amb. Henrietta de Villa, the
council’s national chairman, hailed it as a continuation of
interfaith collaborations toward electoral reforms. She said,
“This is a good example of how we, as a nation, can move past our
differences and focus on what we have in common: the interest of our
country.”
Among the signatories to the
agreement are: Al-Mujadilah Development Foundation Inc.; Bangsamoro
Lawyers Network; Basilan Women’s Initiative Foundation Inc.; the
Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms Inc.; Concerned
Alliance of Professors and Students Inc.; Consortium of Bangsamoro
Civil Society; Electoral Reform Advocates; Maranao People
Development Center Inc.; Mindanao Cross; Muslim Women Peace
Advocates—Sulu Council; Nagdilaab Foundation Inc.; Notre Dame
Broadcasting Corp.; Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy; Sulu
State College Master in Public Administration Alumni Association
Inc.; Tulung Lupah Sug Inc.; and United Youth for Peace and
Development Inc.
--Samira Gutoc And Gandhi Kunijo
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