The 2010 Philippine Elections : The challenge of change, lessons learned on the Philippine Elections 2010 and Scenarios and Strategies for Future Philippine Elections / Ma. Cecilia Estoque

Year : 2011

Number of Pages : 80 leaves

Adviser : Prof. Glen A. Imbang

Executive Summary

The Philippines witnessed a new page in its history after the completion of its first nationwide automated elections on 10 May 2010. Elections in the Philippines, which are conducted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), are held every three years for both the national and local positions. The president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives constitute the national positions while governors, vice governors, board members, mayors, vice mayors, councilors and congressmen comprise the local positions. The term of office for the president, vice president and senators is six years while for local officials, it is three years. The party-list representatives, who represent marginalized sectors, are elected for a three-year term and sit as members of Congress. Elections in the Philippines have always been conducted manually - where counting or votes and proclaiming winners take months. Although the Poll Modernization Law or Republic Act 8436 (entitled "An Act Authorizing the Commission on Elections to use an automated election system in the May 11, 1998 National or Local Elections and in Subsequent National and Local Electoral Exercises, Providing Funds Therefore and for Other Purposes) took effect as early as 1997, it was only this time when full automation was seriously considered. In 2007, Philippine Congress passed RA 9369, which made the automation of all subsequent local and national elections compulsory. During the May 2010 elections, a total of 76,340 voting machines were used, with more than 85,000 candidates contesting for 17,000 posts and with 50.7 million voters all over the country. This study provides analysis on the impact of the automation process during the May 2010 Philippine election. This study also examines the possible scenarios on the future of the national and local elections in the Philippines in terms of process and voting equipment. Fundamental to achieving these objectives are the theories on the Diffusion of Technology and the Scenario Planning Method. In order to gather much-needed data, aside from the content evaluation and analysis of literature, the researcher interviewed key players in the election process such as the COMELEC and the teachers who served as members of the Board of Election Inspectors. Random focus interviews were also conducted among the voting population. Three sets of surveys were conducted based on a simple random sampling method. The first survey were participated by one hundred votes from Luzon, the second set another hundred from Visayas and the next hundred is from Mindanao. The study revealed the perception and attitude of the Philippine voting population on the automation of election. Moreover, four possible scenarios on the future of the Philippine elections were presented with its strengths and vulnerabilities.