Published on

22 Canadians to observe Philippine election

CANADA – Twenty-two Canadian citizens, including representatives from churches, labour unions, academics, lawyers and a sitting Member of Parliament, Don Davies, are going to the Philippines as part of an international observers mission during the country’s presidential elections next month.

On election day, May 10, 2010, more than 17,000 offices will be contested across the country including the key posts of President, Vice President along with representatives to the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a range of provincial, municipal, and local offices.

The election will mark the end of the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose nine years in power have been marked by hundreds of alleged politically motivated killings and enforced disappearances, along with a climate of impunity for those guilty of the crimes, as revealed by Philip Alston in his April 2008 Report of the UN – Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.