Election Violence in the Philippines is Widespread

by the Webmaster 

     Mindanao, a province in the south of the Philippines, appears regularly in global news reports recounting political violence and election-related murders.  These reports typically reference the ongoing conflict between a Muslim majority and Christian groups supported by the Philippines armed forces.
     Unfortunately, political violence and murders are widespread in the Philippines.  Each day's newspaper recounts multiple new murders of candidates for office in every region of the country, including in Manila and barangays throughout the country's most developed island, Luzon.  
     Evidence of the importance given by Filipinos to elected office is everywhere in the country, from large signs on street corners in each neighborhood listing local officials' names and positions; to ubiquitous flyers for various candidates; to the parades of hired cars and moto-taxis which roll through towns, plastered with the name and photos of a local election candidate, blaring slogans and music through loudspeakers.  The importance of elected offices is also reflected in the countless murders which have been perpetrated to obtain them.
     While the Philippines was a de facto and de jure colony of the United States throughout much of the 20th century, it remains a world apart, with its internal affairs bearing little relation to those of its former patron.