In 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos used the colour red for his campaign. His challenger adopted yellow. The challenger, Cory Aquino, replaced Marcos through a bloodless revolt. Thus, yellow became the colour of protest.

Since then, candidates have realised the value of choosing a particular colour to capture the attention of voters. What are the colours of the 2010 elections?

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‘Power, wealth, and prestige tend to merge in the same hands.’

This was written in the 1960s by a university professor who proved that politics in the Philippines is dominated by only less than 200 families. More than 40 years have passed but this analysis is still valid. Then and now, Philippine politics is controlled by select political dynasties.

The Arroyo Family is the... Read more

Religious groups are powerful political blocs in the Philippines as they can deliver solid votes to their anointed candidates. Because of this ‘divine’ intervention, all candidates--especially those aspiring for national positions--are doing everything they can to be “blessed” by influential church leaders.

The Catholic Church wields a strong influence in the country’s politi... Read more

If there is a common thread in the brief (or long) history of poll automation in the Philippines, it is the unbelievable, almost silly, series of flip-flops in implementing the election modernization law. Politicians were able to concoct numerous arguments in order to derail poll automation which justified the continued use of the fraud-prone manual system of voting.

Below is a time-li... Read more

According to official government reports, the Philippines has already eliminated gender disparities at all levels of schooling, making the country an early achiever in accomplishing the female empowerment target of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. But is there really gender equality in this country?

Women’s groups are proposing the adoption of other indicators like l... Read more

There are ten ‘presidentiables’ (the term for presidential candidates in the Philippines) in the upcoming May elections. The ruling coalition is fielding a single presidential candidate, but opposition parties have nine bets. A disunity among the opposition should favour the administration, but the unpopularity of incumbent President Gloria Arroyo makes it almost impossible for pro-administ... Read more

The advantage of a multiparty system is that it gives small parties a chance to compete in the elections. It encourages well-meaning individuals and leaders from various backgrounds to form a political party that can field candidates in the polls. It also stimulates democracy, especially at the grassroots level.

The disadvantage of a multiparty system is that it prevents the election o... Read more