By KEVIN ORTIZ
Bulatlat.com

CAVITE – The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) has officially launched its International Observers Mission (IOM) for the 2025 midterm elections, April 23 via online press conference, vowing to monitor the polls amid rising concerns over electoral violence.

“The Philippines has long been a hotspot for election-related violence, particularly in rural areas,” said ICHRP Vice Chairperson Patricia Lisson. 

“As a global human rights coalition, we are once again deploying the IOM to support  Filipinos in protecting their civil and political rights, including the right to free and honest elections. The eyes of the world are on the Philippines,” Lisson said.

This is the second IOM by ICHRP after deploying more than 60 observers in the heated 2022 presidential elections. The previous mission was able to document election-related human rights violations, including vote buying, failure of the vote-counting system, misinformation, red-tagging and threats, and killings

“The 2022 election did not meet the standard of ‘free, honest and fair’ because prevailing conditions robbed the voters of access to reliable information, access to the voting places without intimidation, and access to credible vote counting system,” said former Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon, who also joins the IOM for the second time.

“Now, we are seeing an intensification of violence on the ground as reported by our local partners. We are determined to carry out this mission and document these cases,” said Commissioner Colleen Moore, director of Peace With Justice at the General Board of Church and Society (USA).

Danilo Arao, convenor of election watchdog Kontra Daya and Vote Report PH data analyst, presented data regarding the current situation of election in the Philippines. 

“The situation remains that political elites operate their own bailiwicks, private armies, and patronage networks, which fuel the highest levels of violence in the archipelago’s rural areas,” Arao said. 

To date, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) recorded 46 incidents of political violence between January 12 and April 11. However, according to the monitoring of IOM local partner Vote Report PH, this is just a fraction of the reports that they received from the ground. 

Vote Report PH said red-tagging is still the highest among violation categories, comprising 79 percent of 733 reports as of April 11. “Since the official start of the campaign period in the local government, election-related violence rose in numbers,” said Vote Report PH data analyst Ian Aragoza.

“Red-tagging in the Philippines poses a grave threat to democracy, and we’re seeing its intensification during election season,” Arao. “Activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens are being harassed, attacked, and in many cases, killed, often by state forces such as the military and police.”

From February to May, the mission will cover the official campaign period, election day on May 12, and the critical post-election phase. International delegates will be stationed across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, especially in areas known for electoral violence.

Teams will document violations through interviews with voters, poll watchers, and local groups, while remote observers will monitor overseas absentee voting and digital election manipulation.

According to the IOM Commission, initial findings will be released shortly after election day, while the final, comprehensive report will be shared with the Comelec, relevant United Nations bodies, international human rights groups, foreign embassies, and the media partners. (RTS, RVO)

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Disclosure: Danilo Arao is the associate editor of Bulatlat and the president of Board of Trustees of Alipato Media Center, Inc., publisher of Bulatlat.