From the Readers

Election largely successful

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-17 08:00

Comment on "Aquino poised for win in election marred by deaths" (Page 11, May 11, China Daily)

The last phrase in your news report on the Philippine elections may have given your readers some misleading impressions on the conduct of this exercise.

A more balanced reporting would have properly noted that the violence reported were isolated cases, and hardly characteristic of the conduct of elections across the country.

Notwithstanding the technical glitches and the queues in the voting precincts, the Philippines has successfully carried out this most important electoral exercise in a peaceful and orderly manner.

The China Daily report noted the high percentage of voter turn-out, at 75 per cent, which attests to the overwhelming support of the Filipinos from all walks of life for this exercise. Some observations even cited the "festive" atmosphere of voting in some places.

The system is far from perfect as your report noted, but the electoral process represents the cornerstone of Philippine democracy. Reports cite that even the leading Presidential candidate, Senator Noynoy Aquino, had to wait for four hours to get a chance to cast his vote. But for the senator and the countless Filipinos who patiently queued for hours under sweltering summer temperatures, such inconveniences are a slight price to pay for this sweet exercise of suffrage.

Francisco Benedicto, Philippine ambassador to China, via e-mail

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(China Daily 05/17/2010 page9)