By Maria Althea Teves, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 02/13/2010 4:19 PM

Excerpt:

Aside from introducing [Aetas and peasants] to poll automation, IPER project coordinator Francis Isaac gave a presentation about the history of Philippine elections for the participants to be able to understand the current political situation.

IP representatives watched a video about the history of Philippine elections. The video is hosted by comedian and television and radio host Arvin “Tado” Jimenez.

When the video showed that in the 1907 elections, only 25-year-old males (and above) who have a property worth P500 or above were allowed to vote, the participants gasped.
Isaac said only 1.4% of the population were able to vote.

The participants quickly noted down on their small pieces of paper the details Isaac were telling them.
They wrote down who were not allowed to vote during that time: 1) women; 2) the illiterate; and, 3) those who did not own property.

“Majority of the members of the first Philippine Assembly were lawyers and landowners,” Isaac said. He added that political families who were in power then, are still in power now.

Isaac said that although now, the poor, women and illiterate are able to vote, it would be hard to remove from power those who no longer represent the interest of the people.

But he told the IPs not to lose hope, “We have to vote for those who are with us and would forward our interests.”

Read the full article.

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