Fifteen foreign observers will be deployed throughout four regions of the Philippines to monitor the conduct of the May 9 elections.
The observers are from Japan, Sweden, Germany and the US. They will be divided into four groups and sent to the following regions:
- Santiago (Isabela)
- Dinagat Islands
- Bohol
- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
National co-ordinator of the Compact for Peaceful and Democratic Elections, otherwise known as COMPACT, and International Observer Mission (IOM) chose the regions for the project based on their history of election-related evidence, presence of political clans, and private armies.
Accompanying the foreign observers will be local civil society groups.
The foreign observers will stay in their selected regions for four days.
The groups will return to Manila on May 11 and submit a report to the Commission on Elections on their observations during the election period.