Philippines

Through its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, The Carter Center partners with city leaders worldwide to raise awareness about women’s right to access information and to help cities reach women with valuable information and essential municipal services. 

Access to this information empowers women with a stronger voice, enabling them to participate in public life, utilize public services, and make more informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. In the Philippines, the project has partnered with the city of Quezon City.

In 2006, The Carter Center launched an initiative to address emerging challenges in election observation. The Democratic Election Standards project aimed to conduct three limited missions —including one in the Philippines — focused on the use of technology in a variety of regional and electoral contexts. 

During the May 2010 elections, Carter Center observers went to metro Manila, Baguio City, and Bacolod to witness the use of electronic voting and to test a new SMS-based pilot tool developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology to speed observers’ data collection and processing. 

In 2016, The Carter Center sent a seven-person team to conduct a limited observation of the May 9 general elections. The team focused on Mindanao, paying particular attention to election-related violence; freedom of expression, assembly, and choice in the context of campaigns; campaign finance; and the resolution of electoral disputes. 

The May 2022 presidential election was widely seen as pivotal in Philippines democracy, marking the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year term and the rise of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of the deposed dictator. Opponents were concerned not only about the possibility of a renewed era of authoritarianism and corruption, but also about the role of disinformation in Marcos’ campaign. To demonstrate international support for democracy in the Philippines and to share recommendations for strengthening the election process, The Carter Center deployed an international election expert mission. 

More information about all of these elections is available in our publications section.