EUROPEAN Union (EU) observers have arrived in Cebu to monitor the overall transparency of the 2025 local midterm polls.
Lawyer Marchel Sarno, election officer of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Cebu province, confirmed on Monday, April 21, 2025, that a group of foreign long-term observers is now in the province.
These observers will be assigned to both urban and rural areas to record key events during the polls, including pre-election or campaign activities, Sarno said.
Sarno added that the observers, who came from France and the Czech Republic, have already started interviewing him on matters such as the local electoral process and his responsibilities and duties as an election officer.
Sarno said the foreign observers are important because they provide insights, independent assessments, and an outsider’s perspective regarding the conduct of the polls.
“It shouldn’t be just the Filipinos who can say that the elections here are transparent; others should also be able to say that we had elections that were transparent, unlike others who had elections but not as transparent,” said Sarno in Cebuano.
The observers’ insights and assessments will provide the Comelec with a list of best practices observed during the election while giving recommendations for improvement in the conduct of future elections, Sarno added.
Long-term
Those who arrived in Cebu are part of the first 72 long-term election observers for the May 12 midterm elections from the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM).
An additional 100 short-term observers from the EU EOM will be deployed a few days before election day.
The Comelec said this is the first time in over two decades that foreign observers from the EU have been deployed in response to an invitation from the Philippine government. The observers will stay in the country until the end of May 2025.
Sarno said Comelec-Cebu already received, on Monday, April 21, the initial deliveries of Automated Counting Machines (ACM) and voting paraphernalia for the May 12 polls.
The ACMs and paraphernalia are now being secured by Comelec for safekeeping until their deployment to various precincts and voter centers across the province, Sarno said.
The Comelec is also conducting training and retooling for teachers serving as electoral board members who will facilitate the election in each precinct across the province.
Sarno said Comelec-Cebu has not monitored any election-related violence in the province. He said the province has been downgraded from yellow category to green category.
Under Comelec’s color-coding scheme, code green means no problem or cause for concern; while an area will be under code yellow if it has a history of political unrest.
Cebu province was under code yellow in the election season due to several incidents of election-related violence that occurred in San Fernando town and the cities of Talisay and Bogo.
Sarno added that Comelec-Cebu has also intensified the distribution of voters’ information sheets — a blank and mock copy of the ballots, which will educate the public on how to vote in this election.
Meanwhile, ‘Oplan Baklas’ to remove campaign materials placed in non-designated areas will continue, said Sarno. / EHP