Watching the polls and the politicians in cyberspace

In the Filipino side of cyberspace (if there’s such a thing), a new voters’ education site called www.ebantay.com is up.

Formally launched last Tuesday at the Tiara Oriental Hotel in Makati City, the site is an initiative of the Filipinos for Reform and Empowerment though Education, Entrepreneurship and Electronic Media (FREE3), a non-stock, non-profit foundation dedicated to good governance through the use of new technology.

While the site is, in many places, still being developed, the people behind it consider the project a first step toward developing a central portal for election-related campaigns.

FREE3 is run by a 12-member board of trustees that counts among its members some of the country’s leading business and civil society figures. Its project manager, for example, is Dondi Mapa, known in business circles as the managing director of the infotech company HatchAsia.com. Among its trustees are Vicente "Enteng" Romano III, creator of the now-legendary www.elagda.com; Dr. Nicanor Perlas, a staunch environmental activist; and Teresita Baltazar, who heads Konsensiyang Pilipino.

The project aims to build a central website for electoral watchdog groups like the Commission on Elections (Comelec), National Movement for Free Elections , Vote Care and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

It also plans to provide political parties and party-list groups with a venue to promote their candidates and platforms. eBantay will also monitor the performance of elected officials and highlight their "track records," including bills and issues they supported and those they opposed. Through the website, citizens can monitor the performance of elected officials, especially those in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, providing a history of their voting preferences on issues, proposed legislation and approved laws.

"Up-to-date information on election laws, government edicts, political news and Comelec announcements will be available to the public, as well as a do-it-yourself tool for political parties and candidates that will allow them to create their own websites without having to learn HTML," states an introductory note posted on the website.

According to its organizers, the project will build a database of all candidates, political parties and platforms, making it easy for voters to make comparisons.

"Much of the data in the portal is printable, downloadable and transferable by e-mail, allowing candidates, parties and other groups to disseminate information quickly and cheaply." It will also serve as a forum where candidates and voters can interact through chatrooms and mailing lists.

The website will initially cover the 2001 elections in the national, provincial and district levels, as well as in highly urbanized cities like Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, General Santos, Iloilo and Davao. It will also support Namfrel’s "Operation Quick Count" and the official Comelec tally through an electronic tabulation system that is sure to be a great help to journalists and concerned citizens alike come election day.

FREE3 is not alone in this undertaking. It is supported by advocacy groups like Manindigan Tayo, Cyberspace and of course, www.elagda.com. It is linking up with sites like the People’s Political Website on Elections and Electoral Reform (www.codewan.com.ph/peoples/power), one of the pioneer Internet-based sites that feature databases on electoral advocacy and reforms.

According to its organizers, www.ebantay.com will be transformed after the May 14 elections into a watchdog portal for elected officials. Come the May 2004 elections, it will again shift into its electoral portal function, hence, the name.