A film report produced by journalist Stefan Christoff & Kodao Productions Inc. in Manila.
"Poverty, Power & Persuasion: 2007 Elections in the Philippines", is a short film examining the current socio-economic situation in the Philippines within the context of the 2007 mid-term elections. Across the Philippine archipelago millions of voters cast ballots for the 2007 mid-term elections amidst a wave of political violence, including multiple assassinations and calculated fire-bombings of polling stations.
According to the Philippine National Police approximately 130 people lost their lives, in the context of a national vote widely viewed as a test to the political legitimacy of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an important U.S. ally in the South Pacific. Final results for the 2007 Philippine elections remain undetermined, as high-pressure controversies, including allegations of state-sanctioned electoral fraud, mount political pressure on the fragile Arroyo government.
This film report features interviews from Manila's urban poor communities addressing the current socio-economic crisis facing the country, while also featuring commentary on the growing political instability in the Philippines surrounding the political killings occurring in the country mainly targeting progressive activists, union leaders and left politicians, which have been estimated at upwards of 850 people by international human rights organizations.
* For more information on the International Campaign to Stop the Killings in the Philippines visit: http://www.stopthekillings.org
* Stefan Christoff is a journalist and social justice activist based in Montreal who traveled to the Philippines in May 2007, on an international solidarity delegation from Montreal organized by the Centre for Philippine Concerns, a Philippines solidarity group in Montreal.
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