text: Barrel of Monkeys, 2004 Edition: Notes on Philippine Elections Well, it's election time in the Republic of the Philippines, and that means the monkeys are rolling around in those political barrels, having as much fun as they can while laughing their heads off at the strange goings-on that characterize a democratic process loosely based on the American model  but that de facto looks more like a Fellini movie crossed with a Tom and Jerry cartoon - column includes a useful election-year glossary!