Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is ready for the elections on Monday (May 9). But what they’re worried about is the government itself might not be ready for the polls.
“Minsan lang, ang aking pangangamba, na parang ang daming things na left na last minute, tsaka lang hinahabol,” said PPCRV Chairwoman Henrietta de Villa on Tuesday (May 3).
[Translation: Sometimes I fear that there were many thing about the election that were decided in the last minute.]
Among those last-minute changes is the printing of voter receipts and the logistics it requires. PPCRV said voters are now confused about the polling procedure.
Another one recent change was the new rule to replace a voter’s ballot if the vote-counting machine rejects it. The group said the Comelec has no clear guidelines on how poll precinct managers should deal with these changes.
“So many changes, so little time: a very deadly combination when thinking of the surgical precision needed in orchestrating the many moving parts in national and local elections,” said PPCRV National Media Director Ana de Villa Singson.
The group worries people might lose faith in the electoral process if the polls on May 9 don’t go smoothly. They said there are reports of rampant vote-buying in some places.
They also lamented they were not allowed to closely observe the delivery of polling equipment, which they’ve always done in past elections.
“Kasi kami naman, hindi dahil sa nakikialam. Kami ay, ika nga, bantay eh,” said de Villa.
[Translation: We are not meddling. It is our job to watch the elections closely.]
To fulfill their watchdog function, the group launched a data visualization app that provides anyone access to data from the ‘transparency server’ under its care. It serves as a way to double-check election results.
Chairwoman De Villa said now, more than ever, the elections must be watched closely.
“Yung mga nakaraang eleksyon, ang layo ng agwat eh. Kaya yung mga kamukha niyang disenfranchisement, yung mga ganyan, pwede mong ma-overlook. Pero kung ang race, kamukha ngayon, halos statistically tied or something like that, ay malaking bagay kahit na a hundred votes, two hundred votes, yung ganun.”
[Translation: In the previous elections, the votes were not really neck and neck. But for this year’s election, it’s a close race, mostly statistically tied. In this case, 100 or 200 votes is a big deal.]
The poll watchdog’s facilities are in place for their 700,000 volunteers nationwide. They will run a parallel count of the election returns at their command center in Manila.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Sheriff Abas shrugged off the concerns of PPCRV, saying election officers all over the country know what to do despite all the last-minute changes.
“Well so far, so good kami ngayon. Mayroong mga glitches pa, hindi yan maiiwasan. Pero so far, wala akong nakikitang problema. Alam niyo, yung mga tao namin, sanay na yan sa every election. Dekada na rin yung iba sa amin dito so sa tingin ko, kayang kaya nila.”
[Translation: So far everything is going as planned. There are still glitches, which is unavoidable. So far I don’t see any problem. Our people have been with us for decades, helping every election. In my opinion, they can do it.]
