PPCRV gives condition on tie-up with Namfrel

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) yesterday said it is willing to work with fellow poll watchdog, National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) for the May 10 elections on the condition that they will agree to the former’s set “terms.”

PPCRV chairman Henrietta de Villa said this after the PPCRV decided to withdraw its opposition to the accreditation of Namfrel as a “citizens arm” in the forthcoming elections.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) last week denied the petition for accreditation that Namfrel filed last December to conduct a parallel, public manual count of the votes in the elections and to perform a “quick count” in areas that will not be automated.

“We have agreed to withdraw our opposition to (Namfrel’s) accreditation and we have already discussed this matter and we are coming out with possible agreement,” De Villa told reporters in an interview at the Pope Pius Center in Manila.

The former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican moreover said during a meeting with Namfrel officials the officials of the PPCRV clearly stated that being an accredited citizens arm, they (PPCRV) will be the only one entitled to receive the fourth copy of the election returns on Election Day.

“Our only concern then, when we were asked to make a manifestation during their hearing, is that they won’t take what is rightfully ours. But we can work in many ways together,” De Villa said.

Namfrel executive director Telibert Laoc, however, stressed that they were asking to be accredited as a citizens arm and not to duplicate the functions of PPCRV.

“In our accreditation, we are asking to be accredited to perform public manual audit and not parallel count, meaning we are not doing any quick count…Our accreditation is also different from PPCRV’s. So I was wondering why they they were against our petition,” Laoc said.

He said Namfrel officials are set to discuss this matter with the board and appeal the ruling of the Comelec.

In its ruling, the poll body said it could no longer accredit Namfrel because it already accredited PPCRV as a citizens arm in the polls.

The Comelec also cited the “impartiality” issues in denying the accreditation of Namfrel.

“In the case before us, we could not help but cast doubts to Namfrel’s credibility and qualifications,” the Comelec order said, referring to the past incident where Namfrel’s former chairman, Jose Concepcion, called for the resignation of deposed President Joseph Estrada, who was implicated in a gambling controversy in 2001.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed a different opinion on the junking of Namfrel’s accreditation.

Caloocan City Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. said he is satisfied with the decision because the Catholic Church and the people can rely on PPCRV to undertake a parallel poll count.

Cotabato City Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Mendoza Bagaforo also said Namfrel’s actions, in the past electoral exercises, “has been tainted with partisanship” which he described as “a very sad ending for a noble institution.”

He also advised Namfrel leaders to do “a lot of soul-searching and internal reorganization.”

Malolos City Bishop Jose Francisco Oliveros, meanwhile, was not surprised with the Comelec’s ruling, saying “we still have PPCRV, which will be given the fourth copy.”

For his part, Isabela de Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad called on Namfrel, PPCRV and NASSA to work together because they have the same volunteers in the field.

Meantime, former CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace chairman Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez, however, said he found the Comelec’s decision denying Namfrel accreditation “strange.” He said the motive behind the ruling evokes a lot of suspicions. –Marie A. Surbano, Daily Tribune