Some discrepancies but no fraud – PPCRV

MANILA, Philippines – The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) ended its count yesterday, and concluded that although there were discrepancies in the election returns (ERs) that the group tallied, no systematic fraud occurred.

The PPCRV ruled that the just concluded automated elections were “good” since only .07 percent of the 43,035 ERs from clustered precincts showed signs of discrepancy.

PPCRV chair and former ambassador to Rome Henrietta de Villa characterized the automated 2010 polls as “generally clean.”

“In the midst of the state of speculations, all the accusations that are now being thrown against the first fully automated election that was carried out nationwide, we, together with the majority of Filipinos, still believe that the AES (Automated Election System) must be here to stay,” De Villa said.

“There was no systematic attempt of fraud. If there was an attempt, then they failed to pull it off,” she added.

Speaking at the PPCRV-KBP Command Center at the Pope Pius XII Center in Manila, De Villa boasted that they saw the unfolding of a new type of “people power” where it was demonstrated that “through election automation, we overthrew the system of apathy and electoral fraud.”

She also expressed her gratitude to the volunteers and the companies that provided food, communication equipment and cargo forwarding services in support of PPCRV activities.

“Those who participated in this endeavor, especially their volunteers, have become part of history since this is the first time that the country conducted a full automation,” De Villa said.

The PPCRV managed to draw 500,000 to one million volunteers.

Ten days after they started operation, the PPCRV held a press briefing titled “PPCRV-Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Election 2010 Count – Comparison of the Manually Encoded 4th ER and the Transmitted Data of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).”

The PPCRV-KBP findings showed that as of Tuesday midnight, out of the 70,255 ERs they have received, which account for 92.02 percent of the total 76,475 ERs of clustered precincts, they have so far encoded 43,035 ERs and only 29 precincts, which represent only .07 percent, showed discrepancies.

The votes from the 29 precincts cover only about 17,000 votes.

Discrepancy doesn’t necessarily mean fraud

The discrepancies spotted in the 29 ERs were divided into four categories.

The first type, wherein the candidates got zero votes, was reported in four precincts. This was the case in San Nicholas Elementary School in Bacoor, Cavite.

The second type, where in the transmission of votes a candidate would get a minus of one vote, was reflected in at least two precincts. This was the example in a precinct in Upper Bicutan Elementary School in Taguig City.

A majority or 19 clustered precincts spotted with discrepancy fell under the third category where the transmitted votes of the candidates were all less than 10 compared to the numbers in the ERs. Such was seen in Commonwealth Elementary School in Quezon City.

In four precincts, the PPCRV observed that the candidates got higher votes in the transmission compared to their record in the ER, where they only registered single digit number of votes. They cited Libas Elementary School in Roxas City, Capiz as an example.

After a thorough study of the 29 precincts, De Villa said there was “no noticeable pattern” and that there was no particular candidate targeted by the discrepancy.

A majority of the precincts belonged to the National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 4-A covering Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon areas, and Central Visayas.

However, despite the small percentage cited with differences, there was still need for a thorough investigation to maintain the credibility of the elections.

De Villa said that the matter has been referred to the Comelec.

KBP board chairman Ruperto Nicdao described the percentage of discrepancies as “insignificant” and agreed that there was no fraud committed.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar said the PPCRV performed its role as an election watchdog successfully and that the full automated elections were even praised by other countries such as members of the European Union.

“The PPCRV operated according to our expectations and we are proud of that and whatever problems they encountered, they were able to find solutions,” Odchimar said. –Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star)