DAVAO DEL NORTE, 20 May (PIA) – The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) of the Diocese of Tagum noted a peaceful conduct of the National and Local Elections on May 09, 2022 in the provinces of Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro.
Diocese of Tagum Diocesan Lay Assistant PPCRV Coordinator Mark Laurence M. Valdez expressed such observation as guest of the recent edition of the radio program Sayron Ta! Pakigsayod Serbisyo Alang sa Katawhang Pilipino of Radio 911.
He also lauded the deployed personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for being readily at hand to secure the retrieval, pull-out and replacement of the vote counting machines (VCMs) that malfunctioned at the course of casting votes on May 09 NLEs.
“Dako jud kaayo ang atong pasalamat sa atong mga kaigsoonang mga kapulisan kay sila gyod ang nag secure sa safety sa pag retrieve ug pag pullout, sa pag replace sa atong mga VCMs and even the SD cards, naa gyod ang mga kapulisan nga ni-escort sa atong mga technical teams para ma replace ang atong mga vcms. (We are grateful to our brethren police who secured the retrieval, pull out, and replacement of the VCMs and even the SD cards. They were there to escort the technical teams to replace the VCMs),” he said.
He also appreciated the presence of a technical hub of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) at the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor (OPES), noting this as a means of fast-tracking response to glitches of VCMs and its secure digital (SD) cards.
Mandated through COMELEC Resolution No. 10782, promulgated on April 20,2022, the COMELEC provincial technical hubs were manned by assigned personnel from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Information and Technology (DICT) with COMELEC technical personnel.
“Kami sa PPCRV, naa mi volunteer in the technical hub. Bale kami ang watcher nila. Isa man jud na ka trabaho sa PPCRV. (We, the PPCRV, had a volunteer assigned at the technical hub. We serve as their watcher; that is one of the tasks of the PPCRV),” he said referring to the national government personnel manning the COMELEC technical hub.
For Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro, the poll-watching task of PPCRV as the accredited citizen’s arm to ensure a secure, accurate and safe elections in 2022 (SAFE 2022) was carried out through deploying only 2,300 volunteers, 1,200 of whom served Davao del Norte.
Valdez noted as a positive experience for PPCRV volunteers the life support that the Gagmayng Kristohanong Katilingban (GKK) extended to them through providing food, fare and means of mobility and cellphone loads.
The parish-based PPCRV coordinators were also of help in monitoring the general situation regarding the conduct of NLE 2022 especially at the grassroots levels.
“But, subo nga namatikdan, dayag nga nag-iyahay ang mga partido sa ilang pagpanghatag ug mga ayuda kasagara piagi sa kwarta ug bugas. (It was sad to note that [political] parties were openly giving away assistance in the form of money and grains),” he said during the Pakigsayod radio program.
Valdez, however, admitted that among those who relayed such observations and raised their complaints on sort of vote-buying, none have formally filed their election protests either with the Department of Interior and Local Government or with the COMELEC.
“Kinsa tong mohimo ug election protest, open man ang buhaton sa atong COMELEC, (ug) sa atong DILG nga mo file ta ug protest kung naa ‘tay ensakto nga documentations regarding sa ilang mga mulo. (Those who would take election protest, our COMELE and DILG are open for us to file, if we have proper documentations regarding the complaints.),” he pitched the call during the same radio program.
Meanwhile, Valdez shared the request of the Diocese of Tagum PPCRV for COMELEC to invite the PPCRV during the Electoral Board (EB) training in the next round of local and national elections.
“Para mapasabot pud namo kung unsa ka importante si PPCRV, para ‘aware’ pud si ‘teachers’ para kung on the field na, dili na moingon unsa diay na? kinsa diay? na nga supposedly gi-explain man jud unta daw na nila. (So we would be able to explain how important is PPCRV, so the teachers, once on field would no longer be asking what is it?, who is it? Supposedly this was already explained to them.),” Valdez said.
Valdez revealed having raised this concern with COMELEC Davao del Norte POS, Atty Emelie Camaganacan who assured PPCRV Diocese of Tagum that the PPCRV’s role had been explained to teachers manning the EBs at the polling centers.
He said some PPCRV volunteers were not able to get inside some polling precincts as there no longer was space for additional watchers to get in. In other cases, EB teachers were asking what PPCRV was. (Jeanevive Duron Abangan, PIA XI)
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