The National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) is out of the picture as election watchdog for the upcoming elections. Though the position held by the NAMFREL is now filled by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). This was made into a formal pact as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) proclaims the PPCRV’s accreditation in about 21-days.
The petition was filed last October 05, 2009 by the PPCRV and three days after, the COMELEC issued an order to publish its petition in major newspapers. However, I wonder why we haven’t seen or read in national broadsheets the petition made by the PPCRV. The petition was heard on October 14, 2009 wherein Ambassador Henrietta De Villa, Chairwoman of PPCRV is present along with PPCRV’s counsels. Since there were no oppositors, the COMELEC granted PPCRV’s petition on October 26, 2009, agreed upon by Chairman Jose Melo and 6 commissioners. Normally, the process would take 2 to 3 months, but PPCRV’s petition only took 21 days. As we recall, the day PPCRV filed its petition was when the country is busy with consecutive typhoons, particularly in Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces – a right time and chance for PPCRV to file its petition without getting a lot of attention.
The accreditation of the newly appointed watchdog can abuse the power given to them by the COMELEC. They could manipulate and set the mind of the voters to whom should they vote for as the PPCRV’s one major role is to educate the people.
PPCRV’s role as a citizen’s arm is crucial as it connotes greater responsibility for the success of the electoral process. In the same manner, they are tasked to educate the voters on the new process of voting and provide assistance in actual elections. They will also be furnished a copy of the voter’s list, conduct poll watching during the canvassing of votes, and an access to the machines prior to the 2010 elections. The tasks given to PPCRV are vast yet they simply get the accreditation in a snap and without any difficulty.
What happened in the legal process that should be followed? It is clear that the PPCRV hid itself from the right of the Filipino people to know who will guard people’s vote as the Election Day is fast approaching. How can they be capable of doing huge tasks if they simply can’t be reliable enough to tell the voters what is happening around? Citizen’s arm plays an important role to have a successful 2010 elections yet it seems that the PPCRV has an underlying motive rushing the accreditation process. Should the Filipino people trust them with the election results?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment