Local poll watchdog accredited as Comelec citizens’ arm for ARMM

KIDAPAWAN CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has granted the petition filed by a regional election watchdog for its accreditation as citizens’ arm during the synchronized automated national and local elections on May 10 in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The en banc Comelec resolution and the accompanying certification granted accreditation to the Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms (Citizens CARE). The Citizens CARE, which was organized in 2005, will be the Comelec’s citizens’ arm in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and in the cities of Marawi, Lamitan, Isabela, and Cotabato, under Special Proceeding Petition (SPP) Case Number 10-001. It would be under Comelec’s direct control and comply with all lawful orders. The Comelec recognized the poll watchdog group’s active participation as its citizens’ arm during the August 5, 2005 ARMM elections; May 14, 2007 national and local elections; October 29, 2007 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections; and August 11, 2008 ARMM elections. The Comelec also said the group has sufficiently proved its compliance with the requirements for accreditation as prescribed under Rule 33 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure. The Citizens’ CARE assured the Comelec it is not supporting any candidate or political formation in areas where it operates, will remain non-partisan throughout the election period, and will police its own ranks for any violation of its non-partisan character. Norodin Manalao, project director of the Strengthening Electoral Process through Voters’ Education and Election Monitoring (SEEPVEEM) Phase 3 of the Citizens CARE, said the poll watchdog group is engaged in voters’ education and Election Day monitoring in pursuit of honest, clean, and fair elections in the ARMM. He added that the group has more than 6,000 poll volunteers. The Comelec resolution was signed on April 21 by Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco, Elias Yusoph, and Gregorio Larrazabal, and the certification issued on the same day by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo.–Malu Cadelina Manar/JV, GMANews.TV