CHR to monitor possible cheating in poll hot spots on election day

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will deploy personnel to election "hot spots" on May 10 to monitor the possibility of cheating in these areas, Commissioner Leila de Lima said on Friday. De Lima vowed that the CHR will be the first one to "make noise" in election day if they receive reports of large-scale cheating in these election hotspots. "The CHR will make noise kung makaamoy kami ng cheating, especially large-scale… We are deploying our teams, especially in the hot spots," she said at a press briefing in the CHR main office in Quezon City. The commissioner also said the CHR will also pay close attention to the possibility of large-scale disenfranchisement on election day, especially the handling of ballots rejected by the automated counting machines. "The possibility of disenfranchisement, a massive one at that is really there… We have to really observe the extent of this disenfranchisement… because of the deficiency in voter education," she said. De Lime likewise said that CHR personnel will go with police offices in these poll hot spots to ensure their security. She added that the CHR and the Philippine National Police are signing a "memorandum of undertaking" to work together in monitoring poll-related violent incidents even past election day. "We expect between now and election day, and maybe a few days after that there will be further instances of election-related violence… We [The PNP and the CHR] will partner to monitor election-related violence. We will activate our regional offices, with the help of the PNP, to monitor these incidents," she said. At the same time, De Lima reiterated calls to local candidates not to give in to the New People’s Army (NPA)’s permit-to-campaign scheme. The commissioner also appealed to the NPA to "cease and desist from this practice," calling it "extortion, pure and simple." The CHR released in February an advisory condemning the NPA’s permit-to-campaign racket, which it said was a violation of the human right to suffrage. The Communist Party of the Philippines defended its collection of these fees from local officials, saying the scheme helps prevent violence between feuding candidates in areas its armed wing considers as bailiwick. [See: CPP defends ‘permit-to-campaign’ from CHR] — RSJ, GMANews.TV