COCs for national canvassing arrive at Batasan Pambansa

Security was tight during the arrival of the certificates of canvass (COCs) at the Batasan Pambansa complex in Quezon City before dawn Tuesday in preparation for the canvassing of votes for president and vice president. A GMA Flash Report said the certificates, contained in ballot boxes, were heavily guarded by security escorts. A report on dwIZ radio said the teams came from the Philippine Army, Senate sergeant-at-arms, and even the Philippine National Police's Highway Patrol Group escorted the arrival of the certificates.

The Senate and the House of Representatives, acting as the National Board of Canvassers in a joint public session, will begin the canvassing about 2 p.m. on Tuesday. However, Congress has yet to finalize the rules and regulations for national canvassing before it begins the counting of votes for president and vice president. Earlier, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the two legislative bodies may proclaim the winners for the two highest elective posts in the land by June 15, about two weeks before the constitutionally-mandated date of June 30. For its part, Church-backed poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting told lawmakers not to delay the canvassing of votes by grandstanding. "Grandstanding in the name of accuracy has no place in any election system," PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa said in an article posted Monday night on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. De Villa also made references to supposed grandstanding of lawmakers in the ongoing probe on poll fraud being conducted by the House Electoral Reform and Suffrage committee. — with Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV