Lente to send 50-man team to monitor Lanao special polls

A poll watchdog will send a 50-member delegation to Lanao del Sur province in southern Philippines to monitor the special elections there scheduled on June 3. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) said its lawyers and paralegal workers will be deployed to areas where the May 10 polls were suspended May 10 due to tension. Lente convenor Roan Libarios, in an article on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site, said he hopes the presence of Lente volunteers could deter the outbreak of violence there. Libarios also said their presence will help assure credibility in what have been “traditionally regarded as the hotbed of electoral violence in the country." Earlier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) called for special elections on June 3 in at least seven towns in the province. These include the towns of Sultan Domalondong, Lumba Bayabao, Masiu, Tubaran, Lumbaca Unayan, Marogong and Bayang. Elections were initially scheduled there Friday last week but were rescheduled since Muslims consider Friday to be sacred. Lente is mandated to provide voters’ education, perform election monitoring activities, and give legal assistance to other watch groups, aggrieved citizens, and other groups. For his part, Lente co-convenor Carlos Medina said the delegation will monitor the conduct of the special polls to assure accountability among voters and political parties and groups contending for national and local posts. Libarios and Medina added Lente will file appropriate court charges against those persons or political groups, which will disrupt the conduct of the special elections or resort to any illegal activities that will violate election laws. - RSJ, GMANews.TV