PPCRV: ARMM polls should go as originally scheduled

Amid moves by Malacañang to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a Church-based poll watchdog group continues to prepare as if the polls will be held as originally scheduled on Aug. 8. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said it will not allow itself and the Commission on Elections to get caught unprepared should the move to postpone the polls eventually fail. “Despite the pending measures at the House of Representatives, we… are preparing for the coming ARMM elections rather than be caught flat-footed like the barangay elections held last October 25, 2010," PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa said in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. De Villa also said she sees no reason why the ARMM elections should not be held as originally scheduled. She also said there may be basis for the fears of Isabela (Basilan) Bishop Martin Jumoad about postponing the elections. Jumoad had said postponing the elections may “cause more problems than blessings." The PPCRV will have some 50 Bangsamoro civil society movements as partners in the ARMM elections. The ARMM elections have been scheduled for Aug. 8, but the measure allowing its postponement is already under deliberation in the Senate. Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had said the Senate committee on local governments will soon come out with a report to have the bill on second reading by next week. — JE, GMA News