PPCRV undeterred by prospect of manual counting in ARMM polls

Despite being dismayed by the possibility that the counting of votes in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections will be done manually, a Church-based poll watchdog remained undeterred in its resolve to thwart cheating. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said it will continue to work for credible and peaceful polls. “(The) PPCRV does not lose hope. We will continue to work for clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful (CHAMP) elections," PPCRV Chairwoman Henrietta de Villa said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site Wednesday night. But still, De Villa voiced fears the traditional poll system might affect the credibility of the elections if the manual counting process is used. De Villa added it is sad that the ARMM polls, where the automated vote counting system was first used in 2008 and paved the way for the automation of the 2010 elections, “is also now the venue for the return to a graft-ridden electoral process." “It’s truly a downgrade, a letdown. All because of political indecision and partisan maneuverings," she said. “When will we ever move forward and think only of the common good, in this case, the upgrading of our electoral process. It’s a pity," she added. Earlier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the ARMM elections will use manual counting, if the polls take place as scheduled on August 8 this year. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said this is because the poll body has stopped preparing for the automated polls when a bill proposing for the postponement of the election was passed in the House of Representatives. But Brillantes admitted that it will be “risky" to hold manual elections. — LBG, GMA News