PPCRV: Punish brains behind '04, '07 poll fraud

Election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has called on the government and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to punish the people behind the supposed “mega-cheating" during the 2004 and 2007 elections. PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa said the government should muster the political will to convict the people who allegedly rigged these elections so that the same kind of vote manipulation will not happen again in future elections. “Kailangan malaman natin ang totoong nangyari nang sa ganoon hindi na maulit ulit, at sa ganoon kung sino man ang involved sa mega-cheating, magkaroon ng ehemplo na sila ay maparusahan. Of course, bigyan ng fair hearing," De Villa told GMA News TV’s “News to Go" anchor Howie Severino in an interview on Friday. The interview happened days after fugitive Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol surfaced and admitted rigging the 2007 midterm polls in his province in favor of administration candidates allegedly upon orders from then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The PPCRV head advised the government to carefully scrutinize Bedol’s claims. “Kailangan tingnan natin, baka mamaya kung ano na namang moro-moro yang ginagawa nila. Kailangan suriin mabuti kung ano ang inooffer nilang impormasyon," she said. She, however, added that she personally believes that the 2007 polls in Maguindanao have been rigged, since it is “impossible" for a party to get all the votes in a particular area. “Bawat nagtutunggali roon, mayroon kang kamag-anak. Ikaw na rin mismo. Iboboto mo ‘yung sarili mo. Impossible talaga. Kahit anong analysis o computation gawain, imposible talaga mangyari," she said. She even recalled being disallowed to monitor the casting and counting of votes in certain precincts in Maguindanao that year. De Villa further said that her group is “excited" to finally know what really transpired during the 2004 and 2007 elections. The PPCRV is a poll watchdog affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in 1991 and was the official citizen arm of the Comelec during the 2010 automated elections. — KBK, GMA News