Poll watchdogs have tough time hiring volunteers

MANILA, Philippines - Election watchdogs National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) are finding it hard to recruit volunteers for the May 9 polls because many would rather work as watchers for politicians.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo made the revelation yesterday as he worried about the large number of people still needed to monitor the elections on a voluntary basis.

“Even during the previous elections, they (Namfrel and PPCRV) experienced difficulty in attracting volunteers. But it just got more difficult these days,” said Pabillo, who chairs the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Laity.

With only 11 days before the national elections, Pabillo said PPCRV and Namfrel are still short of thousands of volunteers as only a few have signed up at the parish level.

He hopes to have more sign ups during the remaining week and a half before election, adding that a volunteer has to remain non-partisan.

“Volunteers should not have any affiliation with a politician. It is difficult to find someone who has no affiliation to any political party who could be taken in as a poll watcher for PPCRV or Namfrel,” the bishop added.

Pabillo noted that aside from the national candidates and political parties, those running for local posts are also hiring their own people to watch over their votes.

He hopes that the poll watchers paid by politicians and political parties “would not be required to vote for that politician,” as he urged those who remain apolitical to get involved and participate in the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, the Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch), a broad coalition of non-government organizations, civil society and faith-based groups, has urged the public to be vigilant during the polls.

“We call on the country’s 55 million registered voters and the rest of the nation to not let their guard down, to watch their vote more vigilantly and methodically and to prepare for an election disaster that may yet unfold so that our votes are secured and are properly counted,” it said.

The AES Watch cited the hacking of the Commission on Elections website as among the dangers that may manifest on election day.