PPCRV argument on vote discrepancies disputed

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list group rejected yesterday the justification given by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) on the alleged discrepancies in the votes the group garnered in the May elections.

The poll watchdog earlier admitted there was an error in its quick count that might have led the Confederation of Non-Stocks Savings and Loan Associations Inc. (CONSLA) party-list to believe that it received 555,986 votes.

The PPCRV blamed the discrepancy to “network connectivity.”

Jose Emmanuel Hernandez, lawyer for the group, said the PPCRV’s defense was not acceptable.

Hernandez said the PPCRV’s statement failed to address the issue on alleged vote manipulation.

The party-list group asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to look into the vote discrepancies.

CONSLA claimed that on May 9, it garnered 342,513 votes based on PPCRV’s quick count. The following day, the group said it was in 14th place with 523,753 votes at 11 a.m. and 555,896 votes at noon.

However, based on the Comelec’s final tally of votes for party-list, CONSLA garnered only 213,814 votes.