Namfrel: Usual problems encountered

Voters encountered the usual problems when they went to the polls yesterday to choose members of Congress and local government officials nationwide.

These included names missing from the official list of voters, delay in the distribution of election materials, indelible ink that could be easily removed, and reports of "flying voters," an official of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said yesterday.

Guillermo Luz, Namfrel secretary general, told reporters at the poll watchdog’s headquarters in La Salle Greenhills that they have yet to receive reports of "untoward incidents" from their volunteers at polling precincts throughout the country.

However, a major problem occurred in Caloocan City, where the city treasurer failed to have election materials delivered to precincts on time.

"Except for the trouble in Caloocan City involving the delay in the conduct of election due to the absence of ballot boxes in some precincts, we have not received any other complaint," Luz said.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Alfredo Benipayo had ordered the Caloocan City treasurer arrested and to explain why election paraphernalia were brought to the polling precincts late in the day.

Luz said they received reports that some names were also missing in the official list of voters in the cities of Makati and Muntinlupa.

In Matanog town in Maguindanao and Tineg town in Abra, the Comelec declared a failure of elections after mortars were fired in Matanog and teachers were evacuated from polling precincts in Tineg.

Namfrel chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. said they will file an election protest with the Comelec because some voters had been disenfranchised.

"How come that the names of those who voted in the 1998 elections can no longer be found in the new voters’ list issued by the Comelec for this election?" he asked.

Concepcion said they have received many complaints from citizens whose names were missing in the official list of voters posted in polling precincts nationwide.

"After going through their respective precincts, the voters did not find their names," he said.

Concepcion blamed Comelec Commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco for the problem that caused the disappearance of the names of long-time voters from the list.

"She (Tancangco) was the one who objected to the use of the 1997 voters’ list which was used in the 1998 elections," he said.

However, Tancangco told The STAR the new list of voters was a "clean list" because this was completed after the voters’ registration July last year.

"The 1997 list might have been padded so we had to change it," she said in Filipino.

Luz said he is confident 80 percent of election returns would be "error-free" although the Comelec failed to implement the Voters Registration and Identification System (VRIS) project and complete the mapping of precincts.

The poll body had no choice but to retain the 1997 list of voters, he added.

Luz said Namfrel would start their "Operation Quick Count" at midnight, and that a reported similar tally by the Puwersa ng Masa would be alright if this would be based on official returns.

Luz said the Namfrel Network Center at La Salle Greenhills will be counting the results of the senatorial and party-list elections as soon as they have received the certificates of canvass from the Comelec.

"Better not to rush tabulations and do it wrong," he said.

Luz said a fourth copy of the election returns would be used to cross-check any discrepancy between the figures of the Comelec and Namfrel.

"So it is impossible that there will be differences because the copies given to Namfrel and others are identical with that of the Comelec," he said.