Comelec to allow NAMFREL, PPCRV to photograph election returns

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia said Monday that for the first time, the Comelec will allow the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) to photograph the QR code of the election returns.

During the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, Garcia said the election returns would be posted outside a precinct even before the transmission of the election results.

“In fact, pati po ang NAMFREL [at] PPCRV, for the first time, also ay papayagan namin i-capture ‘yung QR code ng aming election returns,” Garcia said.

(In fact, even NAMFREL and PPCRV, for the first time, we will also allow them to capture the QR code of our election returns.)

“‘Yung NAMFREL nga po, pati ‘yung resibo papayagan namin sila in certain areas na i-capture ang QR code na naglalaman ng summary ng boto sa mismong presinto na ‘yun,” he added.

(For NAMFREL, we will also allow them to take pictures of the receipts in certain areas, to capture the QR code containing the summary of the votes in that precinct.)

According to Garcia, this is so the organization could compare the results with the ones posted outside the precinct and the ones that are transmitted to them.

Meanwhile, he said that the machines will also show randomized images of the ballots in each precinct.

He said watchers will be allowed to take pictures or videos of the ballot images and to count these manually.

“So that makumpara nila ‘yung manual count ng mismong balota as against doon na print na election returns, sa nakapaskil na election returns, at na-transmit na election returns,” Garcia said.

(So that they can compare the manual count with the actual ballots as opposed to the printed election returns, the posted election returns, and the transmitted election returns.)

The elections will be held on May 12, Monday.  — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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