Poll watchdog calls on public to help monitor May 2016

A poll watchdog has called on the public to closely monitor the elections amid concerns of possible cheating.

“Every vote matters. Yet we are confronted with an unreliable, foreign-controlled election system that threatens to undermine the results of the upcoming elections,” said Kontra Daya co-convenor Sister Mary John Mananzan, in a report posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.

Mananzan issued the statement during the group’s general assembly in Manila on Monday.

The group, composed of the clergy and the religious, information technology experts, lawyers, teachers, students, and activists, called on the public to exercise “heightened vigilance” in the electoral process as there are still unresolved issues surrounding the vote counting machines (VCMs).

Rick Bahague Jr., of the Computer Professionals Union (CPU), said a close fight is expected in the May elections but if the automated polls cannot accurately record and count votes, the outcome “would be seriously in doubt.”

The group monitored the Feb. 13 mock elections in Kalibo, Aklan and pointed out that 10 miscounted votes between the VCM and manual votes counted.

“Such discrepancies, in a very close race, can very well spell the difference between victory and defeat. The automated polls may install someone whom the people did not vote for,” Bahague said.

In a letter to Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista, the group cited the absence of the vote verification feature of the VCMs, particularly the voter receipts.

The group added: “If the outstanding election issues are left unresolved, the people’s right to vote is not guaranteed, and the result of a supposed democratic exercise could be put into serious question.” — BAP/RSJ, GMA News