Cebu's poll watchdog to deploy up to 10,000 volunteers

The political arm of the Archdiocese of Cebu, Cebu-Citizens Involvement for People's Empowerment and Liberation (C-CIMPEL), will deploy between 8,000 to 10,000 volunteers from 150 parishes to man voting precincts on election day.

The election watchdog, an accredited citizen's arm of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) through the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), helps monitor and ensure the holding of clean, honest, and peaceful elections in Cebu.

Marilu Chiongbian, C-CIMPEL executive director, said the group will monitor the election turnout and compile updates.

“C-CIMPEL started out as a poll watchdog in 1992 to make sure that the elections, at least in Cebu, are credible and honest. This, to my mind, is C-CIMPEL as a movement. After the 1992 elections, we decided there is a need to monitor our elected officials. It is providential that the Local Government Code was passed in 1991 because it has served as our basis for checking if local governments were able to implement programs and projects. This is C-CIMPEL as an organization,” she said in a statement sent to GMA News Online.

C-Cimpel is a lay initiative of the Archdiocese of Cebu, which helps fulfill the church’s view of the electoral process as a sacred duty of every citizen since it affects the lives of many, according to Archdiocese and C-CIMPEL spokesman Msgr. Joseph Tan.

TNT tie-up

The group has tied up with TNT, the value brand of Smart Communications to enable better monitoring and faster reporting of updates from the field.

C-CIMPEL and the rest of PPCRV volunteers were given TNT SIM cards that enable them to connect to Smart’s Infocast system, which simplifies the broadcasting and receiving of text messages, said Smart head of integrated marketing and community development James Chi.

“TNT is here to empower our PPCRV and C-CIMPEL volunteers to promote peaceful, clean, and honest elections on May 9,” he added.

More than 500 hundred volunteers showed up last Saturday, April 30, for a final briefing by C-Cimpel, Comelec and the PNP. Smart representatives also conducted a training on the use of the customized SIM cards and Infocast system.

Chiongbian said a series of technical trainings had been held at the parishes for the C-CIMPEL volunteers.

Grace Chua Bualat, chairperson of the University of San Carlos (USC) Department of Political Science and a C-CIMPEL volunteer, said the C-CIMPEL members will serve to assist Comelec and the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) during the voting process.

“Our volunteers will be there when the polling precincts open; they will be there at the end to collect the election returns. Some will assist at the Comelec voters' assistance centers while others will form prayer brigades. Volunteerism is part of our Christian witnessing and promoting clean, honest, accurate, and meaningful elections,” said Bualat.

Poll challenges

Renita Satoquia, a long-time C-CIMPEL volunteer based in the town of Aloguinsan, said she has encountered violations like dagdag-bawas, vote buying, and cases of flying voters in her work as a poll watcher for over two decades.

If there's one thing she learned from all her years as an election volunteer, she added, it is that there is a need to be firm and tough against those who wish to subvert the people's will.

“Usahay dili mi kakaon nya wala pud mi katug. Nakasuway gyud ko nga giingnan ko na bayaran ko para dili mobantay. Kinahanglan diay kung volunteer ka maisogon gyud ka,” she said, adding she realized that poll cheating can happen without the volunteers. (Sometimes, we have to skip meals or sleep. I had experiences where someone would promise me money if I just stop watching the polls. You need to be fierce as a volunteer.)

Another volunteer, Racquel Dayondon of Carcar, said she knows the importance of the role of a poll watcher and has started training young people in the parish for the task.

Msgr. Tan said the prayers of the church are with C-CIMPEL volunteers as they work to ensure the conduct of clean, honest, and peaceful polls. — BAP, GMA News