Maniolas

With just one more week to go before the May 13 elections, a Church-based poll watchdog group on Sunday declared that 350,000 of its volunteers—including 70,000 frontliners—are ready for poll watching duties. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting said it is finalizing preparations to enhance the visibility of the 70,000 frontliners who will be assigned to help desks and polling places. “Okay ang deployment ng volunteers. Ang aming pinag-abalahan ngayon nakakuha kami ng materials, pero hanggang ngayon sourcing ako sa T-shirt. Nakaprint na ng 50,000 shirts sa kagandahang loob ng donor, nagsisigasig pa ako makakuha ng 20,000,” PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa said in an interview on dzBB radio. She said the 70,000 volunteers should be wearing PPCRV shirts and IDs as they have to enhance their visibility at help desks and polling places. The PPCRV is a deputized citizens’ arm of the Commission on Elections for the May 13 elections. De Villa also downplayed the effect of some Catholic dioceses’ cutting their working ties with her group, saying there are still many volunteers willing to work with the PPCRV. Volunteers being ‘pirated’ De Villa also said that some volunteers are being “pirated” by political parties for the elections, but that the group is not worried. “Siyempre doon may bayad [pero] ako hindi sumasama ang loob ko. Sabi ko mabuti na lang naka-training sa amin ang tamang pagbantay hindi lang sa pamamagitan ng isang technical poll watching consideration. Pati ang values meron kami nioon sa training,” she said. De Read More …