Poll watchdog, media strive for clean and honest 2022 election

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) underscored the collective role different sectors have to play in protecting the integrity of the 2022 polls.

During the launch of the PPCRV command center on Sunday, May 8, KBP chairman Ruperto Nicdao Jr. said the 2022 election is “one of the most interesting and consequential” in recent years. He highlighted the “heightened emotions” from all parties, and then emphasized the need to “provide calm” so that “emotions don’t get the better of people.”

“The last thing, I think, we need in this election, is the [further] fracturing of society. And God forbid there be violence – or even worse, anarchy – if people don’t believe that the elections are clean and honest,” Nicdao said.

He also discussed the impact of digital media on the polls, and called on watchdogs to provide “credible and nonpartisan” info for voters.

“As watchdogs, we have to make sure that we deliver…. We have to tell the people the elections are clean, honest, meaningful, and peaceful,” he added.

PPCRV chairperson Myla Villanueva credited their volunteer-driven efforts in ensuring the integrity of different election processes. They currently have over 500,000 volunteers nationwide assigned to monitor various election-related activities.

“In these encoding stations…will be the hands of our volunteers to ensure that no dagdag-bawas (vote-padding and vote-shaving) will be happening in this election cycle,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva also cited nonpartisanship as a core value of the volunteers. In an earlier media briefing, PPCRV spokesperson Vann dela Cruz said they strictly only accept volunteers who are nonpartisan or not affiliated with any political candidate or party.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) first accredited the PPCRV as its citizens arm 30 years ago in February 1992. Every election, PPCRV launches voter education programs and ensures the accuracy of the results of the polls. – Rappler.com

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Gaby Baizas

Gaby Baizas is a digital forensics researcher at Rappler. She first joined Rappler straight out of college as a digital communications specialist. She hopes people learn to read past headlines the same way she hopes punk never dies.