MANILA, Philippines?The National Citizens? Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has withdrawn its application for accreditation as a citizen arm of the Commission on Elections.

But despite the group?s unofficial status, it will press on with its mission as a poll watchdog, Namfrel chair Jose Cuisia Jr. said Friday.

Speaking at a media briefing, Cuisia said Namfrel would no longer pursue accreditation in time for the May 10 national elections.

Cuisia said Namfrel, the pioneer in parallel quick counts in Philippine elections, had given up on seeking the poll body?s recognition.

?It is obvious that the Comelec is not interested in Namfrel?s assistance,? he said.

The Comelec has named the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting as its official citizen arm in the national and automated polls.

It threw out Namfrel?s petition for accreditation in January, saying it ?could not help but doubt Namfrel?s credibility and qualification? because of the partisan activities of the group?s leaders in the past.

This is the first time since 1992 that Namfrel was not recognized as the Comelec?s citizen arm.

Emulated worldwide

Namfrel?s parallel quick count, which is based on election returns, has been emulated by civil society organizations all over the world.

Its quick count and monitoring in the 1986 ?snap? presidential election between Corazon Aquino and the dictator Ferdinand Marcos were instrumental in igniting the Edsa People Power Revolution.

Because the automated elections on May 10 promise results for national contests in two or three days, Namfrel said it would no longer conduct its parallel quick count.

It said it would focus instead on monitoring the Comelec?s performance and the credibility of the election results.

Namfrel has teamed up with the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action to form Bantay ng Bayan (BnB), which will observe the ?critical aspects of the election process.?

The BnB will issue reports before and after the elections, Namfrel said. On May 10, it will issue two reports?one in the morning and the other in the evening.

The reports will be based on data from official election sources and documents, as well as feedback from BnB volunteers.

Comelec found wanting

In its first report on the Comelec?s preparations, which was released Friday, the BnB expressed ?growing concern about the country?s preparedness for its first ever automated elections.?

It said the Comelec lagged in its schedule of deadlines and deliverables, and was lenient toward the delays incurred by Smartmatic TIM Corp., the automated elections supplier.

?Deadlines are not being enforced and the required levels of accuracy were not attained in the pilot tests,? it said.

The BnB called on the Comelec to be transparent in its preparations and to implement a backup plan in case the dreamed-of 100-percent nationwide automated balloting fails.

?For all the billions of pesos that the country is investing in this election and the unspeakable consequences of its failure, the Comelec owes it to the Filipino people to work hard to earn their trust and deliver to them an election they can believe in,? Namfrel said.