Poll watchdog offers help in probe

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is ready to help the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in its investigation of alleged fraud during the 2007 senatorial elections.

The PPCRV said it had a number of witnesses in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) who knew of the cheating but were not willing to testify then.

“We had two board of election inspectors (BEI) who were willing to give their affidavits to Comelec then but they were given the runaround,” Henrietta de Villa, chair of the Church-based poll watchdog, told reporters.

De Villa said the PPCRV would try to locate the two witnesses again to help the Comelec in its investigation.

As for the alleged cheating during the 2004 presidential election, De Villa said the PPCRV could not provide any help just yet as she was not the chair of the poll watchdog at that time.

The PPCRV has called on the government to go after all those involved in the supposed “mega cheating” in the two past elections.