Church volunteers given sendoff ahead of polls

With less than two weeks to go before the elections, about 750 church volunteers for poll watch duty were given a sendoff by Cebu’s Catholic Church leaders in a Mass held at the Blessed John XXIII covered court yesterday.

“These volunteers are a symbol of non-partisan involvement in the political exercise. Their involvement is a guarantee, that with God’s grace, the elections would be peaceful, honest and clean,” Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said.

The volunteers of the Church’s Cebu-Citizens’ Involvement in Maturation for People Empowerment and Liberation (C-Cimpel) had their final briefing before assuming poll watch duties to ensure peaceful and honest elections.

Palma yesterday presided over the send off Mass for the 750 C-Cimpel volunteers who represent different parishes in Cebu.

He thanked C-Cimpel led by its executive director Marilou Chiongbian.

“Whatever the voters write into the ballots shall be accounted for. We know that our votes are sacred and it is the sacredness of the votes which the C-Cimpel guarantees,” Palma said.

Volunteers of the local church-based poll watchdog held lighted candles after the Mass as the archbishop sent them off to their mission.

Chiongban said there were 20,000 C-Cimpel volunteers during the 2010 elections.

She said the number is less for this year’s education.

“We likewise call our volunteers as special witness(es) for truth. My most important instruction for them is to stay non-partisan,” she said.

Lawyer Maria Jane Paredes, Smart Communications public affairs head for Visayas and Mindanao, also attended yesterday’s event as the telecommunication company assured their support to C-Cimpel.

While there are some dioceses that held voter’s education to guide the electorate for the May 13 elections, Palma said the Cebu Archdiocese decided to avoid endorsing candidates.

”We respect the approaches of the other dioceses. In principle, we are aware that we have to make the voters knowledgeable of the stand of various politicians. That is their way of educating the voters. I repeat we respect that,” he said.

“In Cebu, we have a different approach. We tell the people that the Cebu clergy and the religious are non-partisan because the Church and its leaders symbolize the community of unity,” he added.

The  C-Cimpel, the non-partisan people’s organization, was born during the first EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986.

The group is involved in political education since 1991.

It is relying on volunteers from all walks of life to hold seminars on Christian values, good citizenship, basic laws, and poll watching. /Ador Vincent Mayol and Apple Mae Taas