PPCRV gets Comelec nod to continue count

PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa. FILE PHOTO FROM COMELEC.GOV.PH PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) on Tuesday said it would continue with its unofficial parallel count of the election returns.

Poll watchdog chairperson Henrietta “Tita” de Villa told reporters said that she spoke with Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. and Commissioner Christian Lim who agreed that PPCRV should continue releasing its tally of election returns.

“We will continue for as long as we can. This was the decision of PPCRV, KBP and Comelec,” she said.

“We will also continue with our manual count,” added the poll watchdog official.

As of 7:05 p.m. the PPCRV has so far released data from 53,938 precincts out of a total of 78,166.

In its tally on the second day of counting votes since Election Day (Monday), former MTRCB chief Grace Poe maintained a tight grip on the top spot.

Second on the list is Senator Loren Legarda.

The Comelec has started its official count at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The Comelec and PPCRV receive data from the same transparency server but the process has lately been sluggish, De Villa said.

“Transmission is slow but Comelec told us that they were experiencing the same issue. We will go on working and hoping that it becomes faster,” she said.