POLL WATCHDOGS have backed a petition by a losing party-list group urging the Commission on Elections to investigate alleged inconsistencies in the votes received by the group in the May 9 election based on one of the Comelec’s transparency servers.
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), a nationwide network of volunteer lawyers, said the Comelec and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) should explain supposed discrepancies raised by the Confederation of Non-Stock Savings and Loan Associations Inc. (Consla) party-list group.
Lente executive director Rona Ann Caritos said Consla had the right to call for an investigation if it believed that it had proof there was manipulation of votes during the elections.
Failure by the Comelec and the PPCRV to shed light on the matter would greatly affect the credibility of the automated election system, Caritos said.
Former Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said it was necessary for the Comelec to act on the petition since the purported inconsistencies were observed in the transparency server managed by the poll body.
“When you say you’ll have transparent elections, you have to back that up with action. Otherwise it’s just lip service,” Larrazabal told reporters.
In a letter filed last week, the group asked the Comelec to look into the inconsistencies observed between the canvassing by the PPCRV and that by the Comelec.
The group pointed out that the final official tally for party-list groups by the Comelec showed that Consla received a total of 213,814 votes and ranked No. 54.
But based on the quick count by PPCRV, the group had garnered 555,896 votes by noon of May 10, ranking it 14th in the party-list race.
“You need to look at it because the data sent to the transparency server is the same data sent to the various consolidation and canvassing system,” Larrazabal said.
Meanwhile, members of local cooperatives in Lucena City were ready to join protests to press for an investigation into the alleged poll scam Consla claimed robbed it of a seat in the House of Representatives.
Some local Consla supporters offered prayers and Masses in their struggle for justice.
“Most cooperative members are agitated. They are demanding justice. I can’t blame them because they all campaigned hard and voted for Consla,” said a local leader of the party-list group who requested anonymity for fear of sanctions from his employer.
Consla believes vote padding and shaving (“dagdag-bawas”) and other forms of election fraud altered the results of elections for party-list groups on May 9.
The Consla leader said the members, mostly low-income earners who join cooperatives, were just waiting for a go-signal to join protest actions and expose the election anomaly.
Consla lawyer Rodolfo San Diego wrote Comelec Chair Andres Bautista pleading for an investigation. TVJ