Safeguards in new registration sought

The poll-watch group National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) called yesterday for safeguards to ensure the integrity of a special voter registration for the May 14 congressional and local elections.

Namfrel national chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. stressed in a statement yesterday the importance of establishing "minimum safeguards" for the special registration of voters that will be taken up in a special session of Congress beginning tomorrow.

"We understand the point where the Comelec is coming from, given the li-mited time and the enormous tasks that need to be accomplished in time for the elections in May," Concepcion said.

He identified the minimum safeguards as:

• The enabling law that will allow the special registration of voters must be enacted by next week.

"They (the Comelec) are presently three months behind schedule as compared to the calendar of activities in previous elections," Concepcion said.

• The special registration should be limited only to first-time voters, who will be 18 years old on or before May 14, 2001.

If the special registration will be open to all voters, the local elections will be susceptible to "flying" voters, who vote more than once in separate voting precincts, Concepcion explained.

• A change in the manner of applying indelible ink on a voter’s finger.

Concepcion said the voter’s index finger must be immersed in an ink container up to the middle joint to ensure that the finger will be marked for at least three days.

"This practice has been successful in Cambodia and Indonesia. In the past (local) elections, the indelible ink was applied only on the fingernail which can be easily removed by alcohol, gas or benzyl fluids.

• Involve schools in the registration process by supplying sample registration forms to schools for education purposes that will speed up the list-up process on registration day.

Concepcion stressed that since private and public schools are already winding up or have winded up the school year, the sample forms should be made available immediately.

Concepcion stressed that Namfrel and other religious and civic groups would assist the Comelec in the registration process.

Meanwhile, the powerful Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) urged the Comelec to allow Namfrel to conduct an Operation Quick Count as it has done since 1986.

In a letter to Comelec Chairman Alfredo Benipayo, PCCI president Miguel Varela said the credibility of the election would be assailed if Namfrel does not conduct a quick count as it has done for almost two decades.

"We believe that only Namfrel has the experience, the expertise, and the capability to carry out the Operation Quick Count and its good track record can speak for itself," Varela said in his letter dated Mar 10.

"We recognize the importance of the credibility of the may 14 elections on the state of our economy. When the coming elections is perceived to be not credible and political stability deteriorates, the economy will decline and its stability to provide much-needed jobs to the people is diminished," Varela said.

He said, for almost two decades now, "Namfrel had continuously served the Filipinos by protecting the sanctity of our vote, ensuring that our voices are heard."

They are truly "mga Bantay ng Bayan" (Guards of the People), as they present in all of the country’s cities and municipalities through their volunteers and officers, united with only the aim of watching over the integrity of the electoral process, Varela said.

While Namfrel was accredited as a citizen’s arm, the Comelec has not approved its application to conduct an election quick count.