Press Release
January 29, 2007

PPCRVS ACREDITATION HAILED BY PIMENTEL;
NAMFRELS PROBLEMATIC

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the accreditation of the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) by the Commission on Elections as its citizens arm will be problematic unless it can shed off the stigma of partisanship that it displayed during the 2004 presidential election.

Pimentel at the same time hailed the move of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to mobilize its resources to foil attempts by sinister forces to engage in massive cheating and frustrate the peoples sovereign will.

He said the Comelecs decision to accredit the Church-based Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) as citizens arm is a significant step in realizing the CBCPs noble objective of preventing a repetition of the systematic and widespread fraud that marred the last presidential election and cast doubts on the legitimacy of the Arroyo presidency.

The CBCPs call for Church-based citizen vigilance in the elections this year is timely. Only Church-based organizations in faraway barangays can monitor the Comelec activities and prevent cheating and help boost the winning chances of good but poor candidates, he said.

Pimentel said Namfrels credibility was severely eroded because of its unabashed display of partiality for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during its conduct of Operation Quick Count in the 2004 presidential election.

He challenged Namfrel to prove itself worthy of Comelec accreditation by replacing its highest officials who compromised the independence of the organization and failed to live up to the peoples expectations in preventing irregularities during the last elections.

Namfrel was accused by its critics of trending by counting and tabulating first the votes from provinces and cities known to be President Arroyos bailiwicks to the disadvantage of FPJ.

Namfrel also came under fire for failing to act on reports by its volunteers in the field, especially in Mindanao, about attempts by election operators to falsify election documents to pad Arroyos votes.

It was also accused of breaking its commitment as Comelec citizens arm to complete the tabulation of votes before wrapping up its quick count.

As long as the same discredited personalities remain entrenched at the helm of Namfrel, I dont think it should be accredited by Comelec for to do so would be a disservice to the people, Pimentel said.

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