Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is a non-partisan, non-sectarian non-profit organization affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines that works to ensure free, fair and fraud-free elections in the Philippines. The organization has been the "citizens' arm" of the Commission of Elections since 2010.[1] PPCRV conducts the Unofficial Parallel Count of returns after the election.[1]

Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting
MottoBoto Ko, Dangal Ko, Ipagtatanggol Ko
(I'll defend my vote, my honor)
Founded19 October 1991
FoundersJaime Cardinal Sin, D.D.
Haydee Yorac
Henrietta T. de Villa
Most Rev. Gabriel Reyes, D.D.
Rev. Msgr. Bayani Valenzuela
TypeNon-profit
NGO
FocusElections, plebiscites and referendums
Location
Area served
Nationwide
ServicesDemocracy reform in the Philippines
FieldsPoll watching, advocacy, electoral reforms
Key people
Myla Villanueva (Chairperson)
Volunteers
500,000+
Websitehttp://www.ppcrv.org/

PPCRV's activity includes advocating for electoral reforms, conducting parallel manual auditing in automated elections, coordinating parishes to conduct poll-watching, providing legal assistance related to elections, reporting of electoral violations, providing voters' assistance services, and voters' education.

History

The Roman Catholic Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, held in February 1991, called for reforms in the conduct of elections in the Philippines. In May 1991, Jaime Cardinal Sin, D.D., Archbishop of Manila, Commission on Elections (Philippines) Commissioner Haydee Yorac, then-Laity President Henrietta T. de Villa, Most Rev. Gabriel Reyes, D.D., Rev. Msgr. Bayani Valenzuela, and thirty parish lay leaders conceived of the idea of the PPCRV in Mandaluyong City. In October 1991, the PPCRV was launched at St. Paul University, Quezon City, with around one thousand laypeople from the parishes of the Archdiocese of Manila. The next month, with the support of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, the PPCRV expanded its operations nationwide.[2]

PPCRV's poll-watching activities began with the 1992 presidential elections. Then, 346,688 PPCRV volunteers participated in poll-watching, voters’ assistance, assisting the Board of Election Inspectors, protecting election returns, monitoring electoral exercise, and watching the canvassing of votes.

Relation with COMELEC

In April 2013, PPCRV was accused by the Archbishop of Lipa Ramon Arguelles of being a COMELEC lapdog since the conduct of the 2010 general elections, an allegation that the chairperson of PPCRV, Henrietta T. de Villa, disputes. The organization has been a "citizens arm" of the Commission of Elections since 2010.[1]

In 2010, it had objected to the National Movement for Free Elections' (NAMFREL) application as a citizen's arm of COMELEC, stating that a dual system would interfere with election watch. NAMFREL had never objected to PPCRV's applications as a citizen arm in previous elections.[3] The feud seems to be over as both parties were accredited by COMELEC for the 2013 midterm elections and agreed on their respective functions.[4]

References
  1. PPCRV's Henrietta T. de Villa responds to allegations the org is acting as COMELEC lapdog. ABS-CBN News Channel. Retrieved 21 May 2013
  2. Our History Archived 2013-06-09 at the Wayback Machine. Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting. Retrieved 21 May 2013
  3. 'Silent war' between PPCRV and NAMFREL worsens. ABS-CBN News Channel. Retrieved 21 May 2013
  4. PPCRV now in 'kissing mode' with Namfrel. ABS-CBN News Channel. Retrieved 21 May 2013
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