“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

ur specific objective in conducting the OQC is to tally the votes cast for senators, party-list and district representatives at the national level and the votes for governor, vice governor, provincial board members, mayor, vice mayor, and municipal councilors at the local level.  This count will be based on the 6^th copy of the manually prepared election return (ER).  However, in areas where counting machines will be used, this count will be based on the election returns that will be generated by the ballot-counting machine.

The general objectives for the OQC are to:  

1)      Help prevent election fraud by motivating citizens to monitor the polls and the counting and consolidation of results at the precinct level;

2)      Deter manipulation of results at the municipal/city and provincial levels by releasing accurate and advance unofficial results based on the precinct-based election returns; and

3)      Enhance the acceptability of the election results.

The following are excerpts from our petition for accreditation to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct the OQC for 2001:

“1) Namfrel is seeking for accreditation as the citizens’ arm of the Commission in connection with the National and Local Elections on May 14, 2001 specifically for the following purposes:  

a)       Organize, manage, operate, and be accountable for the Operation Quick Count (OQC), including the reporting of results obtained from:

i.        Fourth copy of the election returns generated by the counting machines for each precinct in areas where counting machines will be used per Sec. 6 of R.A. 8436; 

ii.      Sixth copy of the manually prepared election return for each precinct in areas where election returns will be manually accomplished, per R.A. 8173; 

iii.    Fourth copy of the certificates of canvass at the municipal/city, district and provincial levels per Sec. 22 of R.A. 8436; and 

iv.     Copy of the certificate of canvass for senators by the National Board of Canvassers for Senators; duly authenticated by the board of election inspectors, the respective boards of canvassers and by the National Board of Canvassers for Senators. 

b)                   Coordinate the activities of all NGOs and private organizations that are interested in involving themselves in the elections for the purpose of ensuring free, clean, honest and fair conduct of the elections. 

c)                    Deploy Namfrel Bantay ng Banyan volunteers who may assist in the operations in the different polling places and who may also provide assistance to voters on Election Day. 

d)   Assist the Commission by monitoring the conduct of the election and by being made a member of the Task Force organized by the Commission for this purpose.

When accredited, for the Commission to name Namfrel ‘as the citizens’ arm of the Comelec authorized to conduct the Operation Quick Count’ in the General Instructions for the Boards of Election Inspectors for the May 14, 2001 National and Local Elections, and recipient of the 4^th or the 6^th copies of the election returns.  Also when accredited, for the Commission to name Namfrel ‘as the citizens’ arm of the Comelec authorized to conduct the Operation Quick Count’ in the General Instructions for Boards of Canvassers for the May 14, 2001 Senatorial and Local Elections, and recipient of the 4^th copy of the certificates of canvass from the municipal or city, district, provincial and the National Board of Canvassers for Senators.

1)      Namfrel also seeks to complement pollwatching efforts by performing the following activities: 

a)       ensuring the indelibility or potency of the indelible ink;

 b)       ensuring proper application of the indelible ink by the BEI on the voter at the precinct level; and

 c)        ensuring that Comelec allows access of Namfrel volunteers inside the precincts to ascertain that the proper application of indelible ink is carried out.”

We are also asking the Comelec to provide Namfrel the 4^th copy of the election return instead of the 6^th copy for use in the OQC.

For next year’s elections, the OQC has the following specific objectives:

1)      To collect 100% of the election returns (ERs) from each precinct in each municipality and city in the province; 

2)      To tabulate the results from the ERs, as far as practicable, at the municipal or city level, separately for

a)      Senators

b)      Party-list representatives

c)      District representatives for Congress

d)      Provincial positions (discretion of the Namfrel provincial or municipal council)

e)      Municipal positions (discretion of the Namfrel provincial or municipal council); 

3)      To report in writing to the municipal or city canvassing board which ERs have erroneous entries; 

4)      To record in the Namfrel OQC logbook which of the ERs and positions therein contain unreadable entries, and thus, were not tabulated in the municipal OQC; 

5)      To transmit separately the totals for every 10 precincts tabulated using the appropriate Transmission Forms (XFs) for senators and party-list representatives to the National Tabulation Center in La Salle, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila; and 

6)      To transmit the totals for every 10 precincts tabulated for the position of district representative/s to the Provincial Tabulation Center that will in turn transmit on a regular basis the running totals for all precincts tallied thus far to the National Tabulation Center in La Salle, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila.

The following are the specific targets for the 2001 OQC:

amfrel has been serving as Comelec’s accredited citizens’ arm in ensuring clean and honest elections and providing an accurate tally of results in the last 17 years.  The officers and members of Namfrel are all volunteer citizens who serve the cause of the movement without remuneration.  The movement depends on volunteer citizens for manpower and funds.

All volunteers must adhere to the principle of non-partisanship. Namfrel’s engagement in a political exercise, particularly in elections, does not make a partisan undertaking. Political involvement may either be partisan or non-partisan.  It is partisan if it is directed towards the advancement of, or opposition to, a particular party or candidate.  An activity is non-partisan if it is addressed to protect the process itself.  Namfrel is concerned about the integrity of elections, regardless of who wins.  Voting for a candidate of your choice without campaigning is not a partisan act but an exercise of your right to vote.

For the 2001 OQC, a Namfrel chapter will require the following types of volunteers:

1)      Namfrel Deputy Authorized by the Comelec to Collect the 6^th Copy of the ER authorized to collect the 6^th copy and ensure that the ERs are readable and properly accomplished.  It would be advisable to have at least two (2) deputies per precinct.  The Namfrel Deputy reports to the Voting Center Manager or School Chairperson.

      Duties and Responsibilities:

      Before Election Day

a)      Introduces himself/herself to the members of the BEI and presents his/her Namfrel and Comelec IDs to them.  The city or municipal chairperson will issue these IDs to him/her.  

b)      Notifies the BEI on his/her duties as a Namfrel volunteer and shares with them that Namfrel’s objective is to assist in ensuring clean and honest elections.

 On Election Day

 a)      At 3:00 p.m., OQC Comelec Deputy should be present at the precinct to witness the counting of ballots.

 b)      After the counting, Namfrel Deputy ensures that data contained in the 6^th copy of ER is legible and properly accomplished especially the final votes received by each candidate, which is reflected in words and in figures.  If not, the Namfrel Deputy should call the attention of the BEI Chair to make the entries legible.

 c)      Receives from the BEI the sealed envelope containing the 6^th copy of the ER for the citizens’ arm authorized to do the OQC. 

d)      Delivers the envelope containing the ER to the Voting Center Manager (or the School Chairperson).

2)      Voting Center Manager (or school Chairperson) – He/She will be in-charge of coordinating Namfrel activities at the school or voting center.  Prior to the elections, he/she will be responsible in recruiting the “Namfrel Deputies Authorized by the Comelec to Collect the 6^th copy of the ER” and the Bantay ng Bayan volunteers. 

 Duties and Responsibilities:

Before Election Day 

a)      Recruits at least two (2) volunteers who will serve as “Namfrel Deputies Authorized by the Comelec to Collect the 6^th copy of the ER” for every clustered precinct in his/her Voting Center. 

b)      Recruits Bantay ng Bayan volunteers who may assist voters and monitor the conduct of elections in the school or Voting Center. 

c)      Submits list of volunteers in his Voting Center to the Namfrel City/Municipal Chairperson on or before March 15, 2001                      

d)      Prepares a checklist of clustered precincts in the Voting Center.  After the counting, the said list will be used to check if all the ERs from the Voting Center have been collected. 

e)      Meets with the School Principal to:

i)            Be familiarized with the layout of classrooms that will be used as polling places; 

ii)          Inform the School Principal that Namfrel “Bantay ng Bayan” volunteers will be present during the voting and counting periods; 

iii)        Inform the school principal that “Namfrel Deputies Authorized by the Comelec to Collect the ER” will be the only ones authorized to pick-up the 6^th copy of the ER; and 

iv)        Provide the School Principal with a copy of the Comelec Resolution accrediting Namfrel and other relevant Comelec orders to guarantee understanding of Namfrel’s role as citizens’ arm in helping ensure clean and honest elections.

On Election Day

a)      Supervises the fielding of Namfrel “Bantay ng Bayan” volunteers who may assist voters in the Voters’ Assistance Center (VAC).  A VAC is essentially a booth located at the entrance of the Voting Center where voters may inquire on their precinct assignments and/or their polling places. 

b)      Ensures that there are Namfrel volunteers in all polling places in the Voting Center starting at 3 p.m. until the end of the counting. 

c)      Ensures that all ERs from all precincts in each polling place in the voting center are collected. 

d)      After every five (5) ERs collected, dispatches the courier to bring these returns to the Namfrel City/Municipal Tabulation Center. 

3)      Couriers – They will deliver the election returns from the voting center to the city/municipal tabulation centers.  They are under the supervision of the city/municipal chairperson.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

a)      Obtain from the Voting Center Manager a list of precincts from which the ERs are collected. 

b)      Delivers, preferably by motorized transport, ERs collected by the Voting Center Manager to the City/Municipal Tabulation Center. 

c)      Upon arrival at the City/Municipal Tabulation Center, hands the collected ERs to the City/Municipal Tabulation Center Manager or Shift Supervisor. 

4)      “Namfrel Bantay ng Bayan” – Roving volunteers tasked to provide assistance to voters at the voting center on Election Day.  They will enhance the visibility and presence of pollwatching and OQC volunteers and provide assistance in accomplishing incidence reports. 

Duties and Responsibilities: 

a)      Provides assistance to voters on Election Day such as guiding voters to their respective polling places, etc.  

b)      Reports irregularities or similar incidents to the School Principal or BEI such as presence of propaganda materials within the Voting Center and candidates lingering in the Voting Center before or after casting their votes.

                                                                      


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                                                                   Last Updated: Sunday, April 22, 2001 10:46:57 AM