Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

TERMINAL REPORT

NATIONAL CITIZENS’ MOVEMENT FOR FREE ELECTION (NAMFREL) CITIZENS’ CONGRESS FOR GOO2D )GOVERNANCE (C2G2)

MAY 15, 2013

MARIKINA ELECTION WATCH 2013

C2G2 – NAMFREL Marikina Chapter 2013 held projects and activities during the entire election period. Highlighted is Voters Education landed in several communities where teaching was done with a mobile stage. As we know, in the history of Philippine Election particularly in Marikina, this was the very first time that Voters Education was conducted and this was primarily done in Marikina. Other activities are the Election paraphernalia & logistic Monitoring, Random Manual Audit (RMA), Poll Watching & Operation Quick Count. As we observed, it is noticeable that volunteerism is still in the mind and heart of most people. There’s NO accomplishment without the people behind this projects and those people who volunteered themselves and actively participated in all aspect of task assigned to them. Everybody did their task successfully and diligently. A great achievement that Marikenios had proven. Based on what we had observed we concluded that, “MAY PAG-ASA PA”

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

Table of Contents

I. Voters Education

i. Indoor Voters Education ii. Mobile Voters Education iii. Candidates Forum iv. Voters Education Saturation Campaign

||Observations||

II. Cleansing of Computer Voters List

III. Mobile Poll Watching

IV. Election Paraphernalia & Logistics

V. Campaign Finance Monitoring

||Findings||

VI. Poll Watching

VII. Operation Quick Count

VIII. Random Manual Audit (RMA)

IX. Secretariat & Kitchen Operation (May 12 to May 14)

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

Date Time Venue # of Participants

April 01 8:00PM-11:00PM Balubad, Nangka 200 pax

April 02 8:00PM-11:00PM Camacho, Nangka 50 pax

April 05 8:00PM-11:00PM Purok 7, Malanday 100 pax

April 09 8:00PM-11:00PM Dona Petra, Tumana 200 pax

April 20 9:00PM-12PM Singkamas, Tumana 300 pax

April 23 9:00PM-12Pm Katipunan, Concepcion Dos 150 pax

April 27 8:00PM-11:00PM Farmers 2, Tumana 350 pax

April 29 8:00PM-11:00PM Kawayan Village, Fortune 400 pax

May 04 8:00PM-11:00PM 129 Molave Parang 500 pax

May 06 10:00PM-1:00AM Ampalaya, Tumana 605 pax

May 07 7:00PM-10:00PM Victory Hills, fortune, 503 pax

II. MOBILE VOTERS EDUCATION

Date Time Venue # of Participant

Remarks

March 9 2:00PN-5:00PM Namfrel Head Quarter 40 pax PLMar Students

March 16 8:00AM–5:00PM Nangka High School 50pax Cross-section with LENTE

April 13 8:00AM-11:00PM Namfrel Head Quarter 34pax Magdalo group

May 01, 7:00PM-10PM ECF Metal Plant, Parang 120pax ECF Metal Employees & Staffs

I. INDOOR VOTERS EDUCATION

I. Voters Education Developed the ECF syllabus in Pilipino and prepared in Power point for audio-video presentation; adapted “Isang Boto” as its Election song to the tune of the popular song “Pusong Bato,” which was also adopted by various chapters of Namfrel nationwide. The Voter’s education program was being brought at the doorstep of target beneficiaries.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

III. CANDIDATES FORUM A Candidates forum cum Voters Education was held on May 9, 2013 from

9:00PM to 12:00MN at Namfrel head quarter. New and Independent candidates are invited to give them a venue to present their respective platforms of government.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

IV. VOTERS EDUCATION SATURATION CAMPAIGN On May 11, 2013 at 3:00PM to 10:00PM, Namfrel- Marikina held a Voters

Education saturation Drive in the 16 Barangay of Marikina City with 18 stop-over and 20 minutes teaching per stop over with average 555 participants listeners per stop over or 10,000 listeners. Mobile announcement in-between stop- over have approximate 30,000 additional audiences.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

OBSERVATIONS -

1. The group were informed that certain officials coerced and intimidated prospect attendees not to participate in the sessions;

2. Voters’ apathy or lack of interest among target participants were

observed to be significant in numbers;

3. Traditional selection criteria in choosing candidates were observed based on popularity or celebrity status, affiliation, acquaintance, influence, coercion/intimidation, brainwashed block-voting, patronage, etc.

4. Ignorance and poverty were used by the politicians to persuade them to sell their votes and/or offer them in-kind products, services, such as bags of rice and groceries and/or hiring them as watchers, volunteers and campaigners;

5. The use of government vehicles in transporting their supporters and campaign paraphernalia as well as the use of government facilities as venues for their campaign sorties including the use of communication equipment for the same purposes, e.g. mobile phones, internet connection, landlines, computers, laptops, etc.;

6. The use of the more than 6,000 city employees as harassed and coerced campaigners in support of the administration party-candidates for electioneering purposes.

II. Cleansing of Computer Voters’ List 1. Conversion of existing COMELEC PDF-

formatted computer Voters’ List into a

more usable and searchable Excel format;

2. Requested copies of Registry of Deaths from May 2010 to April 2013 and secured such list covering the period January 2010 to December 2012. Due to time constraints, was able to initially verify 20 discrepancies only. Will continue cleansing the list in preparation for the coming Barangay elections.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

III. Mobile Poll Watching 1. Designated common poster areas were

observed to be “exclusive” vicinities

dedicated only for administration candidates leaving no accommodations for other opposition candidates of as mandated by COMELEC;

2. Rampant violations in posting campaign materials, more particularly paraphernalia of administration candidates within school premises; 3. Government facilities and equipment such as stage, Light & Sound amenities, vehicles, etc. were seen and heard during caucuses and series of motorcades by administration

candidates, including the mobilization of government employees for such purposes;

4. The practice of attendance-checking in every entry-point of polling places in the guise of assisting voters to find their respective precincts;

5. The practice of the “Bulong” system in

follow through with the above attendance-check before entering the precinct;

6. Big meetings and/or caucuses were held at the junction/s of main thoroughfares causing traffic bottlenecks.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

IV. Election Paraphernalia & Logistics Monitoring

1. The Namfrel Team headed by Chairman Benny Navarro and Secretary General Leo Rejano went to Noah’s Ark Paper Mills in Barangay Calumpang together with Secretary General Eric Alvia of Namfrel National to inspect the warehouse containing the Official Ballots and Boxes intended for all regions except NCR and Region IV-A;

2. Delivery of Official Ballots to the City Treasurer’s office at 11AM of May 02 and witnessed the physical inventory and sealing of said ballots in a secured room within said office;

3. Final testing and sealing of 270 PCOS machines in designated polling places were witnessed by the volunteers with the observation that some of the BEIs were not familiar with the operational features of said machines;

4. May 13, 2:00AM: the volunteer team headed by Treasurer Lourdes Mobles witnessed the breaking of the door seal where the ballots were stored as well as the distribution of the same to their respective BEIs.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

V. Electoral Campaign Fund Failure to submit their respective electoral campaign fund report on COMELEC specified

dates, worth-mentioning understating such expenses.

VI. Poll Watching 1. Hundreds of volunteers participated in

the poll watching assigned to different polling places. Namfrel volunteers assisted voters in helping find their respective precincts; said volunteers also monitored the operations of each of these precincts;

2. Chairman Benny Navarro and Director for Finance and Operations, Ed C. Francisco personally visited every school principal in their designated polling places to gather information and incident reports and offered Namfrel’s assistance in whatever way they can help in their efforts; They interviewed assigned COMELEC technicians to appraise them of the conditions of defective PCOS machines and asked them of their remedies in the event such contingencies will be needed in case of operational failure. The Pin Code of the PCOS machine in Cluster 196 in Marikina Heights assigned to the BEI Chairman and 3RD member was lost. Fortunately, the PCOS machine malfunctioned due to LCD failure.

3. Generally peaceful and orderly except in the following clustered precincts where PCOS failed to operate: For more data, please look to ANNEX “A”

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

VII. Operations Quick Count

1. NAMFREL-Marikina Volunteer Management In-Charge, Dindo Rosales designated 21 motor-bike riders/volunteers from Kabalikat Charity to handle the collection of election returns and submit the same to HQ for the Operations Quick-Count;

2. First ER was personally received by IT / RMA/ Technical In-Charge Don Parma at 9.30PM commencing the official start of the canvassing process and ended at 2.12 AM of the following day, May 14 with 214 out of a total of 270 registered clustered precincts or 79 percent. The difference of 21 % were attributed mostly to the non-submission of ERs by the BEIs from Marikina Heights and partly likewise to the non-cooperation of other BEIs from other clustered precincts.

3. IT Overall In-Charge Don Parma installed a wide-screen outside the Namfrel HQ to provide a computerized visual display for public viewing broadcasted in Real-Time or LIVE-streaming via C2G2.net.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

VIII. Random Manual Audit (RMA) 1. PCOS machine located in a pre-selected clustered precinct (in Barangay Baranka,

District 1) malfunctioned and was moved to another polling place located in another Barangay (at Marikina Elementary School in Barangay Sta. Elena). Manual counting started at 10.45 PM of May 13 and ended up to 11.18 AM of May 14;

2. PCOS machine located in a pre-selected clustered precinct in SSS Village Elementary School located at Barangay Concepcion Dos, District 2 failed to transmit the election returns due to weak signal. Manual counting started late at 12.30 A.M. and ended 5.30 PM of May 14, 2013.

FINDINGS

Discrepancies of machine count compare to manual count were found to be

negligible in the two (2) cluster precincts from the first & second districts.

Marikina Election Watch 2013 Terminal Report

IX. Secretariat & Kitchen Operation (May 12 to May 14)

The volunteer team consisting of Lourdes Mobles, Grace Navarro, Maria Fe Obana (and her 2 assistants), Val Obana, Rosel Rosales and Imelda Fordaliza effectively operated and managed the secretariat and kitchen operations during said dates.