Election watchdog to conduct random manual audit for May 13 elections

ELECTION TRANSPARENCY watchdog Mata Sa Balota Movement will conduct random manual audit (RMA) in more than half of the 85,000 clustered precincts nationwide after the May 13 elections. In an interview with BusinessWorld, Mata Sa Balota Chairperson Leo O. Olarte said, “In this case, we do a random audit to verify if there are irregularities in the transactions in the conduct of the elections…We would like to do an post-election audit in order to verify if… the people we voted are truly what we voted for.” Mata sa Balota Chairman for Media Affairs Mike Aragon said they aim “to cover 60% of the precincts by warm bodies. Marami naman nagbo-volunteer (Many are volunteering).” Earlier this year, the Commission on Elections said it plans to do its RMA in 715 selected precincts. The Comelec has accredited the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) to conduct RMA in the 2019 midterm elections. — Gillian M. Cortez