Slow retrieval of election returns from polling centers decried

DUMAGUETE CITY — The head of the Diocesan Electoral Board (DEB) of the Diocese of Dumaguete has lamented the slow collection and submission of Election Returns (ERs) from the different polling precincts in the provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

Monsignor Julius Perpetuo S. Heruela, DEB convenor and provincial chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), disclosed Thursday that they have not yet finished collecting the ERs and submitting them to the PPCRV in Manila due to some issues with teachers who served in the Electoral Boards in Monday’s mid-term elections.

“PPCRV volunteers are having a hard time collecting copies of ERs intended for the citizens’ arm from the teachers because some of them are unaware of such ruling, while others say they do not know or recognize the PPCRV,” Heruela said on Thursday.

According to him, a citizens’ arm duly designated by the Comelec, in this case the PPCRV, is given a copy of the ERs to be used for an unofficial parallel counting to determine the veracity of the votes transmitted electronically.

As of the latest update, the DEB has retrieved about 90 percent of the ERs and has submitted to the PPCRV in Manila about 60 percent already, Heruela said.

“Submission of ERs to the PPCRV central office has slowed down because we have to sort out the envelopes one by one after having found that not all teachers have followed instructions to the letter,” he said in the Cebuano dialect.

At the same time, the DEB convenor lamented the “refusal” of some teachers to give the ER copies to the PPCRV volunteers.

“Gibalik-balikan gyud namo hangtod ihatag (We keep on going back until they finally give it to us),” he said.

The priest expressed frustration over the teachers’ lack of understanding with regards to the ERs, saying the problem is a learning experience for the DEB and PPCRV and that he will refer this to the Comelec’s provincial office through provincial election supervisor officer-in-charge, Eliseo Labaria.