MANILA, Philippines鈥擲aying it was long overdue, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)聽 threw its support Saturday behind a proposal that voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao be made to register anew to cleanse the region鈥檚 list of voters.
PPCRV national chairperson Henrietta de Villa said her group was ready to support the Commission on Elections in the conduct the general re-registration, which has been tentatively scheduled for July 9 to 18.
鈥淧PCRV and our coalition partners of 12 Muslim non-government organizations are ready to assist Comelec for this,鈥� De Villa said.
She said the re-registration would help rid the ARMM book of voters of bogus voters in time for next year鈥檚 elections.
鈥淧PCRV has, since years back, been advocating for the junking of the existing book of voters and for a new general registration for ARMM,鈥� De Villa said. 鈥淲e fully support Senate Resolution 17 and P-Noy鈥檚 call for general registration in ARMM.鈥�
Last Tuesday, the Senate adopted a resolution calling on the Comelec to nullify the voters list of the ARMM and conduct a new general registration in the region. A similar resolution has been filed in the House of Representatives.
The resolutions said this would put an end to fraud and irregularities in the conduct of elections in the ARMM, which has earned the reputation of being 鈥渢he cheating capital of the Philippines鈥� during elections.
The Comelec has also agreed to conduct the general re-registration after being assured by senators that funds would not be a problem and direct contracting of the voter registration machines would be allowed.