NAMFREL to deploy 60K volunteers on poll day
THE National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is set to deploy around 50,000 to 60,000 volunteers who have so far signed up as volunteers for election day.
NAMFREL secretary general Eric Jude Alvia said the current number of volunteers is enough to watch over the conduct of the elections.
“Kahit na medyo gipit tayo dahil siguro nakalikop lang kami ng mga higit kumulang 50,000 to 60,000 na volunteers ngayon, pero sapat na yun sa aming palagay sa pagbabantay hanggang sa voting center level,” he said.
In September 2021, NAMFREL said it would need around 105,000 volunteers for its activities in securing the May 2022 national and local elections.
Alvia said NAMFREL volunteers would not be deployed in voting precincts as other groups will be in charge of these.
He added volunteers are instructed only to report untoward incidents and observations to authorities such as the police and the Commission on Elections, and are discouraged to intervene in such matters.
Recently, NAMFREL launched a mobile app that checks election results and connectivity during the conduct of automated polls on May 9.
Citizens can take a picture of the hash code in printed election returns posted outside polling precincts and send it through the mobile application.
According to NAMFREL, if the hash codes from the polling precinct and from the Comelec website do not match, it will be reported to the poll body.
