Workers Launch Own Poll Watchdog
MANILA (February 22, 2010) - Labor organizations from all over the country have forged an alliance for clean and honest elections.
Called the Workers' Electoral Watch or WE-Watch, the project is formally launched today in the historic Intramuros in Manila, spearheaded by labor think-tank Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, with support from the European Union. The said alliance is also working hand-in-hand with the Legal Network for Truthful Elections or LENTE.
More than 50 union leaders, labor advocates and church-based organizations have united to safeguard 34 million workers from fraud and possible disenfranchisement.
EILER lead convenor Joselito Natividad said in a statement that many workers believe the Automated Election System (AES) will not completely eliminate electoral fraud and that WE-Watch will serve as an instrument by which 34 million workers will not be cheated and their votes counted.
WE-Watch has set-up a 24-hour text hotline through which the public may report incidents of fraud and other irregularities in the conduct of the national polls. The SMS-based reports, says Natividad, will be routed to a centralized databank and will later serve as a basis for policy recommendations and advocacy measures on the Philippines' adoption of the AES.
Citizens may text the following numbers for their report: for SMART subscribers - 0929-3361581; for GLOBE – 0915-6701434; and for Sun Cellular – 0923-5320142.
The WE-Watch project will cover 12 cities and industrial centers all over the country, namely Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Metro Baguio, Subic (Olongapo City), Cavite City, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Bacolod City, and Iloilo City. (30)
