The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has agreed to help the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and poll watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) in providing legal assistance to voters and receiving vote-buying complaints.
In a statement, the IBP said it signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Comelec and LENTE last Thursday, May 5
It said that under the MOA, the IBP agreed to “extend free legal assistance to the Comelec and its officers, the Board of Election Inspectors, Board of Canvassers, teachers, and the voters during the pre-election, election, and post-election days through help desks set up by its chapters throughout the country.”
It said the free legal assistance includes answering legal queries and assisting in the drafting and notarization of complaints, affidavits, and other election-related legal documents and pleadings; and coordinating with the Electoral Board Members and the Department of Education Supervising Official (DESO) of the voting centers in maintaining the orderly conduct of elections.”
It added that the IBP “will also work closely with Comelec’s Task Force Kontra Bigay by gathering complaints of vote-buying during the election period.”
LENTE, through its volunteers and local law school chapters, will work closely with the IBP in “monitoring the elections as a whole.”
“Accordingly, LENTE shall coordinate and consult with Comelec and the IBP for the conduct of a nationwide campaign for voters’ education and dissemination of election-related information,” the IBP said.