After the high-stake elections, several misinformation on the operations of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) have been making the rounds on social media prompting the poll watchdog to dispute them one by one.
In a press briefing, PPCRV legal director Vann Dela Cruz took the opportunity to clear the air and debunk all misinformation hounding their operations which started on the day of the elections, May 9.
Tear gas
On the claims that volunteers were teargassed on May 10, Dela Cruz said it did not happen.
"Hindi po totoo yun. Wala po. Kung makikita n'yo po, may konting kasiyahan yung mga volunteers natin, may sayawan (It is not true. Nothing. If you can see, there was a small reverie, dancing among our volunteers here)," the lawyer said.
During breaks, the PPCRV hosts giveaways for the volunteers to make their shifts a little fun.
"Everyone is doing well and everyone is trying to take part in dito sa ating ginagawa sa (in what we are doing here at the) command center," Dela Cruz said.
Lack of volunteers
While it's true that they have already opened slots for the May 16 to 20 operations for volunteers, the PPVRC said as of Wednesday, May 11, they have enough volunteers as willing individuals continue to arrive at the command center located inside the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
"Nais po nating linawin na hindi po tayo nagkukulang sa volunteers. Ang slots natin sa volunteers hanggang May 15 (We'd like to clear that we are not lacking of volunteers. Our slots for volunteers are until May 15)," Dela Cruz said.
"Ngayon magtatagal kami dito hanggang May 20, ang tanong kailangan pa ba namin ng volunteers from May 16 to May 20, opo (Now, we will be here until May 20, the question is do we still need volunteers, yes). In fact, you can now check our Facebook page PPCRV, andun po yung (you can find the ) instructions there," he added.
Donation
Appeal for donations for the church-based poll watchdog have also been making rounds online. But the PPCRV said while they need donations, they also cautioned the public about placing their donations to groups who might only be using the PPCRV's name.
"Again, PPCRV is a non-profit organization, of course we're also relying on the donations of our friends. But there have been donation drives put up by organizations going rounds online. Let's avoid this because it might be a ploy using our name for bad deeds," Dela Cruz said.
He said donors can only donate to PPCRC's accredited accounts.
Commotion, discrepancy
The legal director also debunked the issue of commotion within the command center.
"As you can see naman, nandito pa rin tayo tuloy tuloy pa rin habang dumadating ang ating elections returns (election results continue to arrive). Tuloy tuloy ang ating pagtanggap (We are continuously receiving)," Dela Cruz said.
Discrepancy on the unofficial count
The poll watchdog chairperson Myla Villanueva also refuted that they announced a discrepancy on the partial, unofficial count.
"There is no discrepancy that we reported. We have not reported anything in terms of the matches," Villanueva said.
"We did not announce any discrepancy. What we are doing now is waiting for more election returns," Villanueva added.