Manual audit: Lente replaces Namfrel

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 11:23 a.m.) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has named the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) as lead convenor of the random manual audit (RMA) for next week’s midterm polls.

At a press briefing, Comelec Commissioner and RMA head Luie Tito Guia yesterday said Lente is replacing the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) as part of the RMA committee.

“In 2010 and 2012, the lead convenor was PPCRV (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting) while in 2016 it was Namfrel. This year, it was supposed to be Namfrel again, but two weeks or less than two weeks before election day, they left us,” he noted.

Namfrel backed out from its accreditation as a citizen arm of the Comelec after the poll body refused to grant its request to be provided the open election data, which would primarily show election results in polling precincts.

Guia added they looked for other civil society groups to replace Namfrel and Lente responded to their call.

According to Lente executive director Rona Caritos, they will be deploying 15 members and volunteers to help do the RMA that she described as “a process” to ensure “credibility of the elections.”

“They don’t need many people so that is one of the considerations and why Lente said ‘yes’. (The) number one qualification is we should be non-partisan and we are (non-partisan),” Caritos said.

Online Editor's Note: The previous version of this article mistakenly reports that LENTE is the Legal Network for Free Elections. The latest update bears the corrected name "Legal Network for Truthful Elections."