GUIDELINES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

CEAP-COCOPEA PPCRV-NAMFREL MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

Introduction

The government is gearing up for the May 2010 elections. One of the duties of every
Responsible citizen is to ensure that the electoral process is clean, honest, and peaceful where the
outcome truly reflects the voice of the electorate.

In the Philippines, the Commission on Elections has duly accredited the Parish Pastoral Council
for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections
(NAMFREL) as the citizens' arms to serve as poll watchdogs during national and local
elections. However, due to manpower limitations, the PPCRV and NAMFREL request the
services of volunteers to fulfill their mandates. For the May 2010 elections, PPCRV-NAMFREL
will need at least 500,000 volunteers from all over the country.

Our educational institutions can provide the massive base from which PPCRV and NAMFREL
can tap their volunteers. Beyond preparing our youth to become competitive players in their
respective fields, our schools instill in the young the values that will make them socially
responsible individuals and responsive citizens of our country. Consistent with and faithful to
their goal to serve as a resource for Church and Nation, the CEAP-COCOPEA has collaborated
with the PPCRV-NAMFREL by virtue of a memorandum of agreement signed on 12 January
2009 to work together in ensuring that the May 2010 elections will be clean, honest, accurate,
meaningful, and peaceful. It is hoped that through this collaborative initiative, we will be able to
produce a new generation of Filipino electorate who are more aware of their rights and
responsibilities to our country.

Objectives Based on the PPCRV-NAMFREL-CEAP-COCOPEA MOA

The CEAP-COCOPEA and the PPCRV-NAMFREL shall:

A. help ensure a clean and credible registered voters' list in time for the forthcoming 2010
elections through:
1. intensive campaign for continuing registration and clean, honest election;
2. recruitment of volunteers to help in PPCRV-NAMFREL activities; and
3. poll watching by volunteers.
B. work closely and have mutual consultations relative to the dissemination of Voters'
Education Materials with emphasis on encouraging the highest registration turnout
among first time voters.
C. cooperate with the PPCRV-NAMFREL towards a clean and accurate voters' list for the
2010 elections.
D. work together in the registration of students or first time voters.
Guidelines in the Implementation of the CEAP-COCOPEA PPCRV-NAMFREL MOA

E. ensure that during the effectivity of this MOA, all parties shall retain and enjoy their
individual identities and shall be responsible for any and all the acts of their respective
members.
F. set up a joint oversight committee (JOC) to monitor the implementation of the
MOA/Guidelines and evaluate the response of member schools, as well as the
coordination between the schools and their local PPCRV/Namfrel counterparts; the JOC
shall meet regularly – every month from February to August, and thereafter monthly till
the 2010 election.

Major Areas of Collaboration

Given the goals and the general agreements reached by the CEAP-COCOPEA and PPCRV-
NAMFREL, in a meeting held on 26 January 2009 at De La Salle Philippines, the following
guidelines are proposed relative to the three major areas of collaboration:

A. Promotion of Voter Registration

1. CEAP-COCOPEA and PPCRV-NAMFREL shall

a. in all their election-related activities, include a prayer component, stress

responsible voting as an expression of responsible citizenship, and impress
on the volunteers, especially the students, the faith response dimension in
their involvement.
b. embark on an intensified campaign to encourage all qualified voters
nationwide, including persons with disabilities (PWDs) and Overseas
Filipino Workers (OFWs) to register in sites duly designated by Comelec.

2. CEAP-COCOPEA shall
a. provide PPCRV with the complete list of its member schools, arranged by
region, with their corresponding contact addresses.
b. urge each member school to undertake activities that will persuade those
who are already qualified to register and vote

3. MEMBER SCHOOLS may undertake the following activities:

a. put up posters and flyers to raise awareness on the importance of citizen
participation in elections, taking into account the common items that
should appear in all information campaign materials as identified by
PPCRV-NAMFREL.
b. organize forums and seminars, especially for first time registrants and
voters, to further raise the level of awareness toward responsible voting.
c. coordinate with Comelec for the on-campus registration of first time
voters from January to February 2009.
d. submit the list of first time voters (via email) to the CEAP/COCOPEA
and PPCRV national Office.
e. conduct relevant alternative classes.

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Guidelines in the Implementation of the CEAP-COCOPEA PPCRV-NAMFREL MOA

f. organize a group that will regularly meet with Comelec regarding progress
reached in the registration of new voters, and relative to matters that
would contribute toward clean, honest, and peaceful elections in 2010.

4. PPCRV-NAMFREL shall
a. provide sample posters and flyers that can be used as basis in the
development and conduct of the awareness campaign and highlight the
items that should be common in all information campaign materials.
b. provide speakers and relevant materials for the forums and seminars when
requested by the schools.
c. call a meeting with CEAP-COCOPEA and the Comelec to disseminate
and discuss, among others, updates on all initiatives pertinent to the 2010
elections.
d. keep track/sustain/encourage the core group of first time voters to chart a
different future for the nation.

5. COMELEC shall
a. set up satellite registration sites in strategic areas nationwide solely for
persons with disabilities (PWDs).
b. set up satellite registration sites abroad through the embassies/consulates
to enable Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to register and vote.

B. Raising Voter Awareness Through Voter Education

1. COMELEC shall
provide a copy of the Certification of Candidacy to PPCRV-NAMFREL for the
profiling of candidates.

2. CEAP-COCOPEA shall
a. encourage each member school to initiate and seriously implement
measures to raise the level of awareness of students, faculty and staff on
the importance of the electoral process to the future of the Philippines
b. encourage schools to undertake the profiling of candidates and
disseminating them using the Web and other facilities.

3. MEMBER SCHOOLS may undertake the following activities:

a. assist parishes in organizing Candidates' Forums;
b. connect with the local Comelec office in their respective areas (especially
those in the provinces) to work out joint activities; PPCRV National can
help facilitate the local collaboration with Comelec National;
c. develop and implement a program that would integrate the PPCRV-Pinoy
Voters'Academy (PVA) REG2VOTE modules into the classroom lectures.

4. PPCRV-NAMFREL shall provide

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Guidelines in the Implementation of the CEAP-COCOPEA PPCRV-NAMFREL MOA

a. relevant links to other web sites containing information on candidates for

the schools that will undertake the profiling of candidates using the Web.
b. a sample of the REG2VOTE Module and technical assistance, upon
request of the schools.

C. Recruitment and Deployment of Volunteers

1. COMELEC shall
a. recruit its own set of volunteers.
b. orient its volunteers on the different aspects of their tasks.
c. deploy its volunteers to the different polling precincts.
d. ensure the safety and wellbeing of its volunteers.

2. CEAP-COCOPEA shall
a. request each member school to designate a lead person for the
implementation of the MOA, and send the contact information of the lead
person to the PPCRV National Office on or before February 22.
b. prepare and be ready with the list of volunteers from CEAP schools for
forwarding to PPCRV upon request.

3. MEMBER SCHOOLS may undertake the following activities:

a. create a dedicated core group that would promote and recruit all potential
volunteers from the schools' different sectors to help PPCRV-NAMFREL
in fulfilling its mandate in relation to the 2010 polls
b. screen volunteers to make sure that they are non-partisan nor do they have
a close relative who is a candidate in the 2010 elections
c. identify and group the volunteers according to types and levels of
competencies, and preferred nature of voluntary work, which are:
i. Poll watchers – assigned to monitor the conduct of elections in the
voting precincts
ii. Accountable Materials Verifiable Audit Trail Team (AMVATT) –
a specialized group of volunteers monitoring the trail of all election
paraphernalia
iii. Voters Assistance Desk (VAD)* – assigned to the man the VAD of
the Voting Center- helping voters find their respective precincts,
handling the Certified Voters List of the precincts composing the
Voting Center
iv. Technical Assistance Group (TAG)* – made up of volunteers who
are IT experts/computer savvy and lend assistance in case the
voting machines in the precincts they are assigned to suffer from
glitches, also detect anomalies inflicted by a voter or even a
teacher-member of the Board of Election Inspector (BEI) through
the voting machines, etc.
v. Special Witness of Truth (SWOT)* – roving team to go around
their assigned area to report anomalous election related incidents,

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Guidelines in the Implementation of the CEAP-COCOPEA PPCRV-NAMFREL MOA

as well as monitor Voting Centers that e.g., lack poll watchers,

VAD, TAG, etc.)
* For VAD, TAG, and SWOT, it is strongly recommended that student
volunteers will have a school official/faculty member-volunteer per
group.
d. organize the orientation of all recruited volunteers, in coordination with
PPCRV who will conduct the training on proper values, importance of the
election to the country, the sanctity of the votes, etc.
e. keep and submit a list of volunteers properly grouped by competencies
and voluntary work preferred to CEAP-COCOPEA
f. deploy volunteers in coordination with the local PPCRV Coordinator;
g. explore arrangements relative to credits that may be given to student
volunteers i.e., NSTP credits, ROTC credits, practicum credits for students
in related disciplines such as Political Science, Development Studies, and
so on.
h. safeguard the safety and wellbeing of its recruited volunteers.

4. PPCRV-NAMFREL shall
a. orient the school-based committee on related recruitment concerns.
b. provide all the required paraphernalia for the recruitment process.
c. provide CEAP-COCOPEA with the number of volunteers and
corresponding types and levels of competencies required
d. orient volunteers on the exigencies of the tasks assigned to them.
e. Allow the school volunteers to use the PPCRV-Namfrel accreditation as
the citizens arm of Comelec
f. deploy the volunteers by assigning them in their communities, and areas
that are safe from any potential election-related violence, such as manning
the telephone lines, etc.
g. put in place mechanisms to ensure and safeguard the safety and wellbeing
of the CEAP-COCOPEA recruited volunteers.

Finalized February 10, 2009