PSAM Monthly Meeting

April 9, Sunday was the monthly meeting of the Parish Social Action Ministry members but this was no regular meeting. The PSAM members are also the PPCRV Parish Coordinators for the May 9 election volunteers.

Davao Association of Colleges and Schools’ Executive Director Mr. Jimmie dela Vega presented the roles of the coordinators as well as the flow of events from organization of volunteers up to the day of elections. PPCRV volunteers are NOT TO POLL WACH but rather to provide assistance for voters before entering their precincts. While there are volunteers fixed on the assistance desk, there will also be those who will roam around and shall be assigned to roving teams. Volunteers must be able to attend orientations and be given with ID’s and most importantly appointment letters. Non-Catholics are very much welcome to volunteer as long as they are non-partisan, will undergo orientation and comply with the requirements.

After the meeting, coordinators are expected to talk and discuss recruitment, orientation and organization of volunteers with their respective parish priests. They will then plan on how and where to recruit volunteers as well as how to fund their meals and other needs.

PPCRV shall be entrusted with partial and unofficial returns, which the team leader per voting center shall fetch after the precincts close.

ASAC Director Fr. Bong Dublan Jr. expects difficulties to arise on the day but he says that his team will face them head on. “Let us try to face the problem as it comes”, he said. An advice he also gave was to allot a 20% contingency among number of volunteers because political parties and individual candidates as experienced have and will always try to recruit people as their poll watchers and who would be more fitting than the volunteers who have undergone the orientations?

Furthermore, his team will always be ready to provide support to the coordinators in terms of orientation and organization of the volunteers. (CMAC)