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Dumaguete diocese to field volunteers for mock elections

By Mary Judaline Partlow

December 12, 2021, 12:43 pm

<p>Msgr. Julius Perpetuo S. Heruela, convenor of the Diocesan Electoral Board of the Diocese of Dumaguete. <em>(Photo courtesy of Msgr. Heruela)</em></p>

Msgr. Julius Perpetuo S. Heruela, convenor of the Diocesan Electoral Board of the Diocese of Dumaguete. (Photo courtesy of Msgr. Heruela)

DUMAGUETE CITY – The Diocesan Electoral Board (DEB) of the Diocese of Dumaguete will be fielding volunteers to observe the conduct of the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) mock polls on Dec. 29.

Msgr. Julius Perpetuo S. Heruela, DEB convenor, said on Sunday that volunteers from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), which is a member of the electoral board, will be assigned to the four barangays in Negros Oriental where the mock polls will be conducted -- Balugo and Taclobo in this capital city and Poblacion and Mayabon in Zamboanguita town.

Only volunteers in these villages will serve, he said.

The PPCRV is a citizen’s election watchdog accredited by the Comelec and has conducted training for its volunteers across the country.

Electoral board officers will also be on hand to observe the processes during the mock polls to ensure a clean, honest, peaceful, and orderly elections on May 9, 2022, Heruela said.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Dumaguete has adopted the themes of the PPCRV to be incorporated in the Gospel readings for the homilies of the four Sundays of Advent and the Simbang Gabi/Aguinaldo masses this December in relation to next year’s national elections.

These are “Maka-Diyos, Maka-tao, Makabayan, and Makakalikasan”, or For God, people, country, and nature, Heruela said.

Bishop Julito Cortes, who chairs the electoral board, urged the parishes, chapels, and chaplaincies to reflect on these themes as part of the diocese’s contribution to a successful voters’ education in preparation for next year’s polls.

The prelate earlier wrote to the clergy and consecrated persons, stipulating guidelines for the celebration of Advent and the nine-day novena Christmas masses “in order to guide our people in their reflection and discernment in choosing candidates who have the values needed to serve the community”.

Cortes also said the Church is urging the people to vote wisely.

“And the task of the Church really is the formation of consciences to form the minds of people and that is why for Advent and Simbang Gabi and Misa Aguinaldo, while we focus on the liturgical readings, there are some points in the themes of the PPCRV that we have to connect with them in preparation for the elections,” he said.

Cortes stressed that people should serve the community by choosing the right candidates because by doing so, they are also preparing for the future of their children. (PNA)

 

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