SARF de Provincialate joins the Covenant of Peace in BARMM

For many Filipinos, Maguindanao would always be associated with the brutal killings of 58 people, including 32 journalists. It would be hard to say Maguindanao without having the word “massacre” at the back of your head. It has left a scar in our collective memory that is quite hard to move on.

Given the province’s notorious reputation (now split into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur), the Commission on Elections called on the Gubernatorial Candidates of two provinces to sign a Covenant of Peace, thereby enunciating the use of violence in these elections.

To witness the mentioned covenant, the Commission on Elections invited various sectors to the said event. These include the citizen’s arm, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), represented by Dr. Arwin Serrano (PPCRV-Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila) and Bro. Jayzl Villafania Nebre, SAR (Public Affairs Ministry-San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish). Bro. Jayzl, who became a Secular Augustinian Recollect in 2010, has been helping the Diocese of Cubao not only as the coordinator of the Public Affairs Ministry of San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish but also as part of the Diocesan Voters’ Education Team.

The team, which is composed of Leonardo Sacamos (Holy Family Parish Roxas District), Eleanor Dionisio (Our Lady of the Pentecost Parish), Lena Vergara (Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish), and our very own Bro. Jayzl is now visiting various parishes and institutions in the Diocese to give formation on how the citizens could take part in making informed decisions during election day.

Given today’s situation where massive disinformation is the norm rather than the exception, the team aims to help people realize how their voting could affect not only their own future but that of the country as well.

While San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish is not overseeing any election precincts within its perimeter, it has traditionally been assisting the nearby Parish of Mary, the Immaculate Conception by sending additional manpower to their PPCRV during election day.

But as we all know, it doesn’t end on election day. Since the PPCRV is the accredited citizen’s arm, it would be conducting its own parallel counts as well.

Since the introduction of computerized elections, part of the counting process has been the random manual audit, where samples of ballots from random provinces are subjected to manual counting to make sure that the results match the one that was transmitted. Bro. Jayzl was also tapped to be one of the deputized members of the PPCRV to oversee the said activity.

As a Secular Augustinian Recollect, Bro Jayzl aims to share the Augustinian way of life with our daily experiences, especially in areas where the religious could not.