by Sentinel Times Research Staff July 10, 2021 Sinag Quezon, youth-led and youth-serving organizations from Lucena City, Quezon Province. LU...
July 10, 2021
Sinag Quezon, youth-led and youth-serving organizations from Lucena City, Quezon Province.
LUCENA CITY - FREEDOM of expression in the Philippines, as gauged by the global body International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEAS), was middling, then, dipped by 2015 and onward, cites senior education program specialist of the Philippine Public Safety College Christopher Joseph M. Takeda.
Repercussions for that drop in the level of freedom of expression may have likely rippled upon the not-too-favorable results of the national elections in 2016 that saw a wipe-out of opposition aspirants that must have stunned young Filipinos.
"When we hear the word 'politics', our tendency is to be hesitant to participate. We see what's happening and the youth are becoming discontented," states Takeda in the July 4 zoom conference "Regi, Set, Go" that went live on social media to inform the cross-section of the Calabarzon region electorate, especially young voters.
Of the 40 million qualified voters nationwide, the greater bulk of votes come from the youth sector in the 18-34 age range. The 20-24 and 25-34 age brackets notched registration figures over 90%.
Out of some 10 million in the 18-19 age group, only 2.3 million are registered voters, a niggardly 23% participation that points to "marginalization, exclusion that remain (as) barriers of youth participation", according to Takeda in his presentation for the online caucus, "Youth Decide 2022: The Role of Youth in the 2022 Elections."
Out of some 9.3 million potential voters in the 20-24 age range, 8.7 million are entered in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) list or a 94% participation rate, while of the 24 million in the 25-34 bracket, nearly 93% or 22.8 million are in the poll list-up.
Takeda cites three factors that account for the apparent indifference and neglect of the youth sector for political activity:
1. they can't (attributed to lack of capacity and resources);
2. they don't want to (which stems from their own political beliefs, awareness, and level of education); and,
3. nobody asked them (and this is where governance that can reach out comes into play).
"Empowering the youth requires addressing issues and challenges not only in information but also in their socio-economic and political conditions. We need youth to be strong and perform its role as catalyst and critical agent of change," he points out.
"What characterizes our democracy-- Asia's oldest-- is our resilience from various backsliding episodes and our continuous adaptation in the face of development and governance challenges.
"The Covid-19 pandemic actually posed threats to democratic institutions and processes. In recent past and even now, our youth are continuously scrutinizing and really looking at how the government responded to this problem we are now experiencing," Takeda explains.
Voter ID issuance suspended
With safeguards to check the spread of Covid-19 and convenience in mind, Comelec has taken measures to forestall the gathering of large groups of registrants for the voter list-up which ends on September 30.
In her online presentation, "On RUles and Guidelines: State of Quezon Province Voter's Registration," election officer Josapeth L. Butingan of Tiaong, Quezon cites the online registration mode to lessen Covid-19 hazards.
Registrant can log in to iRehistro.comelec.gov.ph; fill in the registration form; get an appointment wuth the Office of Election Officer; print filled-in form in legal size paper (three copies), bring three xerox/photocopies of three valid IDs; appear before the OEO and prepare to take voter's oath, and data capture.
Quezon Province OEO has also fitted out a mobile app registration, launched in June 15 and is currently available only to 28 towns.
Old-fashioned pen-and-paper registration go through a similar process: registrant proceeds to OEO with three valid IDs, three xerox/photocopies for the IDs; fill in the voter registration forms supplied by the EO/EAs; prepare to take voter's oath, and data capture.
As of April 20, 2021, registered voters for Quezon Province number 1,285,828 spread in 55,645 poll precincts in 4,019 barangays of the province's 41 municipalities and two cities, Tayabas and Lucena, according to Butingan.
Local political aspirants can file their candidacy for respective elective posts from October 1-8, including Saturday and Sunday, she notes.
Butingan clarifies that with the August 2018 enactment of the national identification law for Filipinos and resident aliens, the Comelec has suspended issuance of voter's ID. Voters seeking confirmation of their inclusion as eligible voters list can pay a P75 fee-- free of charge for seniors and PWDs-- for a certification print-out.
Power held by the people
Lucena City election officer Atty. Ana Mei S. Barbacena reiterates in her presentation, "Regi to Vote: Setting a Democratic Ground" the constitutional mandate that "power is held by the people or the representatives they elect.
"Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elective agents under a free electoral system," she adds.
She stresses the provision of the 1987 Charterin Article II Section 7: "The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them."
She reminds elected officials, government workers and political aspirants that "public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives."
A sensible voter chooses leaders of the community and the body politic, "such vote allows the voter to redesign, fine-tune the government; dump the unworthy, and benefit from an excellently administered government," Barbacena points out.
The online caucus to thresh out the mechanics and tackle pertinent issues in the May 9, 2022 polls was fitted out by the civic group Sinag Quezon and drew participation of a dozen civil society groups in Quezon province, with Sentinel Times as media partner.
No comments