Campaign for registration goes on full swing in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - With less than ten months to go before the 2010 elections, the campaign to encourage people to register and vote is also going full swing.

Aside from doing it through talking, the campaigners also did it through music in a free concert held last night at the Cebu City Sports Center field.

Several political personalities as well as youth leaders from different parts of the country were gathered in Cebu yesterday for the big push for voter registration.

The group called Register and Vote Drivers was led by Senator Francis Pangilinan.

In a press conference, he said that they want more accountability from the Commission on Elections via an information drive that will give faces to their officials.

The other RV Drivers are Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, Akbayan Partylist Rep. Riza Hontiveros, Naga City, Sorsogon Mayor Jesse Robredo, former Bukidnon Rep. Neric Acosta, TV Host/Entrepreneur Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, San Fernando, Pampanga Mayor Oca Rodriguez, Misamis Oriental Governor Oca Moreno, author Alex Lacson and Ifugao Governor Teddy Baguilat Jr.

“The Register and Vote group treat the 2010 national election as a historic occasion in Philippine history. We cannot allow slip-ups and miscommunication to take place,” Pangilinan said.

The Register and Vote (RV) campaign is an all-out drive to draw out around five to 9 million Filipino voters for the May 2010 elections in order to empower first-time voters, encourage political participation among disenfranchised Filipinos, and strengthen democratic processes for good governance.

The campaign is an effort among progressive public servants, youth leaders, and reform advocates that believe in the power of the vote to challenge “politics as usual.”

The group said that by 2010, young Filipinos aged 35 and below will comprise 54 percent of the voting population and around five million of them will be first-time voters.

The group said that the said figure is enough to swing the vote to change the electoral landscape and enough to change the face of Philippine governance.

The group added that in 2007, almost ten million young Filipinos failed to vote and 75 percent of them did not know that they needed to register before voting.

“If this number remains unchanged in 2010, 3.75 million first-time voters will be disenfranchised,” the group said.

As of yesterday, the Comelec said that only ten percent of potential first-time voters have registered. The registration period ends on October 31.

“Each data machine has a maximum capacity of 200 to 350 registrants per day and there are only one to two data capturing machines per municipality around the country. We need to step up the drive to register and vote.”

“We will begin by staying vigilant and keeping ourselves informed so that the forces who seek to perpetuate the old, inutile ways will not prosper. We will begin by collectively acting on our fervent belief that the Philippines deserves better,” the Unity statement added.

 In last night’s free concert top bands from Manila flew in to perform.

Impossible

The Comelec said yesterday that it is already impossible to accommodate the more than five million who are yet to register.

The Comelec has only been able to register close to two million new voters nationwide, who now are part of the total 44 million registered voters in the country.

Comelec Spokesperson Director James Jimenez admitted that everyday, Comelec would turn down half of those who would come to their center to register.

On the average, only 250 to 275 will be accommodated in each center.

Quarterly, they would be able to register only half a million.

Jimenez said that one of the reasons is the new technology to which the public has not adjusted yet to.

“We have to remember that these are machines. Not all are familiar with it. Usually, some do not look at the camera, do not know how to put their finger on the scanner for their thumb print so we have to orient them first before we could proceed.”

He added that the limited number of data capture machines is also one cause of delays. Comelec has put only one data capture machine per center.

“To get new machine is the first thing we have thought of doing since we started to realize that one machine could not cater to the number of people coming to register. But the lack of budget would not allow that,” Jimenez said.

“We have already asked our field officers to be more creative in managing their crown to address this concern,” said Jimenez.

“We are now looking at dividing the workforce to groups where one will do the orientation and one will take charge of the registration to maximize the time.”

The Comelec has also continued to team up with different groups and organizations to help them disseminate information.

Just yesterday, they partnered with Youth vote Philippines group which initiated an off site registration to reach those who cannot drop by Comelec centers to register. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon with Jessica Ann Pareja/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)