Globe supports electoral campaign for PWDs

MANILA, Philippines - Telecommunication giant Globe Telecom is now supporting the Fully Abled Nation (FAN) campaign which encourages all persons with disability (PWDs) to register and vote in the May 2013 elections.

Rob Nazal, Globe’s corporate social responsibility head, said it is important for PWDs to realize that they are also “important members” of the society by exercising their right of suffrage.   

“We want to make sure that their voices are heard come election time so we are making use of our technological resources to encourage them to go out, register, and vote,” he said.

FAN is a three-year initiative being implemented by the Asia Foundation to raise the participation of PWDs in the country’s electoral process. 

It also intends to increase the awareness of the private sector and concerned government agencies on the needs and concerns of PWDs.

The project is part of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) program on Disability-Inclusive Development.

Nazal said Globe believes in the advocacy of FAN “that every person has the right to vote even if he is unable to see, hear, talk or walk.”

FAN is currently advocating for equal access to the election process through various reforms. 

It is recommending that procedures be put in place to enable blind voters to cast “secret ballots,” make polling precincts accessible to voters on wheelchairs or using walkers, and provide interpreters for the deaf and mute.

Globe’s initial support to the FAN campaign is through an SMS broadcast to Globe subscribers, inviting all PWDs and their families to register at the nearest Commission on Elections (Comelec) office. 

Globe will provide TxtConnect facility to the Asia Foundation to help it broadcast advisories to PWD organizations in areas with high PWD population, as well as allocate mobile phones and Globe BridgeCom special SIM cards to FAN area coordinators from the start of the campaign period until election day for PWD voter education and assistance.

Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell gave assurance that Australia is a “committed partner of the Philippines in ensuring that all people, including PWDs, benefit from and actively participate in development.”

“Australia’s aid program supports people with disabilities to improve the quality of their lives through accessing the same opportunities for participation, contribution, decision making – including exercising their right to vote,” Tweddell said.

For her part, Asia Foundation director for programs Maribel Buenaobra said democratic governance will not be enough without the PWD sector’s participation. 

“That is why partnerships with non-government organizations, civic society organizations, media outlets, and private entities have been formed to push the advocacy forward,” she said.

The Asia Foundation estimates that in the May 2010 national elections, only 53 percent of the 435,000 registered PWDs were able to participate in the polls due to the absence of special assistance. 

This prompted the Asia Foundation and AusAID to work on recommendations to the Comelec to reduce or remove constraints that PWDs face in exercising their right to vote.