THE National Youth Commission (NYC) and Commission on Elections (Comelec) gathered youth and barangay officials during a voter’s education seminar at the National Economic and Development Authority-Cordillera on April 26.
The seminar is part of the Comelec’s “KEBS: Know Elections Better, Superfriends!” campaign which the NYC vowed to support in a memorandum of agreement.
The discussion focused on the importance of election, criteria for free and fair elections, the right of suffrage, and the importance of one’s vote.
Elections officer lawyer John Paul Martin of Comelec-Baguio reminded the participants to set criteria and choose carefully when voting.
“Masakit man isipin (It's painful to think), but we deserve the leaders that we have kasi tayo ang nagluklok sa kanila (because we elected them). So lahat ng gagawin nila, it’s our accountability,” Martin said.
Martin added that elections can be used to protect the voters from dictators and tyrants.
“Sa pamamagitan ng pagboto, puwede natin silang pigilan na umupo at sa pamamagitan din ng elections, puwede natin silang tanggalin sa puwesto (Through voting, we can stop them from assuming office and through elections, we can oust them),” added the election supervisor.
Martin also urged voters to ensure their votes are counted and pleaded to the qualified but not yet registered to register.
Voter registration for the 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections will end on Saturday, April 29.
Lectures for the Kebs campaign started in January and is being done nationwide. Interested parties are encouraged to request for lectures to the Comelec. (Mary Joy Sumagca, University of Baguio Intern/VoxPop Baguio)