With three months left until the deadline of voter registration, where do we stand in terms of the number of registered voters? There are now 60 million registered voters and 4.3 million new voters who will place their ballots in the 2022 Local and National Elections, according to the Commissions on Elections (COMELEC) Director James Jimenez. COMELEC projects that the number of registered voters will be at 62 million in time for elections next year. This data was released and presented during the Magparehistro Ka! virtual town hall organized by non-profit and non-partisan campaign Vote Pilipinas. The virtual event held over Zoom on July 8, 2021 featured a line-up of speakers including Jimenez, who talked about the current state of voter registration in the Philippines and the collective action Filipinos must take to close the gap before registration closes in September 2021.
For speakers from COMELEC, voter registration should be done collectively as people. They call on institutions like schools to excuse their students so they can take part at this national event, and exercise their power and their right to choose for their country’s future. With the COVID-19 pandemic, COMELEC reassures everyone that health protocols are in place when the public visits their offices for voter registration. Participants at the town hall were able to ask their questions on voter registration straight from COMELEC.
During the town hall, COMELEC Commissioner Maria Rowena V. Guanzon delivered the keynote address; IHM CEO and founder Ces Rondario opened the program; several sessions with COMELEC’s Offices of the Election Officer (OEO) across Luzon provinces shared insights; and new Vote Pilipinas partners, including Smart Communications, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines (CICP), and Greenbulb Communications, were introduced with their representatives present. On June 7, 2021, IHM officially partnered with Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to ramp up the programs and campaigns of Vote Pilipinas, an IHM project and the official partner of COMELEC in disseminating information on voters’ registration.
Vote Pilipinas plans to hold two more Magparehistro Ka! Town halls before the registration deadline.
Learn more about Vote Pilipinas through https://www.votepilipinas.com
