The upcoming 2022 national and local elections are going to be a highly demanding  test of the Philippine state of democracy. 

Election day, May 9, 2022, and its outcomes will reflect the integrity of the electoral process. In addition, integrity will also be enhanced in the pre-election preparations through collaboration by civil society organizations, individuals, and other democratic institutions. As 2022 draws near, Filipinos are looking for more ways to contribute to ensuring a safe and honest election.

In line with this, the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (IDEALS) and the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) partnered to conduct ALERTayo online training sessions on voters’ rights education and advocacy planning and communications for electoral reform.  The sessions aim to equip CSOs with rights-based voters education strategies and to provide an avenue for organizations to consolidate and streamline electoral and political participation efforts. 

Basic legal issues concerning the elections, the meaning and significance of suffrage, the voter registration process, mandates of electoral positions, and legal remedies to election offenses were some of the key issues discussed by Atty. Dondi Justiniani of IDEALS. 

The resource person walked through the various election laws and related rulings of the Supreme Court, highlighting who can vote and who can be elected as President or other elected officials. The lectures explained the rights of the voters – any one of legal age has the right to vote. It further explains that the Commission on Elections sets regulations on who may vote on election day – voters who are Filipino citizens and who are legally registered to vote. Those who are elected President were given a simple criteria to be eligible to run for office – one should be a Filipino citizen, a registered voter, able to read and write, and should be 40 years of age and living in the Philippines for 10 years before the elections. The lecture went on to describe the voting process and how a voter or a candidate can file complaints for disenfranchisement (for voters) or failure of elections (candidates) and other election offenses. Voters should know these issues to be better prepared for the upcoming elections.

Communication strategies for electoral reform advocacy were also included by Sandino Soliman of CODE-NGO. In the digital age where information has essentially become ubiquitous, development workers and advocates have to adapt to innovative and smart communication strategies. Advocates can continue planning and executing reform activities even with the limitations of the pandemic. This is where the utilization of available communication tools and strategies come in. Meetings are transformed into online or virtual meetings via Zoom, and information exchange happens in group chats over Facebook, Messenger, Viber, or other messaging apps. Information about voting procedures, candidates’ profiles and campaigns are transformed from leaflets to infographics and shared via email, Facebook, Twitter and the now emerging Tiktok platform. These may be utilized by advocates according to their needs and purpose for doing reforms.

Each session included interactive activities that allowed participants to surface key issues in their respective communities, as well as develop effective messaging to address them. 

The collaboration between IDEALS and CODE-NGO will continue to ensure a more informed and involved voting population through national and regional forums until the end of the 2022 elections. 

The online training is part of the PARTICIPATE  Project, which aims to enable citizens to make informed choices; claim their right to vote, and uphold the integrity of the election process for the 2022 national elections. 

Written by:

IDEALS and CODE-NGO