Tag: Commission on Elections

Manila, Philippines – As the Philippines gears towards the upcoming national elections come May 2022, the country’s Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has announced that they have surpassed their voter registration target, adding 5.4 million new registered voters. Part of that milestone is attributed to the commission’s recent campaign, which featured the ‘ghosts’ of well-known Philippine national heroes.

The campaign, called ‘MagparehistroKa! (vernacular for ‘Register Now!’), is conceptualized alongside creative agency MullenLowe TREYNA. The campaign is encapsulated in an interactive website, featuring the ‘ghosts’ of the country’s national heroes such as Dr. Jose Rizal, Melchora Aquino, Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini.

These ‘ghosts’ narrated their sacrifices for the country and paved the way for democracy, and then playfully urged netizens into completing their registration or else ‘something happens’.

Another layer of personalization within the campaign is the utilization of Google Maps, which helps registrants locate the nearest COMELEC office of the election officers (OEOs) or satellite registration sites from their location.

Part of the interactive website, the ‘heroes’ also reminds new registrants what to bring to the registration as well as the proper health and social protocols they must follow on the day The site also directs visitors to COMELEC’s iRehistro site where they can accomplish required details and complete their registration. 

Speaking about the campaign rollout, James Jimenez, spokesperson and director at COMELEC said, “It became our main goal to persuade these young Filipinos to register without patronizing or intimidating them. They are next in line to build the nation in the future, and giving them an opportunity to decide for the country will benefit everyone.”

As a final push when COMELEC extended voter registration until the end of October, special OPM playlists were also launched at Spotify and YouTube Music that registrants can listen to during long waiting periods at the registration sites. Listeners can choose from three OPM playlists ranging from rock anthems to girl power tunes and mellow ballads.

Local entertainment personas such as Alden Richards, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, and Jasmine Curtis-Smith who saw the social posts from the Twitter accounts of Google Philippines and COMELEC, also helped in promoting the site.

“These results are truly overwhelming because [one] it went past our initial targets, and [two] now more young Filipinos will be involved and participate in the elections for the first time,” Jimenez concluded.

Manila, Philippines – The country’s election body Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has partnered with hackathon organizer Impact Hub Manila to upgrade its voter education website called ‘Vote Pilipinas’, as the country gears up with the upcoming 2022 national elections.

Aside from being a sole website, ‘Vote Pilipinas’ is the campaign arm of COMELEC in raising awareness among the public to go out and register to the nearest COMELEC office in their municipality.

Furthermore, the site showcases easily-digestible information on the registration process, voting precincts, requirements, and important dates to remember.

“We are thrilled for Filipino people to utilize and take advantage of Vote Pilipinas. This is a crucial step to educate voters and bring more people in to exercise their right to suffrage,” said James Jimenez, COMELEC spokesperson.

In addition to the existing information on the site, ‘Vote Pilipinas’ will now have a Voter Registration Service Test which gives users additional information such as the nearest Office of the Election Officer to contact, list of IDs to bring, forms to download, and other important reminders to reduce the time spent at COMELEC headquarters during on-ground registration.

Initially launched last August 2020, the campaign responds to the data obtained by COMELEC that only 75.9% of registered voters turned up to cast their votes in 2019, or that about 1 in every four registered voters did not participate in voting. Hence, the campaign aims to register 7 million more voters this upcoming election. 

“One of the campaign’s goals is to provide every Filipino with access to the right information so they can register and ultimately vote. We hope that through the Vote Pilipinas campaign, we can shift mindsets and make people realize that every vote counts,” said Ces Rondario, Impact Hub Manila’s co-founder and the brainchild of Vote Pilipinas.

According to a town hall conference conducted by ‘Vote Pilipinas’ yesterday, 24 March, part of the campaign will also rely on external help from volunteers, partners and stakeholders, from media practitioners, social media influencers and community organizations.