Comelec offers free voter education seminars for students
A Filipino woman leans over to consult her husband as they vote at a basketball gym used as a voting center during mid-term elections in Manila, Philippines on Monday May 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
MANILA — Schools wanting their students to be more oriented on the country’s electoral system may now ask the Commission on Elections to conduct voter education seminars for free.
The poll body is urging school officials to take advantage of the Comelec’s platform so that young voters are educated on the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October this year.
In his Twitter account, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) said even teachers and students could ask for free voter education sessions from the Comelec.
“Dear teachers, school administrators and students: Beginning today, you can sked a #KEBs #VoterEd session with the Comelec Education and Information Department to prepare you for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections,” he said.
KEBs stands for Know Elections Better Superfriends, the poll body’s voter education platform combining face-to-face encounters with the wide reach of social media.
The voter education program is seen as timely, with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls scheduled to be held on October 23, 2017.
It is not enough for voters to simply participate and vote in an electoral exercise, according to Jimenez.
“They must also do so in an educated and principled way. Voter education aims to provide voters with the necessary background in knowledge and information that will make that possible,” he stressed.
Interested school officials and teachers only need to get in touch with the Comelec, through its official Facebook (@comelec.ph) and Twitter (@comelec) accounts.
Requests for voter education sessions may be also coursed through the Comelec email, [email protected].
“The sessions are for free… This is a continuing, year-round activity,” Jimenez said.
The sessions may be held either at the Comelec EID office in Intramuros, Manila or the requesting party’s own school or venue of choice.
Jimenez suggested that 15 to 20 people per session would be ideal, although there has not been any prescribed minimum or maximum number of students who could undergo the seminar. SFM/rga
