Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan - Manalangin, Manindigan, Makialam

        With barely three months before the deadline of the voters registration, the organizers of the regional sectoral consultation and action planning thought of giving a special venue not just for the vulnerable sectors but also to the government institutions, particularly the Commission on Elections, to think of possible actions and projects that the sectors and the government institutions can work and collaborate on in achieving maximum electoral participation of the identified vulnerable sectors come 2010 elections.

       Aside from the sectoral focus group discussions of the vulnerable sectors, the COMELEC representatives and officials were grouped together and asked to validate and enrich the results of the national consultation workshop and the previous regional sectoral consultations with their local experiences and expertise.

       The innovation of having a group discussion among the election officers during the regional sectoral consultation started with the Baguio consultation and it was also adopted for the Zamboanga and Tacloban regional consultations. During these three (3) regional consultations, COMELEC representatives validated all the issues that were surfaced during the national consultation workshop and the previous regional consultation in Naga, Davao and Pampanga.

The issues that were affirmed in the COMELEC workshop group discussion are as follows:

• For the Elderly and Person with Disabilities (PWDs):

·          Issue of access to COMELEC offices, registration centers, and polling precincts

o    Registration centers and polling precincts are sometimes housed in a building that is not structurally friendly / accessible for the elderly and the PWDs.

o    The office of COMELEC, venue for the satellite registration centers, or polling precincts is too far that the elderly and PWDs have to exert diligent effort to register and exercise the right to vote

·          Issue in terms of the lack of awareness on the right of suffrage of the elderly and the PWDs

o    Not all COMELEC field offices would have a personnel that is equipped with the skills to effectively assist PWDs and the elderly

• For the Youth and the First Time Voters (FTVs)

·          Issue of  the access to information and dissemination

o    Dissemination of information remains to be a challenge given the fact that there is a lack of support from the Education and Information Department of COMELEC national office

o    Information on the schedule and location of the established satellite registration centers are not available

·          Issue of access to registration centers

o    Registration centers are open mostly on hours which coincide with the schedule of students while they are in school. This limits the available time for the youth to register.

·          Issue of apathy towards electoral participation

o    Many of the youth seems to be not interested in registering and even voting because it appears that they do not have a deep appreciation of the importance of democracy, elections and electoral participation.

o    It may also be readily observed that it is the feeling of hopelessness about the state of the country that also fuels the youth’s apathy. There is an overarching feeling of disempowerment – even if they will engage, not much of a change will happen.

• For the Indigenous People (IPs) & Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

·          Issue on the lack of information dissemination and voter education

o    There is a lack of voter information and education materials and if there are any, these are not readily accessible for the IPs and the IDPs

o    Mainstream voter information and education materials does not take into consideration the dialects that the IPs are using

o    Low level of literacy poses to be an issue in relation to obtaining election related information

·          Issue of Security

o    Members of IP communities, especially in far flung areas, experiences harassment and intimidation from non-state armed groups

·          Issue in terms of Civil and election registration

o    Non-registration of birth and the lack of awareness about the possible remedies remain to be an impediment for some IPs and IDPs to participate in the electoral process starting from registration to voting

·          Issue on the access to registration centers and voting precincts

o    The sheer distance of many IP communities and IDPs from the established registration centers, COMELEC offices, and polling precincts serves as a hindrance for these sectors to exercise their right to vote and participate in this democratic process.

• For the Detainees

·          Issue on the access to information

o    Voter information and education materials are not readily available

·          Issue on the lack of mechanisms giving them access to registration centers and voting precincts

o    Need to clarify the definition of a prison compound to institutionalize the mechanisms that will allow detainees to register and participate in the elections

o    Albeit there are several options being considered to give way to detainees’ exercising their right of suffrage, the voting process are yet to be finalized

• For the Overseas Absentee Voters (OAVs)

·          Issue on the lack of information

o    Many of our migrant workers are not given the proper information that are crucial for them to exercise their right of suffrage

o    Communications plan and dissemination of election information are either not that clear or there is a lack of materials

o    Voters’ education is highly needed in order to address the problem of cynicism and the sense of hopelessness. This will give emphasis on the importance of exercising the right to vote.

·          Lack of adequate number of personnel and equipment

o    Low turnout of registration and voting is also heavily affected by the inadequate number of equipment and personnel

·          Physical access to registration and voting centers

o    Location of registration and voting centers are sometimes far from their place of abode and employment

o    OFWs are sometimes not allowed by employers to register and vote

Proposed Action Plans:

Given the issues presented above that were affirmed and further enriched during the group discussion with the representatives from the Commission on Elections and other government agencies present, the following recommendations and action plans were given:

• For the Elderly and the Person with Disabilities (PWDs)

1.     Policy

a.     Institutionalization of coordination and partnership between the COMELEC, DSWD, organizations of the elderly and the PWDs, and other institutions to ensure that their needs are properly addressed

b.     Issuance of a COMELEC resolution that will formalize and institutionalize the establishment of express lanes for the elderly and the PWDs during registration and voting

c.     Institutionalize and formalize instructions on the preferential option for the vulnerable sectors through COMELEC resolutions and general instructions (GI)

d.     Form an interagency committee that will lead to the possibility of requiring that all government buildings, including those buildings housing the COMELEC offices, should be PWD and elderly friendly.

2.     Program

a.     Training of COMELEC front liners to equip them with the necessary skills to be able to assist the PWDs and elderly and to give them an increased sensitivity to the issues of these sectors

• For the Youth and the First Time Voters (FTVs)

1.     Legal

a.     Amendment of RA8189 to allow for the opening of registration centers for extended hours to accommodate registrants

2.     Policy

a.     Networking with student and youth organizations and other institutions that cater to the youth so that cascading of information will be more effective and efficient.

b.     Setting up of satellite registration centers in strategic locations and providing for the schedule

c.     Work on the possibility of incorporating the voters education in the educational programs

3.     Program

a.     Design youth oriented materials to trigger the interest of young people in electoral engagement

b.     Clear and consolidated communications and educational plan from the COMELEC Education and Information Department (EID)

c.     Use of multimedia in disseminating voter and election information

• For the Detainees

1.     Legal

a.     Amendment of Article 155 of the Omnibus Election Code regarding the prohibition in establishing polling centers inside the prison compound

b.     Clarify the legal definition of “prison compound”

2.     Policy

a.     Interagency dialogue to finalize the mechanisms that will allow the detainees to vote come election time

3.     Program

a.     Conduct of voters education for the detainees about the right of suffrage, electoral process and the poll automation

• For the IPs and IDPs

1.     Policy

a.     Work closely with IP organizations and institutions closely working with the IDPs for the proper dissemination of voter information and conduct of education

b.     Mandate local COMELEC to identify areas rich with IP and IDP population and establish field or satellite registration

c.     Provide for a continuing mechanism that will allow satellite voters registration and late birth registration for IPs and IDPs

2.     Program

a.     Design of materials using the dialect of the various indigenous people

b.     Formalize a special registration day for the Indigenous people.

• For the Migrant Workers

1.     Policy

a.     It was recommended that the Commission on Overseas Absentee Voters and the Department of Foreign Affairs should provide for a continuing mechanism that will allow greater access for the OAVs to participate in the electoral process. It was also suggested that this partnership may be expanded and institutionalize to include other institutions and organizations that represent and/or cater to the migrant workers.

b.     An increased appropriation should also be allotted to augment the number of available equipment

Best Practices and Initiatives:

It is also noteworthy to highlight the practices and initiatives of some COMELEC field offices that put prime in giving maximum access and opportunity to the vulnerable sectors to exercise their right to vote and participate in the electoral process. Some of these best practices are as follows:

1.     Election officers in region 8 attend public for a, meetings of community organizations and gatherings of the Association of Barangay Captians (ABC) in order to cascade immediately the necessary information that should be given to voters and the various sector regarding the registration and updates about the upcoming 2010 elections. They are doing these efforts to supplement the lack of information materials that they have.

2.     Express lanes for persons with disabilities, elderly, and pregnant women are established in the various COMELEC offices to assist them during the registration

3.     Data capturing machines (DCMs) were also stationed at the ground floor of the COMELEC office in Zamboanga city to specifically cater to mobility impaired individuals.

4.   Some COMELEC offices also construct simple ramps to help those individuals on wheelchairs to have greater physical access to the registration center or polling precinct.