This early, the Diocesan Electoral Board (DEB) of the Diocese of Dumaguete is lining up its election agenda in preparation for the 2022 presidential and national elections with voters’ education as its first undertaking.
Msgr. Julius Perpetuo Heruela, DEB convenor, said yesterday the election agenda is part of the body’s activities in advocating for Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful, and Peaceful (CHAMP) elections.
The DEB’s technical working group met Thursday in Dauin, Negros Oriental to initially look at which pressing issues should be included in the agenda and to be discussed during voters’ education activities.
These would include the environment, peace and order, health, livelihood, and anti-violence against women, among others.
The voters’ education is expected to reel off in the coming weeks, tapping on social media as the new platform as face-to-face encounters and large gatherings are discouraged with the continuing pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019, Heruela said.
The DEB also foresees changes in the electoral process and related activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.
DEB is hoping that the Commission on Elections can provide for a bigger space for their offices in the towns and cities so that these would be conducive to voters registering for the elections.
The DEB has already fielded a volunteer to undertake a one-month observation of the voters’ filing of an application for registration at the Comelec office, he said.
It was noted that the office had cramped space and could hardly accommodate a few people inside to observe physical distancing, he added. The same is true in other Comelec offices in the towns and cities, and this has been the scenario over the past years, Heruela said.*PNA
