What We Learned From Ben&Ben’s Asking For A Friend Session? Register NOW

Mga Liwanag! The 2022 National and Local Elections is right around the corner, and the end of the voter’s registration is fast approaching! With this in mind, OPM hit band Ben&Ben and YouthLed PH Program Officer Atty. Dred Ople joined us in an Asking For A Friend session to know the last-minute information we have to keep in mind. Here’s a quick list of what we’ve learned!

1. What Are the Registration Requirements?

Let’s be honest, we all hate paperwork and we try our best to avoid it under any circumstance. Unfortunately, we have to be diligent and put in that elbow grease when we’re preparing and applying for the voter’s registration to make sure that it will be a hassle-free process!

One, on the registration form, make sure that your registration form is printed back-to-back. Whether you’re printing your own registration form through Comelec’s main website or through its iRehistro website, make sure that the forms are printed back-to-back. Also, make sure that your registration form is printed on the proper paper size: long bond paper. If you don’t follow these instructions, you will be asked to repeat filling out the proper registration form on the Comelec registration site you’re going to.

Two, on the requirements, Comelec has a short but important list of requirements that you’d need on your registration. For you to register, you must be at least 18 years old on or before the elections, a resident of the Philippines for at least one year and at least a prior residence for six months in the place where you want to vote. For documents that you need to submit, other than the registration form, you need to show valid IDs to establish your identity. Common IDs that may be used are School ID, Driver’s License, and Passport. And nope, the Voter’s ID is not a requirement to vote. Check out the Comelec website here for the complete list!

2. Why Should I Even Vote?

When we speak of elections, it’s easy to think that our vote is just one among millions of others, and that we can’t shift the tides — but this is far from the truth! Sure, we’re only given one vote but that doesn’t mean it’s nothing. In the words of Atty. Dred Ople, “Bawat boto mahalaga; may bilang ang boto mo.” Not convinced? Well, current data from Comelec show that the youth makes 52% of the total registered voters for the 2022 elections! That’s more than 30 million votes! 

Voting is our right and our expression of our opinions. We all need to put in our vote and it is up to us to decide what will happen for the next six years. 

3. What should I do if I can’t vote?

There are plenty of reasons why we can’t vote. Some of us are under 18, some are unable to register due to quarantine restrictions, and some of us are in a situation where it’s hard for us to register even if we want to — and those are valid and okay.  There’s still a chance for us to register and vote in the next election (2025) but, for now, there are lots of things we can do to still be proactive!

For one, we can volunteer in different organizations to ensure the sanctity of the elections. You can check out National Citizens’ Movement For Free Elections (NAMFREL), Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), or the Youth Leadership for Democracy (YouthLed) to know how you can be a volunteer for the upcoming elections!

4. How can I educate my family about filtering the news during election season?

During any political event, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) are easily shared on the internet. And we’ve all been there: trying to tell our family members or even friends about how a certain information is not true and, yet, they would still believe it. So, how do we deal with them? We educate with facts!

According to Atty. Dred, we must let go of our “combative mode” and instead try to be as understanding as possible. Calling them out (#cancelledt) on social media won’t do any good. Instead, we can talk to them privately. Let’s see where our families and friends are coming from and then we can start from there.

There are some strategies we can do to make sure we can educate them in the best way possible. One is finding the proper timing to do so! You can’t educate someone when they’re busy, right? Do it in their free time. Another, especially in a family, is to start with the “respected” or authority figure that everyone looks up to. We can try to educate them first as they can have the most influence in educating and convincing other family members on how to properly consume information.

Making sure we make the most out of the 2022 National and Local Elections is hard. Even just going out for voter’s registration seems too daunting for some of us. But, we have to realize that the future lies in our hands — on how we, as a nation, would act as one to elect our officials who would serve us for the next six years of our lives.

If there’s one key takeaway from the Asking a Friend Session with Ben&Ben that we have to keep in mind for now, it’s that the best time to register is NOW.

For more information on voter registration or the upcoming elections, check out Edukasyon.ph!

Art by Angela Pabilona