CHURCH bells tolled on Sunday as part of attempts by Church leaders to get more than 6 million “deactivated” voters to register once again with the Commission on Elections as the nation prepares for the 2022 national polls.
In a statement, Caritas Philippines said the initiative aims to show support for the initiatives of the Eleksyon 2022 Koalisyon, “a nonpartisan, multisectoral coalition of 29 civic and religious organizations and individuals to encourage eligible citizens to register and vote.”
Citing Comelec data, it lamented that of the 7 million “deactivated” voters, only 700,000 have registered again to be able to participate in the 2022 National and Local polls.
“Let’s awaken and enliven once more our love for the country. Register to vote,” said Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines.
A voter may be “deactivated” for several reasons, including failure to vote in at least two previous elections.
Other grounds for deactivation include being sentenced with imprisonment for not less than one year; being found to have caused/committed any crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government, such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the anti-subversion and firearms laws;
Voters declared by competent authority to be insane, ordered by the Court to be excluded from the voters’ list, or those who lost their Filipino citizenship, may also face deactivation from Comelec.
Several churches, including the Manila Cathedral, joined in the awareness campaign by tolling their bells for three minutes at noon time on May 9, 2021.
Former Comelec Chairman Christian S. Monsod serves as lead convenor of Eleksyon 2022 Koalisyon, and former Comelec Commissioner Luie Tito F. Guia is the group’s national coordinator.
“The coalition hopes to register an additional 7 million voters through their #RegiToVote campaign that hopes to mobilize citizens through encouraging local voters’ registration initiatives on the ground and through social media,” Caritas Philippines said.
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