THE Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines officially launched its “#AmbagKo. Rehistro. Boto.” campaign targeting at least a fifth or half-a-million of still unregistered eligible voters to enlist and vote in the upcoming 2022 national polls.
Based on latest data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), there are 3.48 million voter registration applications filed between January 2020 and May 15, 2021. Of these, 1.5 million are new registrants; still short of the 4-million target by the Comelec.
“We know that as of today there are still 2.5 million registrants; that’s short of target of the Comelec. What JCI would like to achieve is to contribute to the number of registrants to close the gap of 2.5 million. So if we could at least have more of like at least maybe 20 percent [or 500,000 registered new voters] contribution that would be very good,” Charie G. Ilon, former JCI Regatta local president, told reporters during the initiative’s virtual kickoff last Friday.
Given the turnout of voters’ registration to date, the campaign targets the Millennials and Gen Zs, or those aged 18 to 35 years old numbering 40 million or 37 percent of the entire electorate eligible to vote next year that, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Comelec, are pivotal in shaping the country’s future.
“With the number alone, our generation of young voters [has] a strong role to play in choosing the right leaders that our nation needs. This responsibility that’s pressed upon the shoulder of our youth is something that JCI Philippines strongly believes in,” JCI Philippines National President Jude Acidre said. “And as an organization of young leaders, we would like to use to harness our strength and influence to call on and encourage our fellow young Filipinos to register and to vote.”
To help boost the number of registrants, the “#AmbagKo. Rehistro. Boto.” campaign leverages on fun and informative content and activities, including a gamification and reward system. Filipinos who wish to participate their actions, such as registering to vote, spreading the news about #AmbagKo or sharing their photos using the hashtag can all be rewarded with exclusive vouchers that they can exchange for rewards from the campaign’s sponsors. They just need to register on JCI’s website and send the entries to automatically gain points and rewards.
The campaign will run in two phases. The first is “Rehistro,” or register, which will roll out from June 2021 to October 2021, with focus on registration, providing information and guidance on how to enlist for next year’s polls. The “Boto,” or vote, from November 2021 to April 2022, will highlight how voting is one of the best ways to let the peoples’ voice be heard, stand up for what they believe in, and hope for the country; and, at the same time, provide information on the voting process and other useful guidelines.
As a digital drive, it will combine influencer engagement and social media to reach more Filipinos, even onboarding local indie band Munimuni to write and perform the theme song “Ambag Ko.”
“While the campaign will mostly be done online, JCI Philippines will do our best to engage with Filipino youth and every eligible voter wherever they are. We are mobilizing all JCI local organizations around the country to support the goals of the campaign and spread the word as much as they can in all their connections, with all the networks, with all the friends that we have as a unified organization,” Acidre stressed.
Voter registration for the May 2022 elections started in September 1 last year and will run until September 30, 2021. Qualified voters may register from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Comelec offices. Registrants should accomplish their application form and set an appointment online through the Comelec web site.