President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday backed the initiatives of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to continue improving the country’s poll process by building the capacity of Electoral Board (EB) members as well as voters.
During the first National Election Summit (NES) of Comelec at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City, Marcos said the poll body must recalibrate the capacity of teachers as EB members.
To ensure new voters will be able to make an informed choice during elections, he also pushed for the integration of voter education in the curricula of K to 12, tertiary level, and the National Service Training Program.
“So as we engage with discussions amongst our students and the Filipino youth, we likewise promote and encourage them to form and cast an informed vote, as well as discerningly choose the leaders of our society,” the President said in his speech at the last day of the NES.
The three-day NES, the President said, is a good venue for Comelec to come out with “decisive” electoral reforms from its stakeholders.
“From these pre-summit meetings, it has come to the attention that several reforms in the election process must be made,” Marcos said.
“And given these findings, let us take these matters seriously as the outputs obtained from these activities are indisputably significant,” he added.
The President expressed hopes that NES would be able to help in Comelec’s preparations for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in October this year, and other future electoral exercises.
“As a democratic and Republican government, we derive our power from the people, we recognize that sovereignty is exercised by its citizens through suffrage. On this note, I underscore the Comelec’s critical role as the guardian of our people’s sovereign will in ensuring the integrity of the electoral process,” Marcos said.