June 12, 2012

Contact Person: Ninin Sumadia 09064304315

As the youth celebrates the Philippine Independence day, the First Time Voters Network, the largest coalition of youth and students advocating for greater youth participation, launches its registration drive and targets a hundred leap of youth engagement for 2013 mid-term elections.

“50% Vote, 50% Future, 100% First-Timers! This is our mix on how we intend to participate in the 2013 elections. We believe that the first time voters have their capacity to significantly contribute in shaping up the future of this country by its greater involvement in the election process,” said Cleo Loegardo, FTV Spokesperson

First Time Voter student and youth leaders from various universities, colleges and communities in the Metro Manila gathered today to lead a dance mobilization and unveil a big streamer in the heart of Manila with the call “Magparehistro. Bumoto. Tuloy ang Pagbabago”.

Leogardo explained that the campaign is to sustain the fight for change by taking a step in the registration and choosing responsible leaders.

FTV commits a 100% increase in the registration

FTV targets to increase the registration by 100% from the five million registered first time voters last 2010 elections.

It marked up to five million registered First Time Voters last 2010 national elections that contribute significantly in the big block of youth vote that elected the new leaders of the country who vowed for the fight against corruption, institutional reforms and protection of democracy.

“One hundred percent increase of registered First Time Voters will definitely a big leap in the Philippine electorate as we advocate for meaningful young people’s participation that will put forward the electoral and political reforms necessary for democratization and social inclusion of the youth as a means to address the generation’s continuing apathy and alienation to political, processes ”said Migs Angeles, FTV Network Coordinator.

“Youth Vote can elect the next leaders of our country!” Leogardo exclaimed. “We should take part in the process of developing our generation as active electorate that exercises our right to suffrage and maximizes youthful and critical tools in determining the fate of the country and the future,” she added.

FTV calls for satellite registration

Furthermore, FTV surveys in the communities and universities resulted that two out of five first time voters were not able to register because of school and work.  Another reason is that some young people do not reside in a permanent address.

“We asserted the synchronized registration process and database to the Commission on Elections where youth voters can register at the nearest satellite registration booths even they will be voting in other place or in their respective provinces during the elections. In this proposal, we provide mechanism to avoid voters’ disenfranchisement that leads to a low registrants,” Angeles claims.

The network is working closely with the Commission on Elections to reach the target First-Timers before the end of the registration period that will be on October31, 2013. FTV and COMELEC is now working hand in hand for the process of satellite registrations in the populous communities and universities, making the registration accessible to youth voters.

As we give honor and recognition to the young heroes of their time who have been in the forefront of our independence against any form of colonization, FTV and young people of today vow to continue the fight for the full realization of our freedom and democratic rights.

FTV will be launching its Tuloy ang Pagbabago campaign and series of voters registration nationwide, particularly in Pangasinan, Baguio, Nueva Ecija, Cagayan Valley, Metro Manila, Legaspi City, Batangas City, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Bacolod, Davao City, General Santos City, Cagayan de Oro City and Zamboanga City starting on the last week of June to October 2012.

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http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNation.htm?f=2010/september/25/nation2.isx&d=2010/september/25

by Florante S. Solmerin and Manny Marinay

THE military and police have put into gear a 45-day security alert for the local barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections Oct. 25.

Last midnight, the police also started the implementation of the gun ban of the Commission on Elections.

Police chief Gen. Raul Bacalzo and Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David Jr. signed the Joint letter directive to ensure smooth and coordinated action in implementing election security functions and to define their respective roles in the 45-day election security operations that takes effect at Friday midnight until Nov. 10.

David added the military is in the process of planning the deployment of troops to support the police.

At the onset, the police has placed on Friday check points all over the country to apprehend people unauthorized to carry fire arms during the 45-day election ban. PNP spokesman, Senior Supt. Agrimeron Cruz Jr., said only the police and military will be allowed to carry firearms.

The PNP will be closely watching election hotspots and private armed groups that may be used by politicians to disrupt the elections.

“We have on our lists around 107 suspected private armed groups and we are still in the process of validating, some may be delisted and there are some may be included in the lists,” Bacalzo said.

The PNP said some 2,000 out of 42,025 barangays in the country are being closely monitored based on history of election-related violence.

“There will be a total gun-ban, only policemen and military personnel that are in uniform will be allowed to carry firearms provided that they are on duty or in transit to their place of assignments,” he said.

FTV would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Productive 2010!

Likewise, FTV would like to thank everyone for a very wonderful and fruitful year, as always!

Aside from enjoying the holidays, FTV encourages those who are eligible to vote in May 2010 but have failed to register last October, to please visit your local COMELEC offices this vacation to register! You only need to bring one valid i.d., if you have a physical disability, make sure that you will be able to indicate in your application your physical/medical condition. You have to be 18 years and above old on or before May 10, 2010 to register.

While the extension of registration poses inevitable changes to the election calendar and difficulties for COMELEC, we hope everyone will maximize the given time. Let us not wait again for the deadline to register. Change starts to happen when we will it to happen. So find the will to REGISTER first.

To all those who intend to register this Christmas break, you may only register on these dates: December 21, 22, 23, 28, and 29, 2009.

Please see the rest of the schedule of the re-opening of registration below:

Last Day to Post Notice of ERB Hearing: January 04, 2010

Last Day to File Opposition to Applications for Registration: January 06, 2010

Hearing Approval/Disapproval of Applications: January 09, 2010

COMELEC is NOT accepting requests for transfer, change of status, reactivation and other registration services.

First Time Voters registration only!

Source: http://comelec.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/com_res_8719.pdf

Please be guided accordingly and kindly share this information.

Again, please don’t forget to bring one valid i.d., if you do not have an i.d., you need to bring someone from your place who is also a registered voter who can vouch for you or attest to the credibility of your personhood.

Again, thank you, for all the support and hard work in order to make FTV what it is now, a dynamic network of young people with the biggest hearts for this nation!

Register. Vote. Transform!

Sincerely,
FTV Secretariat and National Core Group

https://firsttimevotersproject.wordpress.com/
http://firsttimevotersnetwork.ning.com/

i Register. i Vote. i Transform.

Time: 08:00 AM to 06:00 PM Please confirm participation through these nos. +63.929.952.3774 or +63.920.739.2102 or through email ad ftv.project@gmail.com on or before November 15, 2009

Rizal Province – November 05, 2009, Juan Sumulong College Auditorium
Zamboanga City – November 07, 2009, Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Cebu City – November 13, 2009, Cebu Business Hotel
Iloilo City – November 14, 2009, 5th Floor of the Provincial Capitol, Iloilo City
Davao City – November 15, 2009

Naga City – November 20, 2009; Ateneo de Naga University
Cotabato City – November 21, 2009
NCR – November 21, 2009; Training Halls A & B, 13/F ELJ Communications Center, ABS-CBN Compound (take Mother Ignacia entrance)
Plus Bacolod, and Baguio!!!!

October 22, 2009

The youth group filed its petition last 15 October 2009 in the COMELEC National Office to ask for an extension of the voters registration for one month in areas severely affected by Ondoy and Pepeng [Regions I to III (Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon regions), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), National Capital Region (NCR) and Rizal province] and for one week in the other remaining regions nationwide.

“We appreciate COMELEC’s move to give more time for the voters’ registration. We just hope that people will come out in numbers to register and we hope that the Commission can handle them,” says FTV spokesperson Helen Joy Paulino.

COMELEC late last year announced that one Data Capturing Machine (DCM) could handle at best, 100 applicants a day. This, they later, clarified was only a way to standardize the results of voters’ registration every day, machine operators  could accept more applicants if they wish to.

DCM’s are used to digitally capture the biometric data of applicants, a requirement in the poll automation next year. There’s at least one DCM per local Election Office.

“COMELEC had intended and promised to give out more data capturing machines several months back to speed up the registration process but for whatever reason the new machines never came and we are just wary over COMELEC’s capacity to facilitate the influx of people in the coming days,” adds Gio Tingson, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines National Spokesperson and Ateneo Sanggunian Chairperson.

The network said that they received some feedbacks from their volunteers on the ground regarding the registration process at present and that the reports were not exactly surprising but were starting to become alarming.

“For instance, our members from Marikina had mentioned that the lines for registration in their COMELEC office were out of order already, there were lots people registering, and obviously the COMELEC staff were outnumbered. We really hope that Typhoon Ramil will not aggravate this predicament which is true not only for Marikina but for other areas as well” says FTV NCR Coordinator, Leandro Perez.

The network had gone out last Friday, 16 October 2009, to give out flyers on voters’ registration to students in Manila, Quezon City and Mandaluyong.

“We are asking students to register this sembreak, it’s very crucial that they recognize the urgency and importance of this matter. Obviously, a lot of young people were inspired to help out in the recent tragedies and we hope that this will translate into a deeper desire to effect change in our overall system of governance and politics,” states Tingson.

The group is continuously encouraging young people to register in the local COMELEC offices until October 31, 2009, the voters’ registration deadline. With several activities lined up in the next 2 weeks, FTV Network hopes to get the most number of young people registered for the May 2010 elections.