by: Janna Marie Pineda
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – In a bid to increase the voter turnout for the upcoming 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE), the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has implemented various initiatives that will seek to enhance the voting experience of local and overseas voters.
In a Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas (KBP) media forum on Tuesday, November 5, Assistant Regional Election Director Atty. Jovencio Balanquit of COMELEC National Capital Region underscored different programs that cater to the welfare of voters from the vulnerable sector.
These include the institutionalization of the Mall Voting Project which allows voters to comfortably and conveniently cast their votes in more than 50 participating malls nationwide. To prevent crowding and long queues, voters will be individually notified by Comelec to inform them of their mall voting venue following the pilot testing of the said program during the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
Comelec is also expected to implement the Early Hour Voting program for the elderly, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and heavily pregnant voters during the 2025 NLE. It provides an option for them to exclusively cast their votes from 5:00 am to 7:00 am in their respective polling precincts on Election Day.
In the event that the vulnerable groups are not able to vote early, they can still cast their votes within the given voting period at the designated Priority Polling Place (PPP) or formerly referred to as Emergency Accessible Polling Place (EAPP).
“These are the convenient measures of Comelec to improve the voting experience of our voters,” said Balanquit.
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| COMELEC NCR Assistant Regional Election Director Atty. Jovencio Balanquit shares preparations for the upcoming 2025 National and Local Elections. (Photo by: Gelaine Louise Gutierrez/PIA-NCR) |
Meanwhile, the Comelec is also targeting to increase the voting participation of overseas Filipino voters through the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) or internet voting which will be implemented for the first time in 76 posts nationwide.
“We want people, the voters, to vote. We target the highest percentage of voting kaya ayaw ng Comelec mangyari na because of the issue of accessibility ay hindi sila makaboto,” Balanquit added.
(We want people, the voters, to vote. We target the highest percentage of voting that’s why the Comelec prevents instances where voters are not able to vote because of accessibility issues.)
In addition, the new features of automated counting machines (ACMs) will not only help the Comelec provide a seamless voting experience but also a transparent electoral process.
One of the advanced features of the improved ACMs is the Transparency and Audit/Count (FASTrAC) function which allows it to immediately transmit a copy of election returns to board of canvassers, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), majority party, minority party, and other relevant stakeholders for transparency.
As of November 3, the number of registered voters nationwide is at 68,618,667 or nearly 69 million, of which the National Capital Region comes in fourth place among the top regions with the highest number of voters at 7,562,858.
The schedule of the 2025 NLE is set on May 12, 2025. (JMP/PIA-NCR)
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