Walkah Walkah the first step to voter education

A big turnout of registrants was reported

during the launch of the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) walking event
Walkah Walkah: Step Juan Tungo sa
Mulat na Botante, to drum up public
awareness and support for new voters
registration and validation of registered
voters biometrics for the 2016 national
elections. The poll body expects three
million new voters to sign up. Apart from
processing new voters applications,
Comelec will do validation, transfer, and
deactivation in the registration period.
Comelec embarked on early voter
education this year and called on the
public not to wait until the last minute to
avoid long queues and delays.

Launching activities included clinics in

which local Comelec officials lectured on
biometrics and the automated fingerprint
identification system. The campaign
also targets indigenous people and
persons with disabilities, the sectors that
commonly have low number of
registrations.
Walkah-Walkah will traverse the length
of Luzon to promote voters education.
The Comelec team started the walk on
May 6, 2014, in Laoag, Ilocos Norte,
and is expected to reach the poll bodys
main office in Intramuros on June 1.
After two weeks, it will again walk from
Rizal Park in Manila to Matnog,
Sorsogon. The project will end on
October 31, 2015. At major stop in a city

or municipality, the team holds lectures

and a voter education clinic, gives away
materials, and urges voters to validate
their registration.
Comelec will register voters who do not
yet have their biometrics data recorded.
It will reactivate the registration of those
who failed to vote consecutively in the
past two elections. It will register new
voters who will turn 18 years old on or
before the May 9, 2016, elections.
Some 9.6 million of 53 million registered
voters whose biometrics data have yet
to be recorded by Comelec may be
disqualified to vote in the 2016 polls if
they failed to undergo biometric
registration before November 1, 2015.
Under Republic Act 10367 enacted on
February 15, 2013, all voters must
undergo the biometrics procedure of

registration which will record their digital

photographs,
fingerprints,
and
signatures. The aim is to curb multiple
registration and multiple voting.
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are
also urged to register under the
overseas absentee voting scheme.
Records showed there are 12 million
OFWs but Comelec said that only
700,000 of them are registered, as of
the 2013 polls. For the 2016 elections,
the Comelec is targeting to register one
million overseas Filipinos.
It is the right and duty of every qualified
voter to exercise the right of suffrage.
The Commission on Elections project
serves as platform to reach them
directly and encourage them to register
and take part in the elections. Register
and vote!

EDITORIAL - Energy security

(The Philippine Star) | May 20, 2014

Its been a scorching summer, with a few more weeks to go before the rains arrive. The heat has made
the lack of air-conditioning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airports main terminal more unbearable.
Even when the rains start, however, modern ventilation isnt going to be restored soon at the NAIA. Not
just because of ongoing renovations in the nations premier airport, but also because power supply is
unstable all over the country.
Intermittent power supply even in Metro Manila is adding to the long-standing energy woes of
manufacturers and investors in vital industries those that have not yet relocated to neighboring
countries with reliable and affordable electricity.
In recent weeks there have been reports of meat spoiling quickly after being bought from reputable
supermarkets. The reason, according to some reports, is that fluctuating electricity has damaged chillers
and freezers. Owners have been forced to resort to powerful generators, which are expensive to operate.
The added energy costs are expected to be passed on to consumers.
The Philippines is reputed to have the highest energy costs in East and Southeast Asia, overtaking Japan
in recent years. This has been cited as one of the biggest disincentives to investors. A power crisis that
crippled Metro Manila from 1991 to 1992 during the first Aquino administration failed to drive home the
urgency of ensuring a stable and affordable power supply for a developing economy.
Today rosy economic projections are tempered by the uncertainty of power supply, particularly in
Mindanao where rotating blackouts lasting several hours have become a daily occurrence. Development
efforts in the proposed Bangsamoro region will be off to a slow start because of these energy woes.
More energy capacity is being added to the Mindanao grid, but the nation cant expect a stable power
supply within this administration. The best that can be done until 2016 is to lay the foundations for a
reliable and reasonably priced power supply. The nation cant afford to wait another two decades for
energy security.