FILIPINO voters need to actively fight disinformation and populism so they could make enlightened choices in next year’s high-stakes elections. A virtual town hall discussion organized by think tank Stratbase ADR Institute revealed this fact.
These enlightened choices would exhibit the qualities desired by Filipinos and address gut issues hounding us during this extraordinary time.
“Filipinos want leaders who will provide jobs, keep the prices of basic commodities low, eradicate graft and corruption, increase wages and reduce poverty,” said Professor Dindo Manhit, Stratbase President. “We have commissioned two separate surveys at different times with a different group of respondents, and they basically told us the same thing.”
According to a PULSE Asia survey, the top three qualities people want in their leaders are “concern for the poor,” “not corrupt,” and “trustworthy and honest.”
However, he said, “false information paralyzes people’s critical ability to choose leaders,” and added that there should be a multistakeholder effort to collectively expose and denounce trolls and disinformation machineries.
Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez cited the better-than-expected registration numbers as an indication that Filipinos are eager to participate in the electoral exercise.
“We are closer to 63 million registered voters when our initial projections were at 59 million. As for the extension, we were expecting 300,000 to 350,000 new registrants but now we already have 400,000,” he said.
“The hits just keep on coming. This is incredible considering that this is a pandemic.”
The poll body is now also overseeing the refurbishment of the vote counting machines and hardware acceptance testing.
Henry Aguda, a trustee of the Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting, gave practical input about how the VCMs worked, what the public should expect while using them, and even what to do when the machines malfunction on election day.
Lawyer Ona Caritos, Executive Director of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), highlighted the need to use videos in voter education, using the information that nearly all internet-using Filipinos watch videos and vlogs.
For those voters without reliable internet access, local radio channels remain the best way to communicate.
Caritos suggested that aside from the usual voter education topics, there should also be discussions on campaign finances and governance, political dynasties, misinformation and disinformation, and voting safely despite an ongoing pandemic.
“Various groups need to conduct education activities on new protocols and guidelines so that these do not disenfranchise Filipinos,” she said.
Other speakers in the virtual discussion called Democracy Goes On included Dr. Ador Torneo, director of the La Salle Institute of Governance and Full Professor of Political Science and Development Studies at DLSU, Mardi Mapa-Suplido, chairperson of InciteGOV, University of the Philippines Professor Danilo Arao, convenor of Kontra Daya, Atty. Mildred Ople, Program Officer for Youth Leadership for Democracy (YouthLed), and Paco Pangalangan Stratbase ADRi Executive Director and Convenor of Democracy Watch.
Torneo said the success of the elections will depend on the Covid-19 situation, the IATF policies, the vaccination progress, the adequacy of Comelec’s preparations, and the stakeholders’ response to all these.
Mapa-Suplido said the result of the study on the negative effects of political dynasties and populist governments, and the role of the perception of family in the way Filipinos choose their leaders.
Arao said online media will be more influential now because of the pandemic situation, and that Filipinos get their information increasingly through smartphones—and less through computers or laptops.
Meanwhile, Ople cited the power of the youth vote as shown in the high turnout for first-time registrants: To choose deserving leaders, to prevent the election of abusive politicians, and to design the kind of government we deserve.
Pangalangan called on all stakeholders—civil society, the private sector, the academe, the media, who all have their different roles to play—to be vigilant as the election season approaches.
“The end is near for populism,” said Manhit. “We need to stand up as a whole society to collectively ensure legitimate results. An election that is rooted with the key values and priorities at the heart of every voter.”