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| Commissioner Rowena Guanzon with Consulate officials at the Filipino community meeting |
By Vir B. Lumicao
Filipino voters should realize how important next May’s
midterm elections are because they will be electing senators who will make laws
and policies that could affect the economy and their jobs.
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| Guanzon reunites with UP Law classmate, Daisy Mandap of The SUN |
Guanzon said newsmen should help encourage the OFWs to vote,
and to focus on candidates’ programs, not on personalities.
The Comelec official in charge of overseas voting expressed concern that only about 50%
of the 87,000 registered voters here cast their ballot in May 2016, despite the month-long poll, and the ease of going to the voting place at Bayanihan
Center.
She said Comelec will go to the extent of holding “Rock the
Vote” concerts featuring popular bands to draw voters to the polling centers.
These concerts could be held not only in Hong Kong but also in key cities in
the Philippines
Guanzon asked the media people for suggestions on how a rock concert could further lift voter turnout.
Figures that the Consulate provided to Guanzon showed that
the Filipino voters in Hong Kong are
overwhelmingly women, at 70,080.
“It’s very important that the voters understand how
important this election is for them, especially because they are women and they
are the ones who earn income for their families and households. So, what’s
happening in the economy should be an issue,” Guanzon said.
She asked the media to help encourage Filipino voters to
vote because the issues that affect them are going to be the same: the economy,
policies that affect them.
“You know our people vote based on personalities, so I think
the job of the media is to really introduce the candidates’ programs and focus your
questions on what laws they are planning to propose,” Guanzon said.
She said the upcoming election is particularly important since
the move for a Charter change would ultimately be decided by the Senate.
Guanzon also stressed that candidates should understand that people vote for them as senators believing they can do a good job making laws, and that they understand the law as well as the rights of citizens.
Guanzon also stressed that candidates should understand that people vote for them as senators believing they can do a good job making laws, and that they understand the law as well as the rights of citizens.
“For example, I heard some candidates talk about the death
penalty,” she said. Putting the death penalty back in the Charter would mean
the Philippine justice system did not work.
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| Guanzon andConsul General Tony Morales dancing with a church choir |
She also said a candidate can say anything he wants to say,
but the voters should choose a candidate who can make laws that will help boost
the economy and improve the lives of the people.
Meeting leaders of the Filipino community afterwards,
Guanzon repeated her concerns about the overseas voting turnout and the need
for the OFWs to understand the significance of the senatorial election.
