Through this method, six simple steps can be one giant leap for the country’s future.
READ ALSO: In The Midst Of A Persisting Global Crisis, This Is Why Your Vote Matters Even More
To streamline the voter registration process, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has launched its Mobile Registration Form app.
The mobile app, which is currently only available on Android, is downloadable via bit.ly/MobileFormApp and can be accessed even without Internet connection. It can also be shared offline in Android phones through file-sharing apps like ShareIt.
The app is in response to the limitations brought about by the pandemic, where face-to-face voter registration must be quick to avoid infection and where Filipinos struggle with slow connectivity.
“The launch of the mobile app is very timely,” COMELEC Commissioner Marlon Casquejo says in a press release. “This will save time, effort, and money that will otherwise be spent on going to a computer shop to download and print the form, or getting the form at the local Comelec to fill it out manually.”
Steps to follow
To register, voters can click “Get Started” upon opening the app, select the application type, and tap “Proceed.”
Registrants can then input all required personal information, and confirm its accuracy and completeness by ticking the checkbox.
Simply tap “Generate QR Code,” “Save” it to the phone gallery, and present it, along with one valid ID, when visiting the local COMELEC office.
The deadline for registration is on September 30, which means voters have a little over three months left to be able to cast their vote in the coming 2022 elections.
Why your vote matters
It’s easy to believe that one vote out of millions is not enough to make a difference in election results. Collectively, however, it has the power to put into place better leaders and good governance.
In the 2020 US elections, Joe Biden was just a couple of electoral votes ahead against Donald Trump in some states. In Massachusetts, for instance, in the towns of Sutton and Webster, Biden won against Trump by just one electoral vote. While the US goes by an electoral college, this still proved that every single vote matters.
It turned out for the better for the citizens, too. Just hours after being sworn in as the 46th president of the US, Biden signed 15 executive orders, all of which are reversals of Trump’s policies. He has also tightened COVID-19 measures, requiring that masks be worn and quickly inoculating as many citizens as possible. About 145 million individuals have since been vaccinated.
In countries like Taiwan and New Zealand, good and women-led governance resulted in the swift implementation of border closures, nationwide lockdowns, and mask-wearing, helping curb COVID-19 infection. There was even a period that, while the world was struggling to flatten the curve, life was almost back to normal in both countries.
These pandemic success stories prove that while the virus works hard, citizens who vote and leaders who are effective work harder.
The NewPH
Doing its part in calling for collective action, OneMega Group introduces The NewPH campaign for 2021 in the hopes to effect positive change.
Called #TheBallotCry, this year’s edition of the annual campaign gathers remarkable FIlipinos, including esteemed individuals and online personalities, to encourage everyone to make a stand on society’s most pressing issues and participate in the best way possible—by casting a vote in Halalan 2022.
One must register first, however, to be able to put into practice the right and responsibility of electing the next leaders. That vote, which will be on a ballot in a precinct somewhere, is one’s vote for a better future.
Banner Photo by Vojtech Bruzek on Unsplash
