PIONEERING A VOTER’S registration program within the convenience of University’s halls, San Beda University (SBU), via the San Beda – Electoral Board (ELBO), ratified a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to facilitate the conduct of the three-day Register Anywhere Program (RAP) at the Jonathan Sy Auditorium last April 4.
COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia and Executive Director Atty. Teopisto Elnas Jr. were in attendance for the memorandum signing, accompanied by Vice Dean for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities cluster, Prof. Moses Aaron Angeles, Ph.D., and the Prefect of Student Activities, Prof. Marvin Reyes, Ph.D.
The ceremonial event, which focused on the conduct of the RAP sites that ran from April 4 to 6, enabled qualified students and faculty members from SBU to register remotely for the upcoming 2025 national and local polls.
Kurt Catolico, the Vice-Chairperson of ELBO and the Activity Chairperson, shared his rationale of “helping the Bedan community to register with convenience,” after observing some of the problems his peers encountered in their failure to register for the elections.
“Actually, in common lahat nu’ng answers nila – wala silang oras umuwi sa mga provinces nila, o ‘di kaya naman, may klase, ongoing ‘yung semester, so hindi kami makauwi para makapagrehistro,” he added, reflecting also the issues of most unregistered Bedans.
Additionally, Catolico revealed that they were met with several obstacles in executing the event, such as finding the proper venue and accommodating the presence of high-profile COMELEC executives in the MoA signing.
Nevertheless, he recognized the efforts of ELBO officers and members in communicating with the University’s administrators to ensure that the program ran smoothly.
Consequently, Catolico urged students that, in order to act upon the change that people have been longing for, “registering to be a voter” is the first step. “So, we are hoping, the [San Beda] Electoral Board is hoping, that the majority of the Bedan community will be registered,” added Catolico.
Moreover, Chairman Garcia shared how SBU is one of the “best schools” in the entire country for promulgating information on voter-related activities, “…and syempre, kung ano ‘yung masasabi natin dito, ano ‘yung gagawin natin, ano ‘yung voter’s education [and] information natin, siguradong maikakalat ‘yan sa buong bansa.”
Garcia then stressed the importance of developing trust, not just in COMELEC as a government institution, but also the processes enforced upon by the body, which he deemed as a “failure” without the confidence and backing from student voters.
Finally, the COMELEC Chairman appealed to the youth, especially the students, in maximizing their efforts towards championing voter’s education, saying “we have to convince our people to vote rightly—not only to vote—during the elections.”