August 2021 was a busy month for the CEAP National Office as the number of election-related activities increased. After releasing a series of infographics (https://bit.ly/VoteLoveFB) to raise awareness on voters’ registration and reactivation processes, the CEAP continued its electoral engagement by organizing workshops and webinars with the goal of increasing the number of voters to be registered for the upcoming 2022 National and Local Elections. These efforts were done in partnership with PEAC, COCOPEA and the Diokno Foundation.
August 9 – Tungo sa Pagbabago: A Voter’s Education Workshop with the Diokno Foundation
The month’s activities started with a Voters’ Education Workshop conducted in partnership with the Diokno Foundation. It was attended by around 130 students, faculty, and staff from 10 schools from around the country. The education session was comprehensive in informing the participants of the importance of democracy, of their right to vote, and the technicalities in the voters’ registration process. The activity was met with good feedback and evaluations.
If you school is interested to hold a similar voters education workshop, you may contact the Diokno Foundation through [email protected].
August 16 – Vote, Pray, and Love: The Meaning and Power of our Vote
The first webinar for the CEAP 2022 Election Engagement was launched last August 16 and had as its resource persons COMELEC Commissioner Rowena V. Guanzon and Fr. Christian B. Buenafe, O.Carm of the AMRSP.
Both speakers emphasized the importance of the upcoming 2022 National and Local Elections as it will be the opportunity for us to elect new leaders who will help guide the country in recovering from the COVID pandemic. They especially called on CEAP schools to take seriously its duty and mandate to help Filipinos discern in voting for the vote for the best candidate. They ended with an encouraging message of belief and trust in the youth - that young people will pull through in voting for the right leaders in the upcoming elections.
was a wonderful discussion attended by many students, teachers and staff who were active in giving their comments during the Facebook live webinar.
Missed it? You can watch the Vote, Pray and Love Webinar via this link:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatholicEdPH/videos/1775403062847476
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu_UasYqN80
August 23 – Tender Love n’ Citizenship: Ways to be Involved in the 2022 Elections
The following week, the CEAP held its second webinar which focused on the different ways that CEAP schools can be involved in the upcoming elections. Former COMELEC Commissioner Luie Tito F. Guia, Atty. Rona V. Caritos of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) and Mr. Gladstone Cuarteros of De La Salle Philippines were invited as resource persons for the webinar.Atty. Guia pushed for the need to change our paradigms about the elections – to make it more voter-centered, rather than candidate focused. He invites the CEAP community to take an active role in ensuring that candidates and politicians listen to the issues of the people, and to take the lead in fighting disinformation in the localities. Atty. Rona Caritos on the other hand emphasized how schools need to go beyond what they have been used to doing when it comes to elections and invites the community to go down to the grassroots and engage communities in election conversations.
Connected to this, Mr. Cuarteros shared activities that they are doing in the De La Salle Philippines which included discussions on issues, organizing candidates fora, and mobilizing volunteers for NAMFREL and PPCRV. He invited CEAP schools to step up in providing spaces for discussion and dialogue for their school communities, where students, teachers and staff can talk about issues most important to them.
Missed it? You can watch the Tender Love n’ Citizenship via these links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatholicEdPH/videos/278476313633834
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDnAe6f_hmE
Partnership and Networking
The CEAP continues to engage network partners in elections discussions to share ideas and data about voters’ registration efforts. Specifically in the past months, CEAP, together with AMRSP has convened member Catholic Schools to discuss election-related activities, and to find ways to synergize efforts within the association. Recent meetings have emphasized the need to push voters’ registration awareness by tapping into the creativity of young people, and creating content that would resonate with their generation.
We have less than a month until the end of the Voters’ Registration period. Let’s get our students, families and school communities registered and have their voting status reactivated!
#CEAPCares
#VoteLove
#LoveIsOurChoice