THE Commission of Higher Education (CHED) will mount a nationwide information campaign to help voters make informed choices during the 2025 midterm elections.
CHED chairperson Prospero De Vera said the agency is already coordinating with various higher education institutions (HEIs) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to iron out details of the program.
“Pinaplantsa pa namin kung ano ang gagawin, ang detalye, but in the next couple of weeks, or a month or so, we will be able to launch a nationwide voters education campaign,” De Vera told the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” forum.
“On the part of CHED, handa kaming tumulong na gabayan ang mga Pilipino kung bakit mahalaga ang bumoto, ano ang mga dapat malaman sa eleksyon at mga impormasyon na kailangan para pagdating ng halalan, he or she will be able to make an informed choice. We are ready to do that in cooperation with our universities and the Comelec (On the part of CHED, we are ready to help inform Filipinos why casting their votes is important, so that when election comes, he or she will be able to make an informed choice),” he said.
De Vera said with more than 200 state universities and colleges, as well as local universities and colleges nationwide, CHED has a network that it can tap for the program.
“We can use the network of universities to educate the students and the public about the importance of election, of voting so that they will be able to make an informed choice,” he added.
He said the University of the Philippines did a similar voters education drive in the 2013 and 2016 elections when he was serving as the university’s Vice President for Public Affairs.
De Vera said the CHED can replicate the UP program on a nationwide scale.
The CHED and Comelec inked an agreement last Friday to utilize college students and faculty members with IT skills to provide manpower support to the poll body in the 2025 elections.
De Vera said that under the agreement, PHEI students and personnel will serve as Manpower Technical Support Personnel and Certified Coding Specialist Technicians in next year’s polls.
Qualified college students and personnel will undergo training with the Comelec for the technical skills required in the electoral process, he added.
