{"id":45759,"date":"2021-10-05T10:01:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T02:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=45759"},"modified":"2021-10-05T10:01:20","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T02:01:20","slug":"smart-engages-youth-to-register-and-vote-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2021\/10\/05\/smart-engages-youth-to-register-and-vote-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart engages youth to register and vote in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) joins the nation in urging Filipinos, especially the youth, to register and vote\u202fin the May 22 elections next year.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty-three-year-old Janelle Lao, a fresh graduate from Marikina City, registered for the 2022 elections early this year.\u202fShe and her family regularly exchange political views at the dinner table, so as a\u202fqualified individual, she is looking forward to exercising her right to vote for the first time. \u201cWhat I have been seeing on the news has moved me to take part in the next election, and I am hoping that my vote will mean something,\u201d she said. \u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Katrina Verceles of Imus City, Cavite was influenced by her parents to develop lifelong voting habits now that she is 20. Coming from a family of registered voters, she signed up at the Cavite City Hall last\u202fSeptember\u202f10. \u201cI chose to brave the pandemic just so I could register. Despite the risk of transmission and the humid weather, it was worth it,\u201d she said. \u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To encourage more young Filipinos like Janelle and Katrina to register, Smart has teamed up with Vote Pilipinas, which has been designated by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as its official voter information campaign partner that offers non-profit, non-partisan online and offline information concerning the 2022 national elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under this partnership, Smart will boost Vote Pilipinas\u2019 online call-to-action through social media executions and will help widen its reach through communications support. These efforts are aimed at empowering Filipinos, especially those who fall within crucial age demographics such as the youth. \u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe seek partners like Smart who wish to join us in our crusade in making sure that our circles of influence are registered voters. Gaining the support of Smart was \u2018a happy accident\u2019, but approaching them was a foregone conclusion because Smart has really been the prime mover of nation-building in technology,\u201d said Ces Rondario, founder of Vote Pilipinas.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With improved connectivity from Smart and GIGA offers, information on reliable websites like Vote Pilipinas are made more accessible to Filipinos. These include registration-related information such as requirements, deadlines, site safety protocols, and other reminders.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to speak. We have to vote. We have to lend our little voices and let them grow into something bigger,\u201d Janelle said. &#8220;It\u2019s a common misconception that only the older generations are concerned about the elections. It is our concern as well, and we can have a strong voice if we use it,\u201d she added.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Rondario, COMELEC data show that as of August 2021, the total number of registered voters is at 61.6 million, with 52% being young Filipinos.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the most \u2018tech savvy generation\u2019, Katrina believes millennials and Gen Z\u2019s like her can harness technology for good citizenship. \u201cGiven that we\u2019re more vocal now on social media, we can create more online spaces for the youth to become more engaged,\u201d she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is not about any parties. This is not about any personalities. This is about the Philippines. Let us go out and register because no matter the circumstances, we are all part of this future,\u201d Rondario said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently, Smart also assisted in the #MagpaRehistroKa Town Hall led by Vote Pilipinas for Filipinos belonging to the vulnerable sectors, including senior citizens, indigenous peoples (IPs), persons with disabilities (PWDs), and persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of the extraordinary circumstances, the COMELEC has extended the deadline of voter registration to October 30 to accommodate more voter applicants and to give them ample time to register. The registration services will be open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, and only one Saturday, the last day of registration (Oct 30).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Under this partnership, Smart will boost Vote Pilipinas\u2019 online call-to-action through social media executions and will help widen its reach through communications support. These efforts are aimed at empowering Filipinos, especially those who fall within crucial age demographics such as the youth. \u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":45760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[4018,343],"class_list":["post-45759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-comelec","tag-smart-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}