President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech during the ceremonial signing of the Kapatid Angat Lahat Agri Program on March 6, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/PPA Pool/File
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged stakeholders to actively participate in ensuring fair, free, and credible elections in the Philippines as he expressed optimism that the country could carry out reforms to make the transmission of election results faster while maintaining its accuracy.
Speaking on the last day of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) first National Election Summit, Marcos urged participants to be open to recommendations of experts and Filipino voters.
“Now that we use modern technologies to advance and make our election system more reliable, I am sure that we can implement positive reforms and make election result transmission faster and maintain its accuracy," Marcos said.
He also spoke of Comelec’s role as "guardians of our people’s sovereign will in ensuring the integrity of the electoral process."
"Hence, we should ensure accurate and unalterable results so as to maintain the sanctity of the polls and the people’s trust," he said.
He expressed openness to discussing proposals to integrate voter education in the curricula of K to 12, tertiary level, and the national service training program.
"In ensuring excellent results, we must continue to discuss the nitty-gritty of our processes including recalibrating the capacity of our teachers as electoral board members and integrating voter education in the curricula of K to 12, tertiary level and the national service training program," Marcos said.
"So as we engage with discussions amongst our students and the Filipino youth, we likewise promote and encourage them to form and cast an informed vote as well as discerningly choose the leaders of our society."
Marcos received the National Election Summit Report from Comelec en banc led by Chairman George Garcia following the poll body's three-day election summit.
The election summit brought together poll stakeholders to discuss election issues and "map out strategies towards a free, orderly, honest and credible Philippine elections," the Comelec said in an earlier statement.