MANILA — Five books that zero in on the importance of Filipino values, and another reading on how to be more responsible citizens in the face of technology, will be used by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voters (PPCRV) in empowering the electorate in next year's elections.

"Many of the voters are actually the youth. Now, we empower them through our power network... so we will be disseminating these to our parishes," Ana de Villa-Singson, PPCRV's National Communicatons Director explained to journalists.

The PPCRV's "Tibok Pinoy" textbooks aim to revive if not strengthen the Filipinos' known traits of being "magalang (respectful), matapat (honest), matulungin (helpful), makabayan (patriotic) and masipag (hardworking).

Meantime the "Mapanuri (analytical) book aims to instill in the people the ideal discipline and behavior while using gadgets.

The colorful books carry stories about the said values, using cartoon drawings to entice readers.

The books, De Villa-Singson said, can be sourced from the PPCRV for free, or get its soft copies and even the 11 podcasts through the organization's official website www.ppcrv.org.

"And we even have tutorials because if there are teachers who want to incorporate it into their curriculum, we even have tutorials on how the recommended use of the books are," De Villa-Singson said.

The decision to use books she said, is to bring back Filipinos into reading.

In the same event Tuesday, PPCRV Chairperson Evelyn Singson, has underlined the importance of ensuring a more equipped Filipino voters.

"The right to vote is a moral obligation of every citizen in a democratic society. Churches and all faith-based organizations, as moral guardians has a mission to help their members understand that voting is not just a privilege, but a responsibility of choosing what is good for the country and for oneself," Singson stressed.

"Those of us who have lived long enough can compare the quality of governance during the time of our parents versus what we have today, likewise to compare the quality of our elective officials then and now. I ask the question, have we moved forward or gone backward?" She added.

PPCRV founder and former ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa likewise stressed the need to ensure the majority of Filipinos will continue to press for change through responsible voting.

Filipinos must also learn to unite, she said.

"Equal dignity... ang ating bansa, hindi uunlad kapag hindi magkaisa ang mga mamamayan. Ang ating demokrasya hindi magiging ganap hanggang ang botanteng Pilipino ay hindi matutong bumoto ng wasto," De Villa said.

Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin Garcia who also attended the event meanwhile cited the 2,000 Sangguniang Kabataan candidates who were charged in the recent elections.

"Ibig sabihin, bata pa lang, engaged na sa vote-buying. Bata pa lang may mga videos kami, may mga pictures kami na umiikot, nagbibigay ng mga goods at pera... so paano at ano ang magiging kinabukasan ng bansa kung yung kabataan pa lang ngayon, namimili ng boto," Garcia stressed.

Garcia has promised to use the PPCRV's "Tibok Pinoy" books with the hope to relive the good Filipino values.

Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David also reminded the PPCRV to use the term "empowerment of voters" instead of "voter's education" so as not to offend the people.

"I just want to warn you that in the Diocese of Caloocan there has been a lot of reaction to the term voter's education. Apparently, there are people who are reacting to elitists to say that the poor needs education," David said.

"Kaya medyo binago namin yung word, imbes na education, empowerment. Voter's empowerment," the Catholic bishop added.

David commits to more actively seek volunteers to further serve the society.

Father Jade Licuanan, CBCP's Episcopal Commission of the Youth meanwhile urged the youth the be more circumspect and use their conscience especially when its time to go out and vote.

"We have to make sure that we are in the right conscience... try to pray, read and listen para maging tama ang ating kunsensya," Licuanan said.