The Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas, the youth wing of the Liberal Party, with its partner, Student Leaders Forum (SLF) praised the Filipino youth for its active participation and interest in the just-concluded midterm elections last 14 May 2007.

“Aside from the many first-time voters who enthusiastically exercised their rights last May 14, we’re happy in the level of overall interest in the election among young people, particularly in the importance of the right to vote and what the youth can do to help safeguard the ballot,” Ace Gomez, SLF chairman, said.

Gomez pointed out that aside from casting their votes, many young people volunteered for electoral watchdogs like the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Gomez also said that the large number of viewers of the blog put up by SLF as part of its voter’s education campaign showed that many young people were interested in the vote. The blog, www.getinvolved.wordpress.com, garnered more than 12,000 hits since it went up last 29 May 2007.

“We were very impressed with the traffic the blog was receiving,” Eric Caliboso, KALIPI executive director and project director for SLF’s info campaign, said. “We can only assume that young people were very interested in knowing about the elections, like more information on the candidates, what to do when casting one’s vote, and how to protect their votes.”

“Now that the elections is over, its time to tackle other important issues for the youth,” Caliboso added. He said that SLF, KALIPI, and its other partner organizations will now look into ways to reform the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and the promotion of blogging as a tool for issue advocacy campaigns (end).

A Thank You Message from SLF

TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

Mar Roxas: Vote, and Vote Wisely
SLF URGES YOUTH TO PROTECT VOTE
CJ Puno’s Advice to the Youth in the May Elections

MOCK-ELECTION RESULTS

University of the East (UE)
Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Sta. Mesa (PUP)
Bulacan State University (BSU)
National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) – UP Diliman
De La Salle University – Taft (DLSU)

Why Vote?
Benjamin S. Abalos Sr.
Rene V. Sarmiento
Resurreccion Z. Borra
Florentino A. Tuason Jr.

VOTER’S EDUCATION CAMPAIGN AD

May. 29, 2007 08:16:08

MANILA, Philippines – Buhay, the party-list that has the support of the religious group El Shaddai, remains on top of the party-list race, outshining the 92 other party-list groups vying for a seat in Congress. (More on Inquirer)

Originally Posted at www.inquirer.net