Comelec seeks help from celebrities in voter education campaign

If they can spend time endorsing candidates, why not for voters' education? The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday asked celebrities to help in spreading awareness among voters, barely three months going into the May 10 polls. "The Comelec is appealing to media personalities, celebrities to help the Comelec in our voter education campaign," Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters in an interview. Larrazabal said they want to use the star power of the celebrities to reach out to people who know little about automation. "We'll teach them the basics of automated elections, we wil tell them what to say so that they can help." Earlier, a Pulse Asia survey revealed that even with the May polls nearing, more Filipinos are realizing that they know very little about automation. In appealing to the celebrities, Larrazabal noted that the poll body has a budget allotted for voter education projects. He was quick to add, however, that if possible, the poll body could just "appeal" to the "patriotism" of the celebrities instead of offering them compensation. "If you want to help and don't know how, come to the Comelec and we'll discuss this," he said, adding that they have yet to work out the details of the proposal. Resign or take a leave of absence The Comelec made the appeal after some stars were alarmed by a statement of a poll official saying that they have to resign or take a leave of absence upon endorsing or campaigning for a candidate during the campaign period. The Comelec en banc, however, later on clarified that only the employers of these celebrities have the power to make them resign or take a leave. And how will the poll body deal with celebrity endorsers from opposing camps doing voter education projects for the Comelec? Simple, put them all together in one project to be fair to all concerned. "Love for country is more important," Larrazabal said. Aside from the having celebrities do voters' education projects, Larrazabal said they will also sign a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Information Agency next week to beef up their campaign. Likewise, he said they are scheduled to meet with the different television networks to work out plans on how their materials can be aired. - RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV