The Provincial Government of Pangasinan hosted the 4th Voter Education and Registration Fair of the COMELEC as well as the first Automated Counting Machine (ACM) Public Demonstration.
Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia; Executive Director Teopisto E. Elnas, Jr.; and other officials from the COMELEC main office led the activity, which aimed to provide information on voter’s rights, explain the importance of voting, and present the machine that will be used for the May 12, 2025, national and local elections.
Provincial Legal Officer (PLO) Baby Ruth Torre, who represented Gov. Ramon V. Guico III, said that it is highly significant that the Comelec event took place in Pangasinan, beginning in the City of Dagupan and culminating in Lingayen, the capital town of the province.
Atty. Torre called on everyone to protect the integrity of the ballot and the safety of the Filipino voting public.
Relative to this, the province of Pangasinan assured its full support for all efforts that guarantee free, clean, and honest elections.
“Democracy strengthens when people exercise their privilege of choosing the leaders that will represent them. Let us not take the value of our votes for granted,” Atty. Torre added.
In a ‘Welcome Lunch’ for the entire COMELEC Team, COMELEC Chairman Garcia expressed gratitude to Gov. Guico, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan headed by Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino, and the entire provincial government officialdom for their support.
“Tatandaan natin ‘Halalan at Kinabukasan’ ang nakaatang sa bawat balikat ng bawat isa. Hindi lahat makukuntento sa mga ginagawa natin. Sa ating mga desisyon, basta naka-base sa Diyos, sa paniniwala natin kung ano yung tama, tama para sa bayan at para sa bawat isa ay yun ang susundin ng puso at isip natin. Ang importante, magtuloy-tuloy lahat ng ginagawa ng ating Komisyon,” Chairman Garcia said.
Earlier, COMELEC Lingayen conducted the Satellite Voter Registration with the Register Anywhere Program (RAP) at Training Center II, here.
Also in attendance at the event were Commissioner Socorro B. Inting, Commissioner Nelson J. Celis, and Commissioner Ernesto Ferdinand P. Maceda Jr.; Directors from the COMELEC Main Office; Provincial Election Supervisor of COMELEC Pangasinan Marino Salas; other Election Supervisors (PES) of Region I; Regional Election Directors (RED) of Region I; Election Officer of Lingayen Reina Corazon S. Ferrer; Other Election Officers of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur; SP Secretary Verna Nava-Perez; and Provincial Accountant Marlon C. Operana.
(Chona C. Bugayong, Orlan Llemos/PIMRO)
