Daily Tribune
The project aims to boost voter participation by informing citizens—particularly women and vulnerable groups in last-mile areas—about the Bangsamoro Parliament’s role in promoting a more inclusive and comprehensive election.
Photograph courtesy of UNDP Philippines
This year’s midterm elections were “more inclusive” compared to past polls, according to the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE).
LENTE lauded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for advancing accessible voting for the country’s most vulnerable voters.
LENTE noted that from 2022 to 2025, accessible voting centers (AVCs) and separate polling places (SPPs) increased from 37 to 64—a 73 percent rise.
“The rise in the number of AVCs likewise coincided with the increase in the number of registered Indigenous Peoples (IP) voters, thereby indicating a significant improvement in inclusiveness and access insofar as the exercise of the right to vote is concerned,” the vote monitoring network said.
As of Monday evening, LENTE recorded a high voter turnout of 96.8 percent in Sitio Pamalawan, Kitaotao, Bukidnon.
It also reported that monitoring of AVCs in Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro found the process orderly, with no reports of unruly poll watchers, candidate-affiliated assistants, or forced transport of voters.
LENTE also observed a high voter turnout among persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in Cotabato, with a 92.5 percent participation rate.
In 2016, the total number of accessible polling places (APPs), emergency accessible polling places (EAAPs), priority polling places (PPPs), and SPPs was 1,626. This number rose to 4,205 in 2022 and to 8,825 for this year’s midterm elections.
“Providing accessible elections for vulnerable sectors requires a holistic, inclusive, and systematic approach—one that considers multiple aspects of the process, including structural accessibility, voter education, and the capacity of election officials,” LENTE concluded.
