Japan Ambassador Endo Kazuya attended recently the launch of the platform for the electronic submission of Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (e-SoCE) together with Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson Atty. George Erwin M. Garcia and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative Edwin Carrie.

Under the Government of Japan’s JPY 234 million grant “The Project for Raising Voters’ Awareness and Promoting Digitalization of Electoral Process in Bangsamoro,” implemented by the UNDP, the e-SoCE platform aims to digitalize the submission of SoCEs to achieve greater transparency and efficiency in the post-electoral process of the first ever Bangsamoro Parliamentary election to be held on 13 October of this year.

Ahead of the platform’s launch, the government of Japan turned over satellite communication units, and servers in March in support of the digitalization of critical Comelec processes. Together, these forms of assistance are expected to aid in the accurate dissemination of information, and effective communication and transparency in the upcoming and future elections in the Bangsamoro region.

Ambassador Endo recognized the strong cooperation of Japan and the Philippines, almost a year into the project. He also expressed Japan’s sincere hope that the two countries’ combined efforts will positively impact the region to usher in the peaceful and progressive future the Bangsamoro people truly deserve.