ON THE occasion of the Elderly Filipino Week, the Senior Citizen Party-List (SCP) on Sunday reminded elderly voters about their early morning voting rights in the coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on October 30.
The Elderly Filipino Week runs from October 1 to 7.
“We would like to emphasize that senior citizens nationwide have the opportunity to cast their votes during the ‘early voting hours’ as established by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which will take place from 5 am to 7 am. on October 30,” SCP Rep. Rodolfo Ordanez said.
“We are proud to have been a part of the collective efforts that appealed to the Comelec to introduce early voting for seniors, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and heavily pregnant women,” Ordanez added.
“This initiative is especially important as our proposal for early voting seven days before the election day is still pending in the Senate.”
The early voting bill, known as House Bill 7576, has already been passed by the House and is currently under consideration in the Senate.
“HB 7576 represents one of our 16 legislative achievements, and I have been keeping seniors informed about this and other accomplishments across the nation,” the senior citizen lawmaker said.
During the early voting hours on October 30, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., each senior citizen is allowed to have one companion to assist them.
The companion must also be a registered voter at the same voting center or school.
The primary purpose of these early voting hours is to provide priority attention to senior citizens, PWDs, and heavily pregnant women, ensuring that they do not have to endure long lines with the rest of the voters.
“To make it more convenient for senior citizens, PWDs, and heavily pregnant women, some malls will serve as voting facilities. I encourage seniors to check whether the malls near their residences offer voting facilities for BSKE,” Ordanez said.
“We will soon share a list of malls with voting facilities and other important BSKE advisories on our Facebook page.” (ai/mnm)