THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has formalized its partnership with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) with a tripartite agreement meant to assist the elderlies and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in casting their ballots
The memorandum of agreement (MOA) was concluded at the Chairman’s Hall, Palacio Del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila among DSWD Assistant Secretary Elaine Fallarcuna for International Affairs representing Secretary Rex Gatchalian; Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia; and NCDA executive director Glenda Relova.
The accord was designed to enhance the voting experience of vulnerable voters, particularly the senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
“Under this agreement, the DSWD, in partnership with the Comelec and NCDA, will elevate the voting experience of the vulnerable sectors through collaboration in promoting inclusivity, ensuring easy access to voting, engaging in data sharing, and conducting information campaigns,” Gatchalian said in his message delivered by Fallarcuna.
The document also embodied a data-sharing setup to protect the personal information of the seniors and the PWDs.
“Guidelines for accountability, liability and parameters for use are included in this agreement as part of our measures to safeguard the sectors we serve,” the DSWD chief pointed out.
Through the signing, the DSWD and the NCDA agreed to monitor and oversee the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE), as well as future polls to guarantee the suffrage of senior citizens and the PWDs.
For its part, the Comelec will set up voter registration booths during the schedule of social pension payouts nationwide for easy and accessible updating of the voter registration records of senior citizens.
The NCDA will share with the Comelec, through the commission’s Vulnerable Sectors Office (VSO), the nationwide data on persons with disabilities in order to provide the election officers with baseline data as reference for registration purposes of persons with disabilities.
Fallarcuna thanked the Comelec and the NCDA for the new initiative, saying it “focuses on empowering and motivating the vulnerable sectors to partake in the electoral process while continually ensuring that their rights and information are safeguarded and free from misuse and exploitation.”