KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Public school teachers in Sulu province have signified their commitment and interest to support a poll watchdog in its campaign for electoral reforms.

The teachers, mostly from public schools in Jolo town, were among the participants to the recently-concluded Ugnayan Tayo, a community-based voters' education forum, held at the de Mazenod Formation Center in Jolo.

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The recent forum, conducted by the Citizens Coalition for Electoral Reforms (Citizens Care), an electoral reform advocacy group in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), was the fourth in Sulu, according to the group's provincial coordinator, Jumda Saba-ani.

The group, since January this year, has been conducting voters' education in the Armm in line with its campaign for electoral reforms.

The Armm had been the site of two nearly failed pilot projects for automation in 1996 and 1998.

According to some political analysts, the culprit in both cases was the "vulnerability" of the machines to sabotage, forcing the counting to revert back to manual counting.

It is also appropriate to note, they said, that the cheating capacity in Armm can influence, if not decide, the winner in the 2010 elections, particularly in a relatively close contest.

The teachers, who would become board of election inspectors (BEIs) in 2010 elections, have requested Citizens Care to conduct more voters' education for their group.

As BEIs, the teachers need to know more information, not only of their duties and functions during elections, but also other issues related to it.

"As teachers, they can help Citizens Care in advocating electoral reforms through conducting voters' education to their students and parents,” said Sabaani.

Other sectors including Philippine Marines, Army soldiers, and day care workers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Sulu, are also willing to help Citizens Care by conducting among themselves voters' education using Citizens Care's voters' education materials.

Voters' education is conducted through fora and radio programs.
In Sulu, an FM station, 95.1 FM, airs a radio program, which tackles voters' education.

The radio program covers wide area of listeners and helps disseminate information faster in Sulu province.

Saba-ani said Ugnayan Tayo and other community-based voters' education forums promote better coordination and collaboration among electoral reform advocates. (MCM)