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Comelec Board of election Inspectors and poll clerks begin the counting of ballots as voting ends at the Paranaque Elementary School Central in Paranaque City on October 30, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

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Comelec

Sherrie Ann Torres

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171860915793220231030-bske-2023-paranaque-JC-7.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Comelec Board of election Inspectors and poll clerks begin the counting of ballots as voting ends at the Paranaque Elementary School Central in Paranaque City on October 30, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span id="isPasted" style="white-space:pre-wrap">Comelec Board of election Inspectors and poll clerks begin the counting of ballots as voting ends at the Paranaque Elementary School Central in Paranaque City on October 30, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</span></span></span></span>MANILA —The National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has started training youth volunteers to help guard the 2025 midterm polls.</div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/3/comelec-blasts-politicians-who-refused-to-change-decades-old-campaign-photos-1557">• Comelec blasts politicians who refused to change &#x27;decades-old&#x27; campaign photos</a></div><p>The first batch of volunteers that <span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Namfrel</span> trained was composed of college students and one senior high school student in Mandaluyong City.</p><p>Jasmin Encarnacion, 16, said she joined <span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Namfrel due to</span> her father’s dedication to serve the country through the same organization.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/14/comelec-likely-to-approve-uploading-of-cocs-to-boost-transparency-official-1607">• Comelec likely to approve uploading of COCs to boost transparency: official</a></div><p>“It was also a personal decision of mine... I want to be an active citizen, I want to know anything or more about my country, about what’s going on... I said to my dad, &#x27;Can I join you?&#x27;” Encarnacion told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>Twenty-year-old Mary Ann Caparroso of Marikina City applied as a <span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Namfrel</span> volunteer because she wanted to know more about the country’s electoral exercises.</p><p>&quot;The youth must help in securing the votes of our fellow youth. That we should not be easily swayed or fooled by those candidates,&quot; she said.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/04/04/22/voter-education-for-the-youth-launched">• Comelec, DILG launch voter education for the youth</a></div><p><span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Rizal Technological Institute student Ahlix Caubajero</span>, another <span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Namfrel</span> volunteer, said that if given the chance, he said he would prefer to be deployed in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao elections.</p><p>Lito Averia, <span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Namfrel</span> National Chairperson, said that part of the youth-volunteers’ training is to inculcate in them the importance of every election and involvement of young voters themselves. </p><p>“Nagde-deploy naman kami talaga ng volunteers sa mga voting centers, and kung possible, kung marami-rami, dun sa polling place mismo, kung saan ang bumoboto. To observe, yung processes ng election day,” Averia said.</p><p>(We deploy volunteers in voting centers and polling centers if we can.)</p><p><span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">Namfrel</span> volunteers had to learn every step of election activities, from the transportation of election machines to its assigned warehouse, to municipalities.  </p><p> Guarding the printed ballots to be produced by the National Printing Office (NPO) also requires volunteers, Averia said.</p><p> Averia said a volunteer should be 18 years old so they can be deployed to the field. Minors are assigned <span id="isPasted" style="caret-color:rgb(65, 65, 65);color:rgb(65, 65, 65)">only </span>to the Operations Center, he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>THOUGHTS ON AI DURING ELECTIONS</strong></div><div> </div><p>Meanwhile, Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) already started the discussion about Comelec&#x27;s position that artificial intelligence (AI) and “deepfake” technology must be banned during the 2025 election period.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/29/comelec-eyes-ban-on-use-of-ai-deepfake-technology-for-2025-polls-1541">• Comelec chief eyes ban on use of AI, deepfakes in 2025 polls</a></div><p>In the Lente podcast on AI entitled “A.I. Naku!: How to Safeguard Election Information Integrity,” veteran journalists <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">underlined the importance of educating voters regarding new technologies that may be applied in next year’s elections.</span></p><p>Ellen Tordesillas, president and co-founder of Vera Files; Nieman fellow for Journalism Jaemark Trdecilla; and Gemma Mendoza, Head of Rappler Digital Strategy all frowned at the idea of banning AI use in next year’s campaign.</p><p>“Ang laking bagay if we prebunk, or inoculate or educate our audiences. We have a yuong population, tapos every election there are a new set of young voters. So, there needs to be an effort na tulungan sila para maintindihan ang mga bagong technology, at palakasin yung kumbaga, yung resistensya nila to misinformation,” Tardecilla said.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/14/watchdog-urges-creation-of-ai-code-of-conduct-ahead-of-2025-elections-1119">• Watchdog urges creation of &#x27;AI code of conduct&#x27; ahead of 2025 elections</a> </div><p>Media literacy, he said, should be coupled with “critical thinking.”</p><p>For Tordesillas, an outright ban on AI use during elections is outrageous.</p><p>“Walang solusyon dun kundi education... We need informed and an empowered citizenry,” Tordesillas said.</p><p>Combatting those who sow fake news, Mendoza said, should be a collective effort of social media platforms and government agencies concerned.</p><p>“They are doing this on child porn, but there’s nothing that has yet to happen in relation to political content,” Mendoza said.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/05/22/millions-of-fb-ig-content-removed-during-2022-elections-due-to-violations">• Millions of Facebook, Instagram content removed during Halalan 2022 due to violations</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uwP_bRzIdqc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Namfrel volunteers had to learn every step of election activities, from the transportation of election machines to its assigned warehouse, to municipalities. </p>

Namfrel volunteers had to learn every step of election activities, from the transportation of election machines to its assigned warehouse, to municipalities.

Election watchdogs kick off AI debates, youth training a year before 2025 polls

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Election watchdogs kick off AI debates, youth training a year before 2025 polls

Sherrie Ann Torres,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 17, 2024 03:34 PM PHT

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Updated January 06, 2025 03:22 PM PHT

Read More:

Comelec

Commission on Elections

elections

polls

AI

artificial intelligence

youth

Namfrel

Lente

ANC

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