A network of non-partisan, multi-sectoral organizations in Cagayan de Oro have come together to advocate for an enlightened electorate not only for the coming national and local elections next year, but beyond.
Lihuk 2016
Lambigit Igsoon para sa Hiniusang Pag-Uswag sa atong Katilingban (LIHUK or Involve Yourself Brethren for the Inclusive Prosperity of Our Society) was introduced to members of the People’s Council during their general assembly held 22 September 2015 at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (XU).
The LIHUK network consists of schools, barangays, parishes and basic ecclesiastical communities (BECs) in Cagayan de Oro which seeks to educate voters and endow them with a principle-and-agenda based discernment to select the right candidates for the coming elections in coordination with national electoral watchdogs like the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) and the Parish-Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).
“Lihuk aspires for political education, not only voters’ education,” said Nestor M. Banuag, Jr, director of theKristohanong Katilingban para sa Pagpakabana (KKP), the social development arm of the XU Research and Social Outreach Department. “It will be officially launched on Saturday, 31 October 2015 at 2PM, Gaston Park.”
“Through LIHUK’s Kuwentuhang Bayan, we not only brief voters on how to vote which has become very easy with the present system, but more so on how they view society, its issues and concerns, and their role in making it better.”
Lourdes College Kuwentuhang Bayan during the 2013 campaign
Banuag said Kuwentuhan Bayan will also include a data gathering component on what voters’ perceive to be their priority issues and concerns are, so LIHUK can elevate it to the proper agencies and venues in its other involvements.
Besides Kwentuhan Bayan, LIHUK will also have two other mainstream programs including Criteria Building and Monitoring and Election Monitoring.
Sept. 20 general assembly of Task Force 2016 at DLSU in Manila.
“However, even prior to Kuwentuhan Bayan, LIHUK is now engaged in its No-Bio, No-Boto campaign to encourage voters to register since according to the Legal Network For Truthful Elections (LENTE), Cagayan de Oro City is in the list of the top 20 regions/cities with the most number of voters without biometrics,” Banuag noted.
Kuwentuhan ng Bayan aspires to undertake a massive political education in the barangays, schools and parishes. LIHUK is now consulting with the Archdiocesan Good Governance Apostolate (AGGAP) to see how this can be attained through the creation of Circles of Discernment and Transpartisanship.
A recent LIHUK Voters Education for Academe at Capitol University
Its two hours sessions consists of three modules which include disposition setting, reflection, group sharing and processing; the individual’s context in the elections; problem tree analysis workshop and group sharing/plenary; and the individual’s role as a voter in quality setting for the candidates to be voted upon.
Banuag suggested the next component of Criteria Building and Profiling as a possible entry point for the People’s Council. Its components include Poll Surveys, Agenda Formulation and Candidates Forums.
XU, for its part, is considering holding another “Candidates Fair” wherein each party will be provided with booths where candidates can promote themselves and their development agenda among the visitors to the fair. First piloted during the 2010 elections, Banuag said the fair is XU’s statement demonstrating it is non-partisan.
XU students lead a No Bio, No Boto drive near Cogon Market
“It’s a good venue for voters to make their choice and we also invite media to cover so everyone has a fair chance of being introduced to the electorate,” Banuag said.
Election Monitoring will be closely coordinated with election watchdogs NAMFREL and PPCRV but more attention will now be focused on the Post Election activities which were identified to be one of the weak points of LIHUK’s advocacies.
Initially, LIHUK counts among its cooperators the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro (ACDO), Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (XU), Oro Youth Council, NEAR-10, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, NAMFREL and more recently, Task Force 2016, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Cagayan de Oro Police Office (COCPO).
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