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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday tapped the
services of an action-movie star for the voters’ education
campaign in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
elections set next month.
The poll body now has action star Robin Padilla
as its primetime spokesman for the Muslim community in the South.
Padilla, also now known as Abdul Aziz, converted to Islam while
serving a jail term for illegal possession of firearms.
The action star and a known advocate of peace
and progress in Mindanao went to the Comelec office in Intramuros,
Manila, to sign an agreement making him the spokesman for the August
11 regional polls.
Comelec Chairman Jose Melo, Senator Richard
Gordon and Henrietta de Villa of the National Movement for Free
Elections were witness to the action star signing the agreement on
the tie-up.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said Padilla
would be featured in a comic book for voters’ education in the
region. Padilla had already taped several infomercials intended for
airing soon on television, while he will emphasize in the comic book
the new way of voting under the automated system.
“Padilla is an ideal partner for voter’s
education for the August 11 automated ARMM elections. He’s well
respected by Muslims and Christians alike and he has genuine concern
for his Muslim brothers,” Jimenez said. He added that the action
star is a big boost to the Comelec and “to our partners’ efforts
in ensuring clean and orderly elections in the region.”
Padilla said he welcomes his participation as
the official ambassador for the computerized ARMM elections.
“When I was still a kid, I’ve been hearing
of cheating and controversies in the elections. I’m thankful that
the Comelec has opted to make this quantum leap of turning to
automation,” he added.
When asked on President Gloria Arroyo’s move
of endorsing the postponement of the regional polls, Padilla said,
“What we need is to advance, not to move backward. I hope [the
elections] won’t be postponed.”
Melo agreed as he expressed confidence that the
ARMM elections would proceed as planned.
The systems providers for the ARMM elections,
Smartmatic Sahi, will reportedly deploy 2,300 DRE machines and 400
support technicians on Election Day to precincts in Maguindanao
while AVANTE International will be sending 156 OMR machines to the
rest of the ARMM provinces.
-- Anthony Vargas
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