Filipino values are being aligned with responsible voting for the upcoming 2025 midterm elections, as the “Tibok Pinoy” Campaign targets the youth.
During an episode of TownHall: Preview of the 2025 Elections on Sunday, November 24, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) IT Director Dr. William Yu bared the core of their “Tibok Pinoy” Campaign. According to Yu, the Filipino values of being matapang, makabayan, and matapat align with the reminders for responsible voting.
For their sixth book, a new value was added to the picture. This year, the value of being mapanuri or critical is the PPCRV’s highlight. Yu mentioned that they specifically chose this as the sixth value, as their campaign is centered on the youth.
“We basically target our material to the youth, because number one, they’re really voting for their future. Two is we also have an observation since the 2016 elections that youth turnout is actually lower, that’s why we basically created programs to focus on that,” he explained.
“Third, with the advent of fake news, disinformation, and influence operations, we felt that we would focus our voter education program to target something specific to that,” he added.
The PPCRV also produced materials that are focused on cyber hygiene, including tips and tricks on how to know if content online is fake or not. Yu assured that campaign materials are lively and youthful, catering to the younger generation's taste.
Three Major Campaign Activities
Essentially, the PPCRV has three major activities for its campaign. The first one is focused on the distribution of books and pamphlets to partner institutions. According to Yu, they have sponsors who fund the materials’ printing.
Second, the organization will also conduct workshops; and invite guests who will discuss what certain values are and how they align to voting. The organization will ensure that speakers who will be invited to talk at the workshops will epitomize the values they are asked to talk about.
Third, the PPCRV will also have specific campaigns within the parishes, so that members can also participate.
Choosing a Candidate that Aligns with One’s Values
Although the campaign is catered to the youth, Yu assured that they can also be used by older voters.
“The materials are catered to the youth. They are colorized and made lively and enthusiastic for the youth, but technically they apply to any age of voters and they are relevant to any age,” Yu said.
“We hope that, even though they are programs for the youth, they can still be used by older and more mature voters,” he added.
Additionally, Yu mentioned that they are expecting voters to choose candidates that have projects and goals that are aligned with their values.
Their campaign is not a one-time thing, but something that will continue even in the next elections. The Tibok Pinoy campaign solely focuses on particular Filipino values that they would like to espouse.
“And hopefully, maybe people will see these values for themselves and they would also expect the same values from the candidates that they vote (for),” Yu said.
