Comics used to lure young voters

MANILA, Philippines - A fun read may be key to getting more young voters to the polling centers in May.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said it is collaborating with the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA) for the production of CHAMPS comic book, featuring the adventures of young superheroes on a mission to encourage the youth to vote.

CHAMPS stands for clean, honest, accurate, and peaceful – PPCRV’s election slogan. It was not yet clear how much would be spent for the project.

PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa said the comic book was inspired by the movie “The Avengers.”

“We made new modules directed to our target audience, particularly the young voters,” De Villa said.

“I watched the movie ‘The Avengers.’ It was a very happy and fun movie. One character in the CHAMPS comics will destroy election anomaly,” she said.

“Their weapon to fight election anomalies as well as corrupt officials is the ballot,” De Villa said.

She said they would also introduce a board game called “Voters Tsunami,” as well as a drill on how to use the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

De Villa said copies of CHAMPS are being circulated in different provinces.

The project is set for official launch in the last week of February or first week of March.

“As of now the comics are being circulated in the provinces where voters’ education is ongoing. We find the comics very attractive information materials for the young people,” De Villa stressed. She said they are creating more copies of CHAMPS to be distributed to different campuses.

The PPCRV is one of the accredited citizens’ arms groups of the Commission on Elections.