The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday (March 10) officially formalized its partnership with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) during a ceremonial signing of a tripartite agreement at the Chairman\’s Hall, Palacio Del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.

The memorandum of agreement (MOA), signed by Assistant Secretary Elaine Fallarcuna of the DSWD’s International Affairs and, Attached and Supervised Agencies, representing Secretary Rex Gatchalian; COMELEC Chairperson George Erwin Garcia; and NCDA Executive Director Glenda Relova, aims to enhance the voting experience of vulnerable Filipinos, particularly the senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

“Under this agreement, the DSWD, in partnership with the COMELEC and NCDA, will elevate the voting experience of the vulnerable sectors through collaboration in promoting inclusivity, ensuring easy access to voting, engaging in data sharing, and conducting information campaigns,” Asst. Secretary Fallarcuna said as she read the DSWD chief’s message.

Part of the MOA is a data-sharing agreement which, according to Secretary Gatchalian, will protect the personal information of the older persons and persons with disabilities.

“Guidelines for accountability, liability and parameters for use are included in this agreement as part of our measures to safeguard the sectors we serve,” the DSWD chief pointed out.

Through the signing, the DSWD and NCDA agreed to monitor and oversee, during election day, the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) and succeeding polling activities to guarantee the suffrage of senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

The COMELEC, on the other hand, will set up voter registration booths during the schedule of social pension payouts nationwide for easy and accessible updating of the voter registration records of senior citizens.

For the NCDA, the council will share with the COMELEC, through the commission’s Vulnerable Sectors Office (VSO), the nationwide data on persons with disabilities in order to provide the Election Officers (EOs) with baseline data as reference for registration purposes of persons with disabilities.

Asst. Secretary Fallarcuna, on behalf of Secretary Gatchalian, thanked the COMELEC and the NCDA for the new initiative, highlighting that it “focuses on empowering and motivating the vulnerable sectors to partake in the electoral process while continually ensuring that their rights and information are safeguarded and free from misuse and exploitation.”

Witnessing the signing were DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, who is also the agency’s spokesperson and Data Privacy Officer; DSWD Assistant Secretary Ada Colico; and Commissioner-in-Charge for COMELEC VSO Aimee Perolino. (YADP)