By Kean Andrei Bagaipo
Media giant ABS-CBN News invited Silliman University (SU) in a partnership to boost its commitment in providing Filipinos with wider and more comprehensive Halalan 2025 special coverage.
In a letter proposal sent to SU on Sept. 6, the ABS-CBN Corporation wrote its intent to involve the university and the SU College of Mass Communication (CMC) in its nationwide campaign for the national midterm elections.
This can be accessed across multiple media platforms such as the Kapamilya Channel, ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), and ABS-CBNNews.com.
According to ABS-CBN Integrated News and Current Affairs Head Mary Anne Francis Torres, the partnership aims to set “mutually beneficial exchanges” with SU by sharing news resources, coverage inputs, and other election-related materials.
“We believe that by sharing our resources, we can achieve this goal as our platforms can help you give your reports a wider reach, with all proper credits given,” the letter stated.
The corporation also proposed to provide an election fact-checking workshop for students and teachers.
Past partnership
Prior to the 2022 national polls, the CMC hosted election reporting and fact-checking workshop webinars in partnership with ABS-CBN Bayan Mo, Ipatrol Mo.
“This is not the first time that ABS-CBN made a partnership with SU. Every time it’s election year, they reach out and invite communication schools to work with them,” CMC Dean Dr. Madeline Quiamco said.
She emphasized, however, that the proposed partnership requires an official agreement to be inked by the two organizations.
Currently, a document is being circulated in the University Legal Office and is yet to be signed by the administrative office through SU President Dr. Betty Cernol-McCann.
Once signed, both parties will begin arranging the activities and schedules.
Expected endeavors
In an initial discussion between CMC and ABS-CBN Corporation Campaign and Training Officer Elizabeth Judith Panelo, the workshop topics will also include voters’ education and checking of campaign finance.
“But it depends on us [on] how we will enrich it. We might think beyond what ABS-CBN will do to spread the idea of voting wisely because the youth vote is a big one,” Quiamco noted.
Aside from the workshops, she said that they will also recruit student-volunteers who will be trained as actual correspondents during the election day coverage.
Through this joint effort, students will get access in tracking and relaying votes from Dumaguete City and nearby municipalities.
“We both thought to have [workshops] in the second semester so that people might want to volunteer in the actual coverage during and after the elections,” Quiamco added.
Strengthening the campaign
Quiamco noted that other colleges, such as the SU School of Public Affairs and Governance (SPAG), might also be interested in joining the activities.
“Granting that wala lang hocus-pocus [there will be no hocus-pocus], it is a good learning experience, in fact for all of us. We have some classes who will be working with the network and that is experience,” she continued.
Meanwhile, Kapunungan sa mga Mass Communicators (KMC) Governor Angelique Kara Sorbito expressed support to the partnership by extending the campaign to the SU student body.
“The college could allocate its strengths in journalism and broadcasting to creating content related to the 2025 National Elections. Our role is to make sure that the message will be able to reach the community effectively,” she said.
The national midterm elections will be held on May 12, 2025.
This is a developing story.
