As we count the days to the 2022 elections, the big question is this: How will they change our country this time around?
Our answer is simple: Leave it to us. It’s Our Turn.
This election season, we, the voters, are the central agents. Not the candidates and their larger-than-life campaigns and catchphrases, not the political parties and their limited scope of our population’s belief systems.
It’s our turn to decide the fate of our nation.
For many, this will be literal: Of the over 60 million (and counting) registered voters this 2022, nearly 20% will be under the age of 25, some born as late as 2004. Some four million will be voting for the first time in our lives. We have the opportunity to not only vote, but to act, to speak up, to enact change. Seize it. We’re all on the same side.
More than half of the total number of registered voters are below the age of 40 and while the elections affect all Filipinos, the youth—destined to deal with the future of our political leaders’ actions longer than our elders—will bear the brunt of the outcome. So when we say it’s our turn, we hold that weight on our shoulders. The future of our country is in our hands, so it’s our responsibility to choose wisely.
In line with this, Summit Media’s official hashtag for the election period is #OurTurn2022. This slogan describes our network’s voice and coverage during the voter registration period, the campaigns, the elections, and the immediate after effects.
Our official coverage starts today.
The ability to share information with a large audience is more accessible than ever, but such a media landscape—prone to breeding misinformation, distrust, and division—is quick to create (even unwittingly) a populace that is vulnerable to manipulation and quick to turn against itself.
Whether or not media companies play an active role in the spread of misinformation, every current medium must bear its burden and actively fight against it.
That’s why for the 2022 elections and all the days leading up to it, Summit Media is framing its coverage of the general election with this goal in mind: To cultivate a more informed electorate where the interests of the nation’s citizens is the highest priority. That process begins with reporting the truth. In a world where fake news and misinformation can be purposely or unwittingly disseminated, truth remains our greatest weapon.
Summit Media’s pledge this registration, campaign, and election season is to contextualize, to discern, to break down the relevant information available, and to deliver the truth.
When we say it’s Our Turn, we take on the responsibility of serving voters, of providing information that is factual, accessible, and important.
But in the age of social media, that responsibility must fall on both sides. We can’t do it without you, our readers.
In making this pledge for the coming election season, we urge you to accept the challenge to play an active role as well. When you use the hashtag #OurTurn2022, you are choosing to register, to vote, to ask questions, to be skeptical, to stay alert, to examine different sides, and to always remember what’s at stake.
The future of the Philippines is in our hands.
Our decision. Our vote. Our voice. Our country.
#OurTurn2022
